Not everyone has time to go to the gym, but most of us can find five minutes to squeeze in some movement.
Breaking up prolonged periods of inactivity with short bursts of activity is known as exercise snacking, and it has all kinds of benefits, like boosting your energy levels throughout the day.
“I love exercise snacking—especially for people who have sedentary jobs, because it’s easy to sneak five minutes in a couple of times a day, but not always so easy to get away to the gym for 30 minutes,” says personal trainer Tara De Leon.
“Small, frequent movement breaks, especially if you’re doing something cardiovascular, like walking, can help regulate blood sugar and improve your cardiovascular health.”
If you want a quick routine that will challenge your mid-body muscles, try this five-minute deep core workout from Pilates instructor and physiotherapist Lilly Sabri.
It targets muscles like your transversus abdominis (side-lying abdominal muscles), multifidus (spinal support muscles) and pelvic floor muscles.
Five-minute deep core workout
There are nine moves in this workout and the goal is to complete each one for 30 seconds before moving onto the next.
If you find you need a longer rest, press pause and give yourself a break.
Sabri also includes modifications throughout, so you can opt for easier versions of each exercise.
The instructor says doing it regularly will strengthen your mid-body muscles and improve your posture.
The benefits of exercise snacking
“Exercise snacks are super beneficial,” says De Leon. “They’re time-efficient, non-intimidating, they boost your energy throughout the day, help you improve your consistency and are great for metabolic health.”
Structuring your exercise into short bouts throughout the day is similar to doing more vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA).
VILPA refers to short, one to two-minute bursts of intense physical activity that are performed throughout the day as part of daily living rather than during structured exercise.
This could include running to catch a bus or carrying heavy groceries to and from your car.
According to 2024 research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, you only need to do very small amounts of VILPA, approximately 1.5 to 4 minutes per day, to substantially lower your risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events.
