What is exercise snacking?
No, it’s not food.
It’s a catchy term used to entice humans to see short bursts of frequent exercise throughout the day as a treat rather than a chore.
Exercise snacking is deliberately finding ways to be physically active every 30 to 90 min in whatever you’re wearing and wherever you are, without the need of any special equipment.
Why should we snack on exercise?

This energy increase during a stressor can lead to several problems:
Too much glycoprotein
Firstly, there is an increase of glycoprotein past the normal levels. This ‘sticky protein’ is essential in our body in the correct amount, but with elevated blood sugar levels, the increase causes several problems.
Too much glycoprotein in our brain can contribute to mental fatigue and memory problems. This in turn leads to poor decision making, which increases stress, which increases blood sugar…
Excess glycoprotein will also eventually contribute to developing neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s (now often called type 3 diabetes), Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis (MS).
High glycoprotein levels can weaken the blood-brain barrier and put your brain at higher risk of neurotoxins, further increasing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders.
Reduced insulin sensitivity
When your blood sugar goes up and does not quickly get used by your cells, your body responds by increasing insulin to ask cells to take up glucose.
When the cells are already filled to the brim with glucose, they refuse the request from insulin to store more. This increases insulin levels in an effort to force cells to store more
glucose.
At some point, the cells start to stand their ground quite firmly, refusing the orders from insulin and this is then referred to as insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is a hallmark of metabolic syndrome, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes and a significant drop in quality of life. Insulin resistance also contributes to heart disease, non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis, PCOS, and triggers the development of several cancers.
And to think, all of this can be prevented, treated or managed through purely just snacking on exercise.
How often?
No medication known to man is more powerful at preventing and treating as many diseases and disease states than exercise.
The frequency and intensity of exercise snacking should ideally match the intensity of the stress you’re going through. Working on a very serious proposal: snack every 30 min or so. Doing your normal 9 – 5: get your body moving at least every 90 min.
Exercise as a separate activity a couple of times a week, or limiting your physical activities to the weekend does not have the same benefit.
You want to use the blood sugar at the same time as when your body has gifted it to you. You really should not go more than 90 min without exercise snacking.
At a push, maybe on a road trip, you can stretch these periods a bit, but there are some exercise snacks you can take even in the car (think kegels, ladies).

2025 – The year of the Exercise Snack
If you’re like most, your grandiose new year’s resolutions are already starting to slip backstage. This is because, for most, it turns out you don’t have more time and energy, with less pressure, than you did last year.
Exercise snacking, though, is not a grand gesture. It is a fun, quick, and easily available elixir to energise you physically and mentally. It is a reliable tonic to improve productivity, support healthy weight management, maintain muscle mass,and prevent neurodegenerative disorders, lifestyle
diseases and cancer.
No medication has ever come close, and from today it is available to you at the unbelievable price of… wait for it… absolutely, unconditionally, nothing.
Exercise Snack Recipes
Hopefully by now you are motivated enough to look up exercise snacks which will work for you. Chances are you already have a few in mind. To get things going, here are a few basic examples:
Here are 10 easy exercise snacks anyone can do at home or in the office:
1. Stair climbing:
Take the stairs instead of the elevator for a quick cardio boost. A good exercise snack will be about 6 flights of stairs, and going up and down the same flight a few times is well worth considering.

2. Desk push-ups:
Place your hands on the edge of your desk and perform push-ups to work your chest, shoulders, and arms.

3. Chair squats:
Stand up from your chair, lower yourself until you’re almost seated, then stand back up. Repeat 10-15 times.

4. Seated leg extensions:
While sitting, extend one leg straight out in front of you, hold for a few seconds, then lower. Alternate legs.

5. Jumping jacks:
Do a quick set of 20-30 jumping jacks to get your heart rate up.

6. Wall sit:
Lean your back against a wall with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Hold this position for 30 seconds or more.

7. Desk planks:
Place your forearms on your desk and walk your feet back until your body forms a straight line. Hold for 30 seconds, rest, repeat.

8. Seated torso twists:
Sit up straight and twist your upper body to one side, then the other. Repeat 10 times on each side.

9. Calf raises:
Stand up and rise onto your toes, then lower back down. Repeat 15-20 times.

10. Chair or desk dips:
Using a sturdy chair, place your hands on the seat arms or the desk behind your body, with your hands facing the front. Lower your body by bending your elbows to 90 degrees. Try to keep your bent elbows directly above your wrists. Push back up and repeat 8-10 times.

These exercise snacks can be done in short bursts throughout the day, helping to break up long periods of sitting and to keep you active without disrupting your work routine.
* Please do get advice from a biokineticist or similar if you’ve been inactive and need to work on tailor-made snack recipes. Our biokineticists at Hoogland can assist during any visit and can help adapt them to your specific requirements.