Fitness
Even 30-second exercise ‘snacks’ can boost your energy and help you get fit in the new year. How to add them to your day
Maybe you’ve set a New Year’s resolution to get fitter and healthier this year. If so, you’re in good company: statistics show that improving fitness is the number one resolution. Unfortunately, the majority of people find sticking to that resolution difficult. A year on, only about 9% report they’ve stayed with a new exercise regimen for the entire 12 months.
Making exercise a consistent, regular habit is hard, especially when you’re juggling a career, family obligations, and other demands on your time. A good starting point—or simply a good way to add on to an existing exercise habit—is to integrate movement “snacks” into your routine. These short bursts of activity scattered throughout your day can make a difference in how you feel, as well as your overall health.
“Movement is good for us, even if it’s not a dedicated exercise session,” says Meghan Wieser, a doctor of physical therapy at Maryland-based Recharge Health & Fitness. “Movement snacks can be a low-barrier way to get your body moving throughout the day, and it correlates with better health markers.”
Research backs this up. A team at McMasters University in Hamilton, Ontario, tested the theory. The study looked into whether simple 20-second bursts of vigorous stair climbing, three times each day, performed three days a week, could improve cardiorespiratory fitness. After six weeks, it had, by about 5%. “The changes are modest, but not insignificant,” says co-author Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology. “By studying epidemiological data, we’ve learned that small changes can go a long way.”
While repeated exercise snacks shouldn’t replace a more regular workout routine that includes both cardiovascular and strength training, it can improve your health. It can also serve as an easy entry point to getting fitter in the new year.
How to get started
One of the best ways to incorporate movement snacks into your day is to “habit stack,” says Wieser. “In a given day, you already have habits built in, like a mid-morning coffee break,” she says. “So while you’re waiting for the coffee to brew, fit in some movement.”
Maybe you have a daily 2 p.m. zoom call with your team, for instance. Five minutes before it begins, take the chance to do a micro-session of exercise. The same with getting up from your desk to walk to the bathroom. You can also choose to Pomodoro Method your way to better health by setting a timer to remind you to move after a specific interval of time. Or if you wear a fitness tracker, set it to buzz every couple of hours as a friendly nudge to move. The point is getting intentional about movement, and stacking it on top of existing routines and habits makes it easier to remember and incorporate.
How you move and for how long can run a wide spectrum, and is dependent on your existing baseline of fitness. Someone who is fully sedentary, for instance, probably won’t start with sprinting up the stairs for 20 seconds at a time. Aim for a variety of movement that benefits both your heart and lungs, as well as your muscles.
Easy entry points can include movements like air squats, lunges, push-ups, jogging in place, doing a few sets of jumping jacks, or setting out for a vigorous walk down the hall. If you prefer more static movement, hold a wall sit for 30 seconds at a time, repeating three times,. Or get on the floor and hold a plank for a similar period of time. Try to mix it up to give your body a variety of stimuluses, and aim to move at least every two hours or so.
“No one type of exercise is better than any other, but you should aim to engage your large muscle groups to get your heart rate elevated at the same time,” says Gibala. “Complex, multi-joint functional movements, with or without equipment are good. You need to huff and puff a bit to get the benefit.”
And that’s one of the keys with shorter bursts of activity—some should be intense enough to raise your heart rate. “But it should be something you like so that you’ll stick with it,” says Gibala. “Burpees are fantastic, for example, but not everyone likes them.”
You don’t have to limit your movement snacks to the workday, or strictly with a plan in mind, either. Research shows that incorporating vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) into everyday life can be impactful as well. Even at a frequency of three times per day, lasting one or two minutes each is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. “Think about getting off a three-hour flight, where you’ve been sitting the whole time, and walking up the stairs in the airport with your suitcase in hand,” says Gibala. “Play hard with your kids for a few minutes. Parallel this with movement snacks and it can go a long way.”
All that says, your goal should still be longer, intentional exercise sessions. But as an add on—or if time for an exercise snack is all you’ve got—you can improve your health. “Consider snacks a supplement,” says Wieser. “It’s a little nibble throughout your day that feeds your body.”
Physical activity saves lives, but now it turns out there’s a “precise dosage” at which it becomes especially effective in preventing heart disease.
