What is 'exercise snacking' that allows you to get the full effect of a little exercise without having to go to the gym?
When you start exercising for your health, you may think that you have to buy sportswear and start running, or join a fitness gym or sports club. On the other hand, experts advocate 'exercise snacking,' which is a way to get great results by doing a little exercise a few times a day, just like having a snack.
Want the health benefits of strength training but not keen on the gym? Try 'exercise snacking'
'Exercise snacking,' advocated by Justin Keogh, Associate Dean of Research in the School of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University in Australia, and Jackson Fyfe, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University, refers to short bursts of bodyweight training using little or no equipment, several times a day, for a minimum of 20 seconds each time.
Some of the bodyweight training exercises you can do with Exercise Snacking include:
- Sitting on a chair and standing up (squats)
Lunge : Step forward with one foot at a time, lower your hips, then stand up and return to the starting position
・Box step-up
・Standing on tiptoes (calf raise)
·push ups
You can do these exercises little by little in your daily life: doing squats while waiting for water to boil, doing lunges when a TV ad comes on, or standing on your toes repeatedly while brushing your teeth.
If these bodyweight exercises aren't enough for you, you can also add in
Below are some examples of additional menus. Clicking on the links in each menu will take you to YouTube to watch training videos selected by Keogh and others.
・Seated Row
・Chest press and shoulder press
- Bicep curl
・Leg curl
・Knee extension
If you use a resistance band, make sure it's attached securely to a stationary object and hold the band firmly.
The effectiveness of exercise snacking has also been scientifically verified. For example, in a 2019 study in which elderly people with an average age of 75 who had no experience in strength training were asked to do exercise snacking twice a day for four weeks, five simple bodyweight exercises (standing up while sitting, straightening the knees while sitting, bending the knees while standing, stepping on the spot, and raising the calves while standing) were performed for one minute each for a total of nine minutes with a one-minute break between each exercise. The results showed that the ability to stand up improved by 31%, and leg strength and thigh muscle size improved.
In addition, a 2022 study in which Fife was the lead author examined the ease of continuing exercise snacking and the risk of accidents. Thirty-eight elderly people with an average age of 69.8 years old were asked to do exercise snacking 2-3 times a day for 4 weeks, a total of 1,317 times. The continuation rate was 100%, 0 people said that exercise was not enjoyable, and only two adverse events occurred. The two events were minor, so the two participants were able to continue exercise snacking with reduced load.
It is believed that the benefits of such light exercise come from interrupting the cycle of prolonged sitting, as previous research has shown that prolonged sitting can have a significant impact on health and personality , while light exercise can offset the negative effects.
Even if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, a few minutes of exercise a day can offset your health risks - GIGAZINE
In addition, particularly in the case of elderly people, a decrease in muscle strength is directly linked to hospitalization and the worsening of chronic diseases, so it is hoped that maintaining muscle strength will help reduce joint pain and enable people to continue living independently.
'You don't need heavy dumbbells or expensive equipment to reap the benefits of strength training,' Keogh and his colleagues said. 'Why not start exercise snacking today?'
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in Science, Posted by log1l_ks