If I only had 1 hour each week to exercise, how would I spend it? 1 straight hour in the gym or 4x 15 minute sessions across the week?

In the long run, the 4 movement “snacks” each week will yield more benefit. These movement snacks could be things like:

  • A 10 minute walk in your lunch break
  • A 10 minute yoga/mobility session off YouTube before you go to bed
  • A walking coffee date/phone catch up
  • 5 minutes of stretching in your office chair 3-4 times each day
  • Walking laps of the oval whilst the kids are at training

You’re busy, there’s lots going on – you can’t find time to exercise. Just thinking about when you’ll get time to do it causes you stress. Finding these smaller windows throughout the week is a great place to start.

Some small sacrifices in the short term bring great benefits in the medium term. All of a sudden your patchy sleep disappears, so getting out of bed in the morning gets easier; your stress levels reduce as you’re taking some time for you and not letting everyone else dictate your day; some of the aches and pains disappear off the back of some regular movement.

The compounding effect of these and the other benefits that regular movement brings then lead us to want to incorporate more exercise into our week:

  • That 15 minute walk first thing each morning is less of a struggle, and now you’re sleeping better it’s easier to get up, so extending it to 30 minutes is easy
  • The 10 minute mobility routine you downloaded and work through before bed each night has reduced your lower back soreness, so you’re ready for the next step to keep building your strength and resilience
  • The 10 minute walk in your lunch break helped clear your head and power through your afternoon. You start to explore options to conduct some meetings on the move or use your “mobile” phone and take a walk on a few phone calls.

Repetition builds habits, so the more frequently we can get those habits in the frame each week, the more likely we are to make them stick. The chances of something getting in the way of that 1 hour weekly workout are high, and then what? Finding 15 minutes later in the day/the next day if you miss your session is way easier!!

On balance, the convenience of modern-day living has made us more sedentary than ever before. Showing my age sure – but even something as “unhealthy” as takeaway pizza night back in my younger years involved some incidental exercise:

  • You rang the pizza shop and ordered your pizza
  • You walked to your car to drive to pick it up
  • You parked and walked to the shop to get it

Now, you reach for your phone, order it online and argue about whose turn it is to get off the couch to answer the door when the delivery arrives.

It’s therefore more important than ever to consider your incidental activity levels when it comes to your general well-being.

As a gym owner, of course I will encourage you to join a gym and have a coach help you on your journey, that in itself will fast track your progress. We start a number of our clients out on 2x 30 minute sessions per week and map out your week for you, help put a plan together and keep you accountable to that plan. Equally, we modify that plan for you if it’s not working, your circumstances change, or progress it when you’re ready.

If you’re not there just yet, consider incorporating some simple movement snacks into your week. 10-15 minutes each day is worth setting aside for the improved quality of life that comes from it.