exercise snacks

Exercise Snacks Overview

Exercise snacks refer to short, intense bouts of physical activity that can easily be integrated into your day, designed to enhance or maintain fitness levels, particularly when regular training is difficult. This concept was popularized by Dr. Andy Galpin and discussed by Andrew Huberman on the Huberman Lab.

Types of Exercise Snacks

1. Cardiovascular Exercise Snacks

   • Aim to improve cardiovascular fitness for activities sustained over longer durations (e.g., 12 minutes or more).
   • Examples include:
     • Doing 100 jumping jacks (30-90 seconds).
     • Sprinting up a flight of stairs for 20-30 seconds.
     • Quick runs (20-30 seconds) from a parked car to integrate movement into your routine.

2. Muscular Endurance Exercise Snacks

   • Focus on enhancing muscular endurance, helping to maintain positions or perform exercises briefly but effectively.
   • Examples include:
     • Wall sits for 30-60 seconds.
     • Push-ups performed to failure (or maximum effort) at any time during the day.
     • Air squats while maintaining tension without resting fully.

Benefits

• Convenience: Exercise snacks can fit into busy schedules and require little to no equipment.
• Performance Enhancement: Engaging in these short bursts can improve overall fitness, maintaining cardiovascular and muscular endurance without requiring a full workout session.
• Fun and Motivation: They can add variety to your day, making fitness more enjoyable and less of a chore (1).

Practical Tips

• Incorporate exercise snacks whenever you feel sluggish or have a few spare minutes.
• They can be performed during routine tasks (e.g., while on a phone call or taking a break from work).
• Aim for at least 3-5 sessions per week to see significant improvements in fitness.

For more insights on integrating exercise snacks into your routine, listen to the full episode titled "Science-Supported Tools to Accelerate Your Fitness Goals" on the Huberman Lab (2).