Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong>Read more<\/p>\n Fitting an hour-long workout<\/a> into your day can be tricky for a lot of people. Fortunately, lengthy sessions at the gym<\/a> aren\u2019t a prerequisite of a successful and sustainable exercise<\/a> plan.<\/p>\n If you spend most of your days sitting at a desk<\/a> and struggling to find time to move, \u201cexercise snacking\u201d could be the perfect solution. This fitness trend involves committing to a few short bouts of activity throughout the day \u2013 think a snack, instead of a full meal \u2013 and it offers plenty of benefits.<\/p>\n A small study conducted by the University of Essex<\/a> found that just 16 minutes of bodyweight exercises like squats<\/a> and lunges, spread across a standard eight-hour work day, helped subjects strengthen their muscles and boost their balance over the course of four weeks.<\/p>\n And a 2022 article, published in the Exercise and Sport Sciences Review<\/a>, found positive impacts from even shorter bursts of activity \u2013 namely, 15-30 seconds of vigorous-intensity exercises such as cycling<\/a> or stair climbing, three times per day. It concluded that this strategy was effective at \u201cimproving cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise performance in inactive adults\u201d.<\/p>\n In short, treating your workouts like little snacks throughout your day, rather than a full hour-long gym session, could improve your strength, flexibility and longevity dramatically. <\/p>\n If that impressive list of benefits has piqued your interest, read on. Below, we speak to three experts on walking<\/a>, stretching and strength training<\/a>, and task each with sharing a few simple exercise snacking ideas for Independent readers to try.<\/p>\n Walking<\/p>\n For some, a walk is the ideal way to keep fit. It\u2019s cheap, easy to do and boasts a raft of benefits. It\u2019s also a great option if you want to jump on the exercise snacking trend. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good general recommendation for anyone to exercise throughout the day,\u201d says Dr Elroy Aguiar<\/a>, an assistant professor of exercise science at The University of Alabama<\/a> with a specialism in all things step-based.<\/p>\n \u201cSome new research that\u2019s come out in the last couple of years is actually saying that sedentary time, sitting down for long periods, can be offset by doing large amounts of exercise. But ideally you should have less sedentary time and lower amounts of aerobic or resistance training exercise [throughout the day]. That\u2019s the ideal combination.\u201d<\/p>\n Walking is one of the most accessible ways to do this: you don\u2019t need any equipment, and you can do it pretty much anywhere.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need to think about those breaks in sedentary time as \u2018exercise\u2019, it\u2019s more like purposeful movement in between bouts of doing things,\u201d advises Dr Aguiar. \u201cFor example, parking your car a little bit further away than the car park that\u2019s immediately by your office, or using public transport and getting off one stop early.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more about thinking of activity as a choice throughout the day: building in movement wherever possible rather than thinking \u2018I have to have an hour to exercise, otherwise I\u2019m not doing any\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n His second piece of advice is to be mindful of the intensity of this purposeful movement. If you\u2019re walking, that might mean picking up the pace slightly \u2013 Dr Aguiar\u2019s research<\/a> points to a cadence of 100 steps per minute being representative of moderate-intensity.<\/p>\n The World Health Organisation<\/a> (WHO) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, and promises \u201csignificant physical and mental health benefits from regular exercise\u201d. If you can chip away at this target with a brisk walk a few times each day, you\u2019ll be well on your way.<\/p>\n So, try incorporating a few faster-paced walks into your day to enjoy health perks such as increased energy expenditure and improved cardiovascular fitness.<\/p>\n Strength training<\/p>\n Strength training lays the foundations of a fit and functional body, not only helping you build strength and muscle, but also increasing your mobility, bone density and joint health to minimise injury risk. And you don\u2019t need to pump iron for hours on end to achieve this.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people believe you need a 60-minute-plus session to feel the benefits of exercise, but nothing could be further from the truth,\u201d says Raquel Sanjurjo<\/a>, a gym-owner and personal trainer with more than a decade of experience.<\/p>\n \u201cStudies show that as long as there is enough stimulus across the week, your strength and muscle will increase. It doesn\u2019t matter if you do it in a 90-minute window or in 10-minute blocks spread throughout the day. Just try to hit all of the muscle groups [the chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs and core] for four to eight sets each week, then get ready for the gains.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanjurjo recommends using the routine below when you\u2019re short on time and don\u2019t have any equipment to hand.<\/p>\n In five minutes, complete as many rounds as possible of the circuit below:<\/strong><\/p>\n If you can\u2019t perform a press-up, you can make this exercise easier by placing your hands on an elevated surface like a sturdy chair or your desk. You can also swap the jumping lunges for standard lunges if you prefer low-impact workouts.<\/p>\n Stretching<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a more relaxed way to add some extra movement into your day, stretching is a top option. Stretching can also help with mobility later in life and help you maintain more independence as you age.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most people, the biggest benefit they\u2019re going to get from stretching is that feeling of losing restriction and [gaining that] freedom to be able to move,\u201d says flexibility expert and Bodyweight Warrior<\/a> founder Tom Merrick.<\/p>\n A sedentary lifestyle can have the opposite effect, leading to a downturn in flexibility, according to the Harvard Medical School<\/a> so if you can make short stretching sessions a part of your exercise snacking routine, you\u2019ll reap the rewards for years to come.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re sitting a lot in the day, you\u2019re going to get some compression and tightness of the glutes, and they then have an impact on other lower body positions like the squat,\u201d Merrick says. \u201cLoosening the hips really helps to unlock things. The hip flexors tend to be tight on a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n In the clip below, he shares five stretches he does every day<\/a>. There are two to specifically target the hips \u2013 the couch stretch and 90\/90 \u2013 and this pair can be done pretty much anywhere. The squat and elephant walk are accessible too, loosening tight hips and hamstrings, but you\u2019ll need a pull-up bar to perform the hang for healthier shoulders and decompression of the spine.<\/p>\n Try holding each stretch for 60 seconds for some respite from your usual posture at your desk.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n How to use exercise snacking<\/p>\n Exercise snacking is a great way to introduce more movement into your day, especially if you\u2019re someone who struggles to find time to work out. Above, you\u2019ll find all the ingredients you need to give it a try.<\/p>\n The main appeal of exercise snacking is its accessibility \u2013 there\u2019s no point committing to an itinerary you know you won\u2019t stick to. Instead, start with just one or two short bouts of exercise per day, prioritising things that are achievable, enjoyable and make you feel good \u2013 this is the key to making an exercise plan stick.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re consistently completing these sessions, you can slowly try adding more in, with the end goal of hitting the 150-minutes of moderate-intensity activity (or 75-minutes of vigorous-intensity activity) per week championed by the WHO and NHS.<\/p>\n And there you have it, a bite-sized answer to your workout woes and a great place to start if you\u2019re new to exercise, or getting back into it.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>What is interval training and is it right for everyone?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n