Exercising is key to longevity; it’s been associated with everything from improved cardiovascular health to increased strength to a longer life. But there’s one exercise, in particular, that a doctor says women over 50 should add to their routine.
Meet the expert: Steven Bowers, D.O., board-certified family physician and author of Secrets of the World’s Healthiest People
Daily strength workouts may help boost all aspects of life, Steven Bowers, D.O., board-certified family physician and author of Secrets of the World’s Healthiest People, previously told Prevention. Physical fitness makes functional tasks like carrying grocery bags from the car, opening jars, and lifting heavy items easier.
There are plenty of moves to try, but Dr. Bowers says the one that should get top billing in your routine is the plank.
While planks challenge your whole body, they’re particularly great for strengthening your core. “Core muscle fibers tend to shrink and become less supple as we age, which can put more strain on your back,” he previously said. Having a strong core is important for balance and stability, and it can help you go about your day with more ease.
Wondering how long to hold a plank, and the proper form? First, place your forearms on the floor. Your elbows should be right below your shoulders, and your arms should be parallel—not turning in or out. Your feet should also be shoulder-width apart. Press your hands and toes into a mat on the ground, lifting your body, squeezing your glutes and quads for support. Your body should create one straight line from head to toe. Don’t lock your knees or arch your back, and keep your neck straight by looking slightly in front of you.
Hold this position for 20 seconds. “As you get more comfortable and your core gets stronger, hold the plank for as long as possible without sacrificing form or breath,” Dr. Bowers noted. It’s that simple! Whether you’re a pro or want to test your plank skills, adding the simple move to your routine may be what your core has been waiting for.
Shin splints are one of those nagging aches and pains most runners encounter at some point in their training—but that doesn’t mean you should just grin and bear it.
“We see it all the time in the clinic,” osteopath and clinical lead at The Livewell Clinic, Danny Sayandan tells Fit&Well.
Common themes, he says, are runners in worn-out shoes, heel striking instead of landing midfoot, or overstriding.
“It’s often linked to the least stretched muscle in the body—your calves—and most neglected muscle—the tibialis anterior—found on the front of the shin,” says Sayandan.
When they’re tight or undertrained, the impact of every footstrike gets pushed straight into the shins, triggering a dull ache down the front or inside of your shins.
The solution? Add these five exercises from Sayandan to your weekly workouts to stretch and strengthen these often overlooked muscles.
5 exercises to try if you get shin pain when running
1. Toe raise
Toe Raises – Ask Doctor Jo – YouTube
Watch On
Sets: 2 Reps: 12-15 each side
Why: Lifting your toes strengthens the front of your shin.
How:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Lift your toes.
- Hold for two seconds.
- Lower your toes to the start.
2. Calf raise
Sets: 2 Reps: 12-15
Why: Build strength and endurance in the lower legs.
How:
- Stand with your feet together.
- Lift your heels to rise onto your toes and the balls of your feet.
- Pause, then lower slowly.
You can also perform these with your heels off a step (as in the video above), lowering your heels below the step to add a stretch to your calves.
As you get stronger, progress to single-leg calf raises, then begin to add weight with a dumbbell or kettlebell held in one hand.
3. Soleus wall hold
Sets: 2 Reps: 12-15 / Time: 30sec
Why: This bent-knee heel raise targets the deep-lying soleus muscle in your calves.
How:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a bannister or other sturdy anchor point for support (an alternative is to rest your back on a wall, as in the video above).
- Bend your knees and push your hips back to lower into a squat, with your knees bent at 90˚.
- Hold this position and either perform 12-15 calf raises (see above), or rise up onto the balls of your feet and hold for 30 seconds.
4. Tibialis stretch
Anterior Tibialis Stretch Kneeling – Ask Doctor Jo – YouTube
Watch On
Sets: 2 Reps: 8-10
Why: This is a gentle stretch for the muscles in the front of the shin.
How:
- Kneel with your feet together, sitting on your heels with your hands or forearms on the floor to help control the load through your ankles.
- Push through your hands or forearms and carefully lift your knees to increase the stretch in the front of your shins.
- Hold for a few seconds, then lower.
Rather than an exercise, try to practice this continuously—and certainly as you move from exercise to exercise in this workout. Concentrate on landing softly through your midfoot to retrain your gait and reduce impact through your heel, ankle, calves and shins.
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