ONE
h January. The darkest month of the year when the pressure to have fun and revive expired exercise programs meets an almost crippling lethargy.
Take into account the fact that you are now living behind a screen again – putting your step count at risk again – and it’s no wonder you feel unmotivated.
But listen, if you’re not in the mood to hit the gym but also don’t want to just grab your wine, the good news is that there is another, more accessible way to get your fitness back and it’s easy without obligation and completely free of charge.
Type in “exercise snacks” – the concept refers to the simple art of breaking up your workout into manageable short chunks of one minute to ten minutes of activity that will get your heart rate beating throughout the day rather than doing everything as usual to cram a half-hour HIIT or spin session.
Put simply, it’s a bite-sized way to hit your daily activity quota, explains personal trainer, podcaster, and sustainable fitness advocate Alice Liveing (@aliceliveing), who launched her own fitness app Give Me Strength last year. “If you already have a good workout routine, doing three to four sessions a week that include a mix of strength and cardio, then I wouldn’t really feel the need to add snacks, but it’s perfect for those who just don’t have it Time for regular workouts in the gym, maybe you are a new parent or have a very busy job and can do a full workout on the weekend but don’t have time during the week. ”
If your fitness regimen has hit during the pandemic, sports snacks are one way to ensure you don’t fall into WFH neglect. “You can actually do a lot in just 10 minutes,” says Liveing.
Recent research shows the benefits. A study from the University of British Columbia looked at sprint interval training to see if the health benefits of short, vigorous bike rides throughout the day or “sprint snacks” were comparable to traditional sprints in a single session. One group completed three 20-second sprints separated by a two-minute break in a single 10-minute session, while the other did three separate 20-second sprints several hours apart during the day. The results suggest that cardio fitness improved similarly for both groups.
A separate analysis of studies from the Ulster School of Sport found no difference between “continuous” and “accumulated” (ie spread over the day) training patterns for fitness and blood pressure markers. In fact, the researchers even found evidence from some studies suggesting that participants who essentially snacked during their workout had greater improvements in body mass and cholesterol.
While another small study from the University of Bath found that a group of older adults were able to significantly improve muscle mass and strength by eating “sports snacks” twice a day, consisting of five minutes of simple body weight movements over a period of time passed for four weeks. This is especially important because the participants were all over 65 and naturally older adults aged 50 and over lose about one percent of their muscle mass each year.
“The government recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week (or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity) so it’s fine whichever way you want to break that up,” Liveing says. If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck with a “snack”, she recommends making explosive movements that get you moving quickly. “Spend two minutes warming up and then start doing something fairly high intensity that will make you jump, using your whole body; with global movements that recruit as many muscles as possible. “
“Try alternating between squats, jumping jacks, lunges, or walkouts; anything core-related like holding a plank is great too,” she suggests. “You could do a mix of bodyweight exercises and then add some dumbbells with thrusters or kettlebell swings, anything that is explosive and will get your heart rate up.” Once you have the kit, you can spend 10 minutes on a rope outside hop, jump on a trampoline, or take a quick break on the exercise bike at lunch.
If you plan to take a break from your daily workout, keep your daily snacks in mind to ensure that you are achieving your overall goal. You aim for at least about 20 to 30 minutes a day. And whether you snack on your workout or not, be sure to look at both aspects of fitness: your anaerobic and aerobic energy systems, Liveing says. “Strength will tap into your anaerobic while your cardio exercise will tap into your aerobics, and it’s really important to focus on using both.”
It’s still worth incorporating at least one full workout into your weekly routine as you will then see results in a different way. For example, a big advantage of structured workouts is that they can achieve more performance-related goals, she adds. “In the past few years we’ve seen a real shift away from women training for aesthetics in particular and instead prioritizing performance goals like the first pull-up or heavy lift and getting really strong, and that’s incredibly empowering.”
Either way, the message is: every movement is better than no movement. Life says. “When it comes to encouraging people to exercise, if you can only manage 10 minutes, I would much rather you do that than nothing.”
7 practice snacks to try out
1. Start your day with a 10-minute yoga or mobility flow. You will be surprised how much energy you can start the day and lift your spirits with just a few mindful movements. A powerflow or dynamic series can really get your heart rate up.
2. Set a timer every hour of your work day and do a minute of star jumps, squat jumps or jumping lunges to increase your heart rate and interrupt long hours at your desk. You can speed this up by doing two minutes of all three with a one-minute break in between.
3. Take a brisk 10-minute walk around the block, trying to keep your pace. You can add hand or leg weights to step up, we love bala bangles.
4. Go outside for some cold air and try this 12-minute jump course from Crossrope: 60 second freestyle jump, 30 second mountaineer, 60 second freestyle jump, 30 second plank, 120 second rest. Repeat up to four times or reduce as desired.
5. Get on your exercise bike between calls and spin for between two and five minutes.
6. Take part in some type of challenge, like the 30-day plank or push-up challenge, which gradually increases your time in position or the repetitions you do each day while helping you perfect your form and technique.
7. Make a conscious effort to exercise more in everyday life. Tiny decisions like power walking to shops instead of walking, always taking the stairs or walking to the bus add up and make a huge difference in your overall activity level.
