I read an article yesterday in my quarterly ACSM journal I thought would be worthy of sharing. It mentioned that everyone, even regular exercisers, can still benefit from short intense bursts of exercise throughout the day. So, I got to thinking about this and decided that maybe exercise is like snacking. I eat three meals and two snacks per day. The snacks are not my main course, but my body likes them to keep my metabolism running. Also, they prevent me from overeating at any one meal.
Applying this to exercise, your regularly scheduled exercise bout is the main course. If you're anything like me, you tend to go a little crazy during this session because it's your only chance during the day to try to do something good for yourself. However, if I incorporate exercise "snacks" throughout my day, this will also keep my metabolism revved, help to not have to kill myself during each workout, and keep me mindful all day long of opportunities to do something good for my body. These "snacks" should not, of course, replace the main course, but they definitely can help.
A few years back, I would grit my teeth everytime I read an article about squeezing exercise into your day. These touted the calorie burn of parking further away at the grocery store and taking the stairs at every opportunity. This push to get people to think this was all they needed to do in order to get fit landed in disaster. However, if we use the "meal-snack" analogy, these small bouts can enhance an already existing exercise program.
Can you make it a goal to find just three opportunities per day to "snack" on exercise? If so, what are they? Please share, either here or on our Facebook fan page!
Until next time...happy getting healthy! :)
Nice thought and easy to implement. I think I will do the snack thing but along with that I will do an exercise appetizer and dessert around lunch and maybe even dinner. I have developed a bad habit of needing a sweet after I eat so maybe I can reprogram myself to need some exercise instead. :-)
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