Exercise Snacks You Can Do In 5 Minutes

If you’ve been wanting to get healthier but are pressed for time, now you’ve got no excuse! 5 minutes—that’s really all it takes to start improving your fitness. Start improving your health and wellness with these exercise snacks you can do in 5 minutes!

Do exercise snacks work?

I know, you might be asking, do these even work? There have been some studies that have shown that moving about throughout the day can be beneficial for your health in many ways, like lowering your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. If you want living proof, check out the centenarians in the Blue Zones for whom movement (gardening, walking, stair climbing) is just a natural part of the day.

Exercise snacks work because what we really want to combat is our sedentary lifestyles—desk jobs, sitting on the couch for hours, lying in bed a whole afternoon. If we incorporate physical activity throughout the day, even just for 5 minutes at a time, we will reap benefits in the long run. So are you excited to boost your fitness with a little bite-sized snack?

Please remember to consult with your health professional before you do any exercise, especially if you have any preexisting conditions!

1. 5 minutes of your favorite exercise moves

Even if you haven’t exercised in a while, or at all, you might have some moves that you find very doable, and actually even like. If not, take a look at these no-equipment exercises for beginners and see what you like from there. Do one or a combination of any of your favorite exercise moves for 5 minutes. Vary your rest period to your fitness level and how your body feels at the moment. If you feel more energetic, do around 40 seconds of work then 20 seconds of rest, if not, make it a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio if you like. For example:

• 30 seconds of squats, 30 seconds of rest, done repeatedly for 5 minutes
• 40 seconds of lunges, 20 seconds of rest, 40 seconds of crunches, 20 seconds of rest, both moves done alternately for 5 minutes
• 40 seconds of a standard plank, 20 seconds of rest, 40 seconds of push-ups, 20 seconds of rest, 40 seconds of bird-dogs and 20 seconds of rest, and whatever other moves you like for 5 minutes

Note that you have to keep proper form! This is one of the most important things to remember, especially for exercise newbies. Otherwise, the workout might backfire and you could end up injuring yourself. Change up your moves to make sure you’re motivated and that you target different muscle groups as well.

Related: Benefits of Having An Exercise Routine

2. HIIT Exercise Snacks Under 5 Minutes

High intensity interval training has become a favorite by many over the years. That’s because it increases your metabolism, reduce blood pressure, and is generally good for your body. It’s also been shown to slow aging. Best of all, you only have to do it for a few minutes—a few blood-pumping, sweat-inducing, heart-in-your-mouth minutes. But hey, you’re pressed for time, right? Why not get the maximum health benefits, or the most bang for your buck?

Note that you can apply this principle with many workouts or moves, as long as they allow you to be “explosive”, as this article from SELF says. The key is to do an activity hard and heavy for a short period of time, then adding some rest afterwards before doing it again. That means if you were doing jumping jacks, you’d do it as fast as you can (while still keeping good form) for let’s say, 20 seconds, then rest for another 20 seconds or half that time. So whatever you want to do to get your blood pumping, whether it’s a run, calisthenics, or skipping rope, you can apply the HIIT principles to it.

Here are some HIIT exercise snacks you can do in 5 minutes:

• Check out these free HIIT workouts from DAREBEE. You can filter by difficulty level and equipment. You can even do the exercise on their site, where you can set the timer and number of intervals you want to do.
• If you prefer a video, here’s one from Group HIIT that you can follow from your phone, laptop, or TV.
• If you like Fitness Blender like I do, check out their 5 Minutes to Slim HIIT Cardio workout!

When you get more comfortable with it, you might want to increase your time. If you’re working from home, you can totally do this in between tasks (especially if you don’t have any meetings and can wear sweats all day). But if you’re in the office, you might want to opt for other fitness snacks that won’t make you sweat through your corporate attire.

3. 5-Minute Stretch Snacks

Of course, you don’t want to do HIIT workouts throughout the day. When you want to take it easy, snack on these 5-minute stretches and improve your flexibility over time. The bonus is that it also helps you calm down, perfect for those days when you’re under stress or pressure!

Try these quick stretches for one of your exercise snacks throughout the day:

• Quick office standing stretches from Jenny Ford. If you want, do it with some of your colleagues. It’s just 5 minutes in a day!
• 70 different stretch exercises for just about any body part from DAREBEE
• 5-Minute yoga break from beyoutifulliving. This is a relaxing flow you can do on your desk chair!

4. Any active task for 5 minutes

Exercise snacks don’t just mean fancy exercise moves. You can also get creative and find ways to move your body by doing things that you love throughout the day, such as:

• taking a walk, or walking your dog
• dancing to your favorite song (if you have kids, do it with them!)
• playing with a hula hoop (another fun activity you can do with your kids)
• cleaning your house while playing music (maybe this isn’t something you love, but least you’re hitting 2 birds with one stone, right?)
• doing some pilates or stretches while watching TV

And make sure to choose ways to keep you active, like:

• taking the stairs instead of the elevator
• walking to your colleagues office instead of calling them
• not fighting the urge to use the washroom (which you shouldn’t do anyway)
• pacing around the room or foam rolling while having a meeting
• using a standing desk at least half of the day

What you want to do is ensure some movement in your day instead of sitting or lounging all day long. Get creative with your exercise snacking! Once you get used to it, your body will start to crave the movement and even enjoy it!

5. Strength-building snacks

Want to increase your strength for just 5 minutes a day? Make sure you have a few of these bite-sized strength routines throughout the week:

• Do a combination of these moves to work your whole body in 5 minutes (making sure to add periods of rest in between each move!)
• Work on your core by trying this 5-minute ab workout from XHIT
• A full-body workout using only body weight from Well+Good

Start these exercise snacks you can do in 5 minutes

We all want to be healthier than we are, but sometimes, life gets in the way. Whether it’s due to raising kids or having a demanding job, sometimes finding an hour or a half in our busy schedules is impossible. Spreading a 30-minute workout into 5-minute snacks throughout the day makes it more doable. Don’t feel constricted to 5 minutes though. If you’re feeling extra strong, you can increase the time or add more exercise snacks throughout your day. You’ll reap more benefits of course!

I would recommend to set alarms every hour or so to remind yourself to move, especially if you have a desk job. If you work from home, roll out your exercise mat near your work area so you can transition to your routine in zero time. Plus, it also reminds you to keep snacking!

So what are you waiting for? Get fit with these exercise snacks you can do in 5 minutes!

If you like this, you’ll like How To Overcome Excuses To Exercise.