Exercise Snacks: Fit Some Movement into Your Day

March 2025 – We all can benefit from regular physical activity. But how much? How often? What type? Research shows us we don’t need to spend hours a day exercising to reap some benefits. […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend adults 65+ get at least 150 minutes of moderately intense or 75 minutes intense aerobic activity each week, as well as strengthening exercises twice a week and some activities to improve balance.¹

[Physical activity] guidelines and recommendations are built by experts using years of evidence and hundreds of research studies. Sometimes, guidelines are too rigid for everyone to follow, but they can provide a foundation for personalization and flexibility. This is how “Exercise Snacks” came to be. An exercise snack is not defined in any guidelines. Just like referring to food, an exercise snack can be a spontaneous experience, created by someone for taste, ease, and convenience. […]

[As an example,] one sit to stand becomes 10…and you’re done with your snack; a casual stroll with a few “fast walks” for 25-30 steps; or even four more times rolling to sit up from bed, lay back down and sit back up again.

Exercise snacks are designed to be easy. There is no equipment to set up, and no movement to learn. They are designed to use movements you are already familiar with, and that you need to do during your daily routine. […]

When we participate in an exercise snack, we experience convenience, satisfaction, and personalization (my choice) that can keep us reaching for another “handful.” […] Exercise snacks are your choice. […] When you finish an exercise snack that you built and completed, you are in control.

Recent research has demonstrated that exercise snacks can add up to significant health gains when placed in our workplace, daily mobility, commute, or errands.^2,3 These studies evaluated activities such as taking a flight of stairs quickly, walking briskly most of the way to the bus or mailbox, or even hustling down one specific hallway in your home on the occasion to travel down this route.

So, the next time your body is hungry for more physical activity—or even before it recognizes the hunger—feed it an exercise snack.

Source: National Council on Aging. Full article and footnotes can be viewed here: https://www.ncoa.org/article/exercise-snacks-how-to-fit-some-movement-into-your-day/