How Quick “Exercise Snacks” Can Help Improve Fitness and Muscle Endurance

Sticking to a consistent workout routine is an overwhelming task, especially if you don’t have a lot of time. But new research suggests you don’t need long hours at the gym to benefit.

A few mini-workouts spread throughout the day – called “exercise snacks” – may be enough to improve heart and muscle health, according to a study published this month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“Our study shows that sports snacks can significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness in adults and muscular endurance in older adults,” said lead author Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, a clinical researcher at the University of Oviedo in Spain. Health. “Exercise snacks help people start small, stay consistent, and build habits, which is the foundation for long-term health.”

There is no universal definition of an exercise snack. But essentially, “exercise snacks are short-duration, intentionally structured periods of moderate to vigorous activity designed to cause a physiological training effect,” Rodríguez said. “The main thing is that they are short, simple and do not require special equipment or facilities.”

Exact settings may vary. But in their study, Rodríguez and his team only included trials in which exercise sessions lasted less than five minutes and were repeated several times a day, at least three times a week, over a period of at least two weeks.

According to experts, exercise snacks can include:

• Climb the stairs vigorously
• Quick sprints on foot or by bike
• Strength exercises such as squats or lunges
• Sit-stand exercises
• Light resistance movements
• Balance activities such as Tai Chi

Other studies have looked at similar bursts of physical activity in daily life, known as vigorous intermittent physical activity (VILPA). The difference is that these activities are usually very short and unplanned: think climbing stairs at work, carrying large groceries, running after children, or walking quickly to catch the bus.

Most research on physical activity tests longer exercise sessions or examines unstructured goals like taking 10,000 steps a day, explained Garrett Ash, PhD, assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine.

The research that does exist on shorter energy periods tends to focus more on VILPA, which has been associated with an approximately 40% reduction in mortality risk.

But so far, research on sports snacks hasn’t been definitive.

“This study aimed to find and synthesize studies in this middle area where they look at short bursts of exercise but still done in a structured way,” Ash said. Health.

To see how short, intentional exercise sessions affected health, the research team looked at 11 randomized controlled trials of exercise snacks in inactive adults. A total of 414 participants came from Australia, Canada, China and the United Kingdom.

The individual exercise snack programs were slightly different in terms of training intensity, duration and frequency. But most participants stuck to the exercises.

Overall, compared to inactive controls, taking exercise snacks was linked to:

“Moderate means we are fairly confident in the results, although there are still areas for improvement in the research,” said Amanda Paluch, PhD, professor of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and chair of the American Heart Association’s physical activity committee at the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health.

However, “very low certainty of the evidence” means just that: We cannot fully trust the results and more research is needed, Paluch said. Health.

Even though sports snacks don’t account for a ton of time spent working out, they break up periods of inactivity, which is a good thing for our health.

“Breaking up sedentary time has benefits independent of the exercise that breaks it up,” Ash said. Research has suggested that breaking up and limiting sedentary time is linked to better cardiometabolic health.

“Smaller fights can be more manageable and more enjoyable for some people who don’t want to do 30 minutes. [of exercise]“, he added.

Although the results were positive, the research was limited. For example, the trials had a limited number of participants, more than two-thirds of whom were women. Little demographic data was included, no implementation of wearable devices to confirm results, and high variety between exercise programs studied.

It’s also important to note that sports snacks are not a panacea. The review found that these short bursts of physical activity did not affect:

• Lower limb strength
• Body composition
• Blood pressure
• Blood lipids

“One reason could be that many of the people in these studies were already quite healthy, which limits the room for improvement,” Paluch said. “It’s likely that to see real changes in things like body composition or cholesterol, you’ll need longer, more consistent routines.”

Whether it’s a lack of time, access, or motivation, many people struggle to fit exercise into their schedule. Nearly one in three adults worldwide do not get enough physical activity, putting them at higher risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

Exercise snacks can be an easy place to start. “Sedentary people often have difficulty committing to long workouts, but a one- or two-minute session seems doable,” Rodríguez said.

Rodríguez and Paluch agree that another benefit is that exercise snacks help make daily movement a habit. These small amounts of activity can eventually build into longer, more structured exercises and give someone the confidence to do up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly.

But exercise snacks can also be helpful for people leading active lifestyles, as it’s best to avoid prolonged periods of sitting, Ash added.

“The athlete who runs for an hour each morning and then sits at a desk all day might be better served from a health perspective by adding exercise snacks, even if it meant having to shorten the morning run,” he said.