A new kind of “snacking”

Finally, a form of snacking I can get behind.

If you have a tough time fitting an hour or even 20 minutes of exercise into your schedule, listen up. Experts say that short, 10-minute bursts of activity–ironically called exercise “snacking”–may be all you need to keep your fitness in check.

It’s good news for the busy set. And for the perpetual procrastinators among us.

These intense mini-workouts don’t need to be long to make real changes to your body. And that’s especially true if you’re used to casually flipping through magazines while biding your time on cardio machines. Turns out, 10 minutes of serious strength training and heart-pounding calisthenics could offer the same benefits…in just a fraction of the time.

In fact, the benefits may be even greater. That’s because this type of high-intensity training uses muscle fibers that don’t usually get much action from a stroll around the block.

I always recommend daily after-dinner walks as a simple way to make sure you’re meeting your exercise quota. But for hard-working health buffs who want to stay fit in less time, exercise snacking offers another way to make every minute count.

Sources:
“Ten-minute workouts lure time-challenged exercisers.” Reuters Sept. 24, 2012.