Ditch daily gym hour for short bursts of activity

What if one could improve one's health in just a few minutes of exercise a day? A growing body of research suggests it's entirely possible.

- By Jack McNamara

People exercise with a skipping rope on top of the Equinox gym in New York City.

(Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images)

“Exercise snacks” are brief bursts of vigorous exercise, typically lasting one minute or less, scattered throughout your day. Think climbing a few flights of stairs, doing some squats during a work break or a quick burst of jumping jacks before lunch.

Unlike traditional workouts, these “snacks” aren't done back-to-back. Instead, they're spread across one's waking hours, separated by one to four hours of regular activities such as working, commuting or watching television.

The concept differs from high-intensity interval training, where you might do multiple intense bursts of intense activity within a single 20-minute workout. Exercise snacks are more like grazing throughout the day rather than sitting down for a full meal.

A recent meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that in previously sedentary adults, exercise snacks significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness, a measure of how well one's heart and lungs work during physical activity. The review concluded that these bite-sized workouts delivered meaningful health benefits, with an impressive 83% of participants sticking to their routines for up to three months.

About a third of adults worldwide don’t get enough physical activity. When asked why, the answers are almost always the same: no time or motivation. Exercise snacks tackle both barriers head on.