Exercise Snacks
Hitting a daily step goal isn’t always easy. While step count can add up over the day, a high step count often takes a highly active job and/or a daily walk. Not everybody has time for that. That’s why my ears perked up when I was listening to a recent Stronger By Science podcast episode. They covered the idea of “exercise snacks.”
An exercise snack is basically a short bout of movement that can be slotted anywhere in your day and might potentially be something you were going to do anyway. An example of this could be going downstairs to get a fresh cup of coffee - you could set a 60 sec timer (or count to 60 in your head) and walk/run up and down the stairs for that single minute. It doesn’t necessarily take away from the time in your day, it was low-effort, and you didn’t have to drive to the gym or change clothes.
Another example: doing the laundry or mowing the lawn. These are things you had to do anyway - but now it fits within your schedule in a way that a 15-30 minute walk might not have.
Now here’s where it gets really cool.
Whether you are a client of mine, a person trying to get in better shape, or you have clients of your own: consider using a daily MET target. MET stands for metabolic equivalent of task. Basically, how much energy does a certain task require. 1 MET is the equivalent to a person quietly sitting. 2 MET would be somebody walking at a slow pace - it requires about double the energy versus somebody quietly sitting.
If we were to perform a 4 MET activity for 15 minutes, we’d have 60 MET-minutes or 1 MET-hour. You could double that with an 8 MET activity for 15 minutes and you’d be up to 2 MET-hours. An 8 MET activity could be a basketball game, swimming, or jogging.
For reference, around 2.5 - 3 MET is lightly active (walking slowly is around 2 - 3 MET). According to the World Health Organization, moderate physical activity is a 4.5 (weight lifting at a moderate intensity is a 5) and vigorous physical activity is a 6.5 (aerobic dancing or bicycling 10-12mph is a 6).
Back in 2011, some researchers pulled together a MASSIVE list of physical activities and their associated MET scores. These aren’t just things like walking, jogging, and biking. They have crab fishing, bathing a dog, martial arts, praying in a kneeled position at church, and so much more.
How can you incorporate this into your life?
Shoot for a target MET minutes per day or MET hours per week. If you’re the type of person who likes to plan things out - add it to a to-do list or throw it on your calendar. In this systematic review of physical activity and major chronic diseases, an increase of 11.25MET hours / week led to 23% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. That increase was the equivalent of going from a sedentary lifestyle to international physical activity recommendations.
My recommendation - go through the list and write down some of the activities you already do. What about some activities you’d be willing to try? Try to pair it with an action you already do - like going to the bathroom or refilling your water bottle. Personally, I’ll be working with my clients to add in some exercise snacks for those who don’t have the time for dedicated walks or cardio.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27628572/
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2011/08000/2011_Compendium_of_Physical_Activities__A_Second.25.aspx
https://www.sbspod.com/episodes/sedentary-time-mating-success-and-hiit-protocols
