The Power of “Movement Snacks”
So, you finally cleaned your wellness act…meal prepping is on, you are in control of your cravings, and got to hit the gym 4 times this week. You got this, motivation is on! Next week, you get to the office, a deadline comes out of nowhere: panic. You won’t make it in time for the cycling class, but you will do it tomorrow, all good. Tomorrow comes, and the car pool for the kids’ sports practice fell through. You will have to take them, no Strength class, and another day with no exercise. Guilt and self doubt start to creep in, motivation wanes creating anxiety, and an “all or nothing mentality”: If I can’t workout 4 times a week for an hour at least, what is the point, right? WRONG. Your body can benefit from shorter movement “snacks” throughout the day. It improves concentration and strength, decompresses stress levels and releases endorphins…why leave that to just once a day and with so many conditions? Also, you can’t rely only on motivation for lifestyle change, it is discipline and habit. A good idea is to get into a Movement Snack Protocol. The fun part? You get to create it yourself. These are the conditions:
You have to be able to do it anytime and anywhere (hello there travelers, no excuses!)
No friction: doesn’t require a specific place, set time, trainer, specific clothes
They can only be between 3-10 minutes, bonus points if at least one is outside
You have to do them everyday
Congratulations, you just built yourself a baseline! Anything else you do on top of this, will just make you feel better, but you will not feel guilty/bad if for any reason you cannot get to it. You already got the benefits of movement and you gained a sense of control vs “the day just got away from me”. Huge mindset change! Play with your snacks, change them up, try some new ones…soon you will find idle time in your day, and intuitively you will start to move. That’s what you want: a moving body. Ready to get your movement snack on?
Agustina
Ps: Mine include balance exercises or plie squats while I brush my teeth (2-3 mins), walk the dog mid morning as a coffee break (10 mins), abs routine before lunch (10 mins: 5 movements for 1 minute, 2 times through - does not get easier than that), 7 yoga poses before bed (7 minutes). Happy Snacking!