Stuck in Your Chair? Try Snacking… on Exercise

A simple strategy to get more movement into your day
4 min read
By: Dylan Dacosta

The “information age” has brought plenty of positives. One of them is that you’re probably reading this email on your phone. A sentence that, if said to any human before the turn of the 21st century, would probably yield a response such as:

“How the hell do you read mail on your telephone?”

One shift in this era has been a lot of folks transitioning from back-breaking physical labour to, well, back-aggravating sedentary labour. 

Sitting on your butt for an 8–10 hour workday is more common than ever. 

This comes with pros, but as with anything, it also comes with cons. One downside is that many folks have taken on increasingly sedentary lifestyles. I’m not going to get hyperbolic on you and say, “Sitting is the new smoking,” but there is truth in the increased health risks that accompany a more horizontal lifestyle. A lifestyle I am personally a fan of. 

One way around this is engaging in more physically active hobbies such as exercise or sports. A potential downside is that even if you train 2–3 times per week, that only accounts for a fractional part of your week. 

It’s easy and common to fill the rest of your time with mostly sedentary time. If that’s what your job demands and you don’t live in a walkable area, there isn’t much you can do to change that on a structural level.

One thing you can do, which has become increasingly popular, is add some snacks. 

Unfortunately, I m you that I don’t mean the best s or fruit roll-ups. 

I mean exercise snacks. 

Essentially, this is adding some simple movement into your day, taking up only a few minutes at several points in your day. 

One study (1) showed an increase in muscle protein synthesis among 12 young adults when they did either 2 minutes of walking every 30 minutes or 15 bodyweight squats every 30 minutes during a 7.5- sitting period compared to just straight sitting for 7.5 hours.

Another study (2) did show that in overweight men (but not in “normal” weight men according to BMI), ascending three flights of stairs once every hour compared to just sitting for 9 hours reduced insulin area under the curve by ~16% over the 9 hours in the exercise snacking group. 

Lastly, a study (3) on older folks who weren’t exercising prior showed some positive outcomes when doing two bouts of exercise snacks daily for 28 days. This entailed 5 minutes of exercise snacking in the morning and the evening. This included a minute of sit-to-stands from a chair, seated and standing knee extensions, marching on the spot, and some calf raises. 

The snacking group saw better improvements on the sit-to-stand test and tended to favour the snacking group for all tests on the leg press, but the study was too underpowered to show *significant* findings. 

That last one may be less applicable to you, but if you have aging parents/family members, it’s worth knowing that exercise snacks may help preserve muscle and strength if they don’t want to go to the gym.

Adding a Snack to Your Day

The data on exercise snacking isn’t abundant or jaw-dropping. It isn’t a hack. Instead, it’s just another tool to add to your repertoire. 

Exercise snacking is also a tool that can be awesome in specific contexts. One of those being for the days you’re stuck in a chair all day. You don’t need to be a hardo and follow these examples to a tee. 

You can freestyle it and add a snack if you feel you’ve been sedentary one day or even most days. 

For me personally, when I’m sitting a lot (such as on days I write my articles,) mixing in 10–15 squats every hour or so feels awesome. There may be some additional, albeit marginal, health benefits of doing this, but I mostly do it because it helps me feel less stiff and ansty. 

The benefits would likely be more significant if I was less active, didn’t train or was older. 

The takeaway I want you to have here is that while you can’t always be as active as you like, there are compromising strategies that still can have real benefits. 

Exercise snacking is one of them. 

Next time you’re laminating your butt to your pants, add in a snack. Mix in a lap around the office. Do some squats or hip hinges. Don’t get caught up in the details too much. You’ll likely feel less stiff and fidgety, and it may yield some minor health benefits depending on the context of your lifestyle.

Cheers,
Coach Dylan 🍻

References:

1. Walking or body weight squat “activity snacks” increase dietary amino acid utilization for myofibrillar protein synthesis during prolonged sitting
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35952344/

2. Metabolic Effect of Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting with Stair Climbing Exercise Snacks
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32555024/

3. Exercise Snacking to Improve Muscle Function in Healthy Older Adults: A Pilot Study
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31687210/