What exercise snacks are

An exercise snack is a small portion of movement: 10 squats, 20 seconds of plank, a flight of stairs. Instead of one 45-minute session you keep postponing, you sprinkle a few of these through the day.

The term comes from exercise science. In a 2022 review, Hashim Islam, Martin Gibala and Jonathan Little defined exercise snacks as isolated bouts of vigorous exercise of one minute or less, performed periodically throughout the day, and argued they are a feasible, time-efficient approach worth studying. Most of the snacks below are gentler than "vigorous", and that is fine for a wellbeing habit: public health guidance such as the NHS guidelines for adults asks people to be active every day and to break up long periods of not moving with some activity.

This guide is about habits, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, talk to a professional before starting new exercise, and stop any movement that hurts.

The real problem: remembering

Nobody struggles with the effort of 10 squats. The struggle is thinking of them at the right moment. A snack you have to remember is a snack you will forget by lunchtime.

The fix is to anchor the snack to something you already do many times a day. Habit researchers call this habit stacking ("after I do X, I will do Y"), and the most frequent habit most of us have is opening a social app. Put a snack in front of that and you get dozens of reminders a day, for free. Our guide to habit stacking for exercise shows the formula in detail, and squats to unlock Instagram shows what it adds up to.

20 exercise snacks, a minute or less

Each one is a MiniMove Body Move with its own page, steps and variations.

Legs

  1. 10 squats: about 20 seconds. Seated version: 10 sit-to-stands.
  2. 30-second wall sit: silent; all you need is a wall.
  3. 10 lunges: 5 per leg, about 30 seconds.
  4. 20 calf raises: slow on the way down, invisible in a queue.
  5. 10 glute bridges: on your back, hips up. A calm evening option.
  6. One-leg balance: 20 seconds per side.

Energy

  1. 20 jumping jacks: 20 seconds of energy.
  2. 30 seconds of high knees: run in place, knees up.
  3. 45 seconds of marching in place: gentle and quiet.
  4. 100 steps: a lap of the office, counted by your iPhone.
  5. One flight of stairs: about 45 seconds, confirmed by the altimeter.
  6. 30-second dance break: nobody's watching.
  7. 30 seconds of shadow boxing: jab, cross, hook.

Upper body and core

  1. 5 push-ups: knees down is perfect, or against a wall.
  2. 20-second plank: on your forearms, or hands on a table.
  3. 10 chair dips: hands on a stable chair without wheels.
  4. 10 slow crunches: slow tempo, relaxed neck.
  5. 30 seconds of arm circles: 15 seconds forward, 15 back.

Opt-in only

  1. 5 burpees: the hardest 25 seconds in the library. You have to switch them on.
  2. 30 seconds of small jumps: also opt-in, and hidden if you choose the no-jump option.

Live in a flat with downstairs neighbours? Our guide to quiet exercises for apartments lists the no-jump favourites. Working from a chair all day? See seated exercises for the seated version of each Move.

How to build your snack routine

  1. Pick three favourites. One for legs, one for energy, one for upper body. Fewer choices, faster action.
  2. Anchor them. Before opening a social app is the most frequent anchor you have. Coffee, the kettle and the lift work too.
  3. Keep them small. The rule is "a minute or less". If a snack feels like a gym session, you will skip it.
  4. Mix in calm days. On tired days, swap to a gentle option or a breathing Move. The habit matters more than the intensity.
  5. Look at the total, not the set. Ten squats is nothing. Ten squats, thirty times a day, is 300.

How MiniMove serves the snacks

MiniMove puts a snack in front of the apps you choose. Tap Instagram, do a Move of 90 seconds or less, and the app opens for the window you picked, counted in real use. Smart Mix rotates your Moves so you do not get bored, never suggests a hard Move like burpees unless you opted in, and favours calm Moves late at night. Everything goes into your Bank, so you can watch the squats add up.

Some apps only accept camera-counted push-ups, squats or sit-ups. If you are weighing that approach, see MiniMove vs PushUp Time.

Sources

  • Islam, H., Gibala, M. J., and Little, J. P. (2022). Exercise snacks: a novel strategy to improve cardiometabolic health. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 50(1). doi.org/10.1249/JES.0000000000000275
  • NHS, "Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64". nhs.uk
  • World Health Organization (2020). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. who.int