Have you heard people talking about “movement snacks” lately? Despite what it might sound like, movement snacks have nothing to do with food snacks—instead, it’s the current trend of doing small, “snack-sized” bouts of exercise (as opposed to a whole “meal” of a workout) that add up to sufficient physical activity throughout the day. The concept has been around for a while, but it’s only in the past two or three years—since the Covid-19 pandemic up-ended most schedules—that people have started to popularly implement it.
There’s no denying the benefits of exercise: It can help reduce stress, prevent disease, improve mood, and increase longevity. Staying active is essential for maintaining a healthy weight and for staying strong, flexible, and mobile well into old age. Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that about one-quarter of Americans don’t get sufficient exercise.
While motivation is always a factor, most people will say that time is the biggest obstacle for them. They don’t have a spare hour (or even a half-hour) to do a full workout. But research has shown that short periods of exercise, when added up, are just as effective. It’s all about total time spent being active, not about how it’s broken up.
What does that mean in practical terms? The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans laid out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services encourages at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week (or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week) to maintain good health. While some people might opt to do a 30-minute workout five times per week to achieve that goal, others might opt to do 10 minutes of exercise three times a day for those five days.
Those 10 minutes could be spent walking the dog around the block or riding your bike to pick up a take-out lunch order. Simple tasks like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car in the back of the parking lot can add up. Calisthenics—such as squats, lunges, planks, burpees, and dips—are good for building strength, and they can be done from pretty much anywhere in just a minute or two.
Most smartphones come preloaded with an app to track your steps throughout the day, easily letting you monitor your progress. If you need a reminder, you can even use your phone to set alerts throughout the morning and afternoon, so you know when you’re due to get up and move.
Overall, it’s about shifting your mindset to embrace regular activity as part of your routine. Wondering what a sample day of movement snacks might look like. Consider this:
- 5 minutes of yoga when you wake up in the morning
- 10 minutes of walking before you start work
- 5 minutes of light calisthenics midmorning
- 10 minutes of walking break to pick up lunch
- 5 minutes of light calisthenics mid afternoon
- 10 minutes of walking around the block when you get home
- 5 minutes of stretching while you watch TV in the evening
When it’s broken down like that, getting a sufficient amount of exercise no longer seems like an overwhelming item on your to-do list—it’s suddenly easy to make it part of your day.
