Short on Time? Try These “Exercise Snacks” to Boost Health, Energy, & Fitness

Why Short Bursts of High-Intensity Movement Are a Game-Changer

When we think of exercise, we typically associate it with long hours at the gym, strenuous hikes, or at least 5,000 steps on your Fitbit. But “exercise snacks” help you meet the recommended 150+ minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week by doing short bursts of intense activity for just a few minutes at a time. The concept is similar to high-intensity training (HIIT), which is another time-saving exercise method that takes about ten minutes total, yet has all the benefits of walking for an hour. Exercise snacks are somewhat different as they involve movement that lasts for up to two minutes with an hour or more resting period in between. Intrigued? Keep reading to learn why everyone should embrace this simple lifestyle hack.

Tiny Workouts, Mighty Rewards

The idea of exercise snacks was developed to give people an easy way to integrate exercise consistently into their daily routine without needing equipment or a large time commitment. Studies have shown these short exercise breaks can improve:¹

• Cardiovascular health
• Endurance
• Flexibility
• Muscle Strength
• Blood sugar levels

A study at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario had participants climb stairs vigorously for 20-second bursts, three times a day for three days a week. After six weeks they found that cardiorespiratory fitness improved by about 5%.³ While this may not seem like much, small changes add up over time. Some believe doing exercise snacks daily is key for ultimate benefit.

“The biggest factor with exercise snacks is going to be consistency, making sure you’re doing it on a daily basis and moving on a daily basis, rather than doing a day here then maybe one day next week,” says Katie Lawton, MEd. “It’s not going to be very impactful if you’re just doing it when you remember to do it. If you can do exercise snacking consistently over a span of a month or two months, I think you’re going to see an impact.”²

One of the main benefits of exercise snacks is that they get you up and moving during your workday, which is often spent with long hours of sitting. This can lead to health complications such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and obesity.

Moreover, a prospective cohort study found that participants who reported three to four-minute short bursts of physical activity throughout the day had an impressive 31% lowered risk of physical activity-related cancer, particularly for those who did not exercise regularly.⁴

What are some examples of exercise snacks?

• Stair climbing
• Jumping jacks
• Pushups
• Jumping rope
• Chair squats
• Lunges
• Wall squats
• Burpees
• Plank pose

You can modify the movement if you have knee or joint issues — an example is a “walking-back burpee”. This is where you put your hands on the back of a chair, step back, do a push-up, step forward, come to a squat, and then reach upward. Repeat for 30 seconds to several minutes. High knee marching is another option as is jumping on a rebounder (mini-trampoline).

Marily Oppezzo, Ph.D, certified personal trainer and head of Stanford Lifestyle Medicine Healthful Nutrition pillar, recommends we consider the total hours we sit continuously without large muscle group movement as a motivator to work in several exercise snacks throughout the day. I find that setting an hourly alarm when writing is a great way to remember to get up and move.

While the options are endless, whatever you choose to do make sure it is vigorous — to the point where you can only say a few words before taking a breath advises the Cleveland Clinic. You also want to ease into the exercise with a warm-up. Of course, if you have an underlying health condition, such as heart issues or orthopedic problems, it is wise to consult with your healthcare practitioner before practicing exercise snacks.

Cordyceps: An Herbal Boost for Fitness, Blood Sugar, and Anti-Cancer Support

Along with exercise snacks, cordyceps can also help you to reach your fitness and health goals. This medicinal mushroom is known to enhance athletic performance; encourage cardiovascular and liver health; lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity; boost energy; reduce cholesterol; and inhibit the growth of cancer cells, including those of the lung, colon, and liver.^7,8,9,10 Cordyceps has also been found to address chronic inflammation, provide neuroprotection, and support memory, learning, and brain health, while also protecting cells from oxidative damage.^5,6

FANTASTIC PRODUCT!

“This product is amazing! It has stopped my arthritis pain in my hip and knee. My friend uses it and her neuropathy in both feet has been reversed after 25 years!!! No more numbness in both feet…the sensation has returned. Fantastic product.” -Rita V.

Are you ready to supercharge your fitness and overall health? Visit my apothecary and learn more about the transformative power of our dual-extracted, fruiting body cordyceps tincture today!

Nicole Apelian

Nicole’s Apothecary Products in this Post

References

1. Islam, H., Gibala, M. J., & Little, J. P. (2022). Exercise Snacks: A Novel Strategy to Improve Cardiometabolic Health. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 50(1), 31–37. https://doi.org/10.1249/JES.0000000000000275
2. “How To Work ‘Exercise Snacks’ Into Your Day” Cleveland Clinic | Health Essentials, June 20, 2023. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/exercise-snacks
3. Jenkins, E. M., Nairn, L. N., Skelly, L. E., Little, J. P., & Gibala, M. J. (2019). Do stair climbing exercise “snacks” improve cardiorespiratory fitness?. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme, 44(6), 681–684. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2018-0675
4. Stamatakis E, Ahmadi MN, Friedenreich CM, Blodgett JM, Koster A, Holtermann A, Atkin A, Rangul V, Sherar LB, Teixeira-Pinto A, Ekelund U, Lee IM, Hamer M. Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity and Cancer Incidence Among Nonexercising Adults: The UK Biobank Accelerometry Study. JAMA Oncol. 2023 Sep 1;9(9):1255-1259. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.1830. PMID: 37498576; PMCID: PMC10375384.
5. Ji, D. B., Ye, J., Li, C. L., Wang, Y. H., Zhao, J., & Cai, S. Q. (2009). Antiaging effect of Cordyceps sinensis extract. Phytotherapy research : PTR, 23(1), 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.2576
6. Li, X. T., Li, H. C., Li, C. B., Dou, D. Q., & Gao, M. B. (2010). Protective effects on mitochondria and anti-aging activity of polysaccharides from cultivated fruiting bodies of Cordyceps militaris. The American journal of Chinese medicine, 38(6), 1093–1106. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X10008494
7. Yu SH, Chen SY, Li WS, Dubey NK, Chen WH, Chuu JJ, Leu SJ, Deng WP. Hypoglycemic Activity through a Novel Combination of Fruiting Body and Mycelia of Cordyceps militaris in High-Fat Diet-Induced Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Mice. J Diabetes Res. 2015;2015:723190. doi: 10.1155/2015/723190. Epub 2015 Jul 16. Erratum in: J Diabetes Res. 2017;2017:7947401. doi: 10.1155/2017/7947401. PMID: 26258146; PMCID: PMC4519550.
8. Bizarro A, Ferreira IC, Soković M, van Griensven LJ, Sousa D, Vasconcelos MH, Lima RT. Cordyceps militaris (L.) Link Fruiting Body Reduces the Growth of a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Line by Increasing Cellular Levels of p53 and p21. Molecules. 2015 Jul 31;20(8):13927-40. doi: 10.3390/molecules200813927. PMID: 26263965; PMCID: PMC6332316.
9. Lee, H. H., Lee, S., Lee, K., Shin, Y. S., Kang, H., & Cho, H. (2015). Anti-cancer effect of Cordyceps militaris in human colorectal carcinoma RKO cells via cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial apoptosis. Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 23(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40199-015-0117-6
10. Lee, S., Lee, H. H., Kim, J., Jung, J., Moon, A., Jeong, C. S., Kang, H., & Cho, H. (2015). Anti-tumor effect of Cordyceps militaris in HCV-infected human hepatocarcinoma 7.5 cells. Journal of microbiology (Seoul, Korea), 53(7), 468–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-015-5198-x