Are “Exercise Snacks” Actually Effective? Here’s What Pros Say

Did someone say snacks? It’s a yes from us, every day of the week. Exercise snacks, on the other hand, raise a few questions. This trendy term for super-short bursts of movement throughout the day is making its rounds as a viral workout trend, and we can see why. We don’t all have the time or flexibility for an extended workout session, but we can spare the odd few minutes at various points in our schedule.

They’re definitely convenient and attainable, but are exercise snacks an effective way to stay fit? To find out, we reached out to two fitness experts to get their takes. 

The Experts

• Corry Matthews, MS, fitness, nutrition, and hormone health expert, co-founder of Strength & Grace Fitness
• Victor Kanashiro, NASM-certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor at RISE Fitness, and a doctoral candidate in Physical Therapy with a background in Exercise Science

An Overview of the Exercise Snack Trend

We’ll put it this way: if an hour-long gym sesh is a meal, a quick plank between Zoom meetings is a snack. "Movement snacks are short bursts of movement spread throughout the day, like taking a walk during lunch or doing a quick set of push-ups after work. They’re designed as quick, accessible workouts that don’t require a continuous one to two-hour session,” says Kanashiro.

“Exercise snacks are one of the most effective ways to help busy adults stay consistent with movement because they remove the pressure of the all-or-nothing fitness mindset,” says Matthews. “Many people believe exercise only ‘counts’ if it’s a full hour at the gym, but short bouts of movement throughout the day can still provide meaningful benefits for heart health, muscle maintenance, mobility, energy, and overall wellbeing.”

Between fitness influencers and marathon culture and Pilates princesses and God-knows-what-else, it’s easy for us all to feel like we’re failing at exercise. Exercise snacks take away that pressure: “For many adults balancing work, family, and daily responsibilities, finding multiple 5- to 10-minute windows for movement is often far more realistic and sustainable than trying to carve out an uninterrupted workout. The goal is to normalize movement as part of daily life rather than viewing fitness as something that only happens during a formal workout session,” says Matthews.

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Key Benefits of Exercise Snacks

Compared to full-blown workouts, exercise snacks offer a few major perks: 

• Attainability: “What makes exercise snacks so helpful is that they lower the barrier to getting started. For many busy adults, finding multiple small opportunities to move is more realistic than committing to a full workout,” says Matthews. 
• Time-efficiency: “For people with busy schedules, movement snacks offer a simple way to stay active and incorporate exercise into daily life without needing to carve out large blocks of time," says Kanashiro. 
• Consistency and cumulative benefits: “I like to remind people that once one movement habit feels automatic, then you add another. Small actions compounded over time create meaningful results,” says Matthews. 

Are Exercise Snacks Effective for Weight Loss?

Many of us are aiming to reach a healthy weight with our workout routines. Could exercise snacks be enough? 

“Exercise snacks can be a really effective strategy for weight loss because they help people increase overall daily movement in a way that feels realistic and sustainable. One of the biggest misconceptions is that weight loss requires long, intense workouts, but often the bigger challenge is consistency,” says Matthews. 

“Weight loss ultimately comes down to creating a calorie deficit over time, and increasing daily movement plays a role in that. Short bouts of activity throughout the day—whether it’s a 5- or 10-minute walk, bodyweight exercises, or simply increasing overall steps—all contribute to energy expenditure,” says Matthews. 

Kanashiro notes that exercise snacks likely won’t result in weight loss alone. “They would need to be paired with longer sessions for the average person to stay healthy. At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week in order to effectively support long-term health.”

The bottom line? Movement snacks are a solid way to increase your activity levels and burn more calories, but you may need more intense sessions sprinkled in to achieve significant weight loss. 

Movement Snack Examples to Kick-Start Your Routine

Ready to snack, but not sure where to start? Our pros provided several ideas to help get you moving in your next spare 5 minutes. 

Walking

No surprises here: this one’s our favorite. "The easiest example of a movement/exercise snack is walking. Walking is accessible, simple, and only requires putting on clothes and shoes. Setting goals can make it more effective and help keep weekly targets achievable,” says Kanashiro. “For example, you could aim for 30 minutes of walking per day and break it into three 10-minute walks before work, during lunch, and after work,” he adds. 

Matthews offers these ideas to incorporate some step-snacks into your day-to-day:

• Parking farther from the entrance at work or stores
• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
• A quick walk around the block during lunch
• Walking while taking phone calls

Get your friends in on the walking-snack action with a free Stridekick challenge!

Cardio

Short bursts of cardio are way less daunting than an all-out run or intense cycling session. Think kitchen dance break, a minute of jumping jacks, or jogging up the stairs. But it doesn’t even have to be that intense: “10-minute walk still counts as cardiovascular activity, and those minutes add up,” says Matthews. 

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Resistance Training

“Exercise snacks can work for both cardio and resistance training, which is part of what makes them so practical,” says Matthews. Here are her suggestions for quick bursts of resistance that won’t derail your schedule:

• Squats while coffee brews
• Counter or wall push-ups in the kitchen while microwaving your food
• Wall sits while brushing teeth
• Sit-ups, crunches, or a plank during TV commercials
• Bodyweight lunges incorporated into your walk

Looking for a deeper dive into quick workouts you can do from home? Check out our blog article: The Best 10-Minute Workouts, According to Pros

Closing Tips From Our Pros

We’re sending you off on your movement snacking routine with these last few nuggets of knowledge from our experts:

Habit-Stack While You Snack. 

“One of my favorite ways to help people build exercise into a busy schedule is to ‘habit stack’ movement onto something they already do every day,” says Matthews. “For example, I’ll ask someone if they brew coffee every morning. If they do, Monday might become squat day while the coffee brews. Tuesday could be counter push-ups. Wednesday might be a quick set of crunches or a plank in the living room.”

“These are simple, full-body movements that don’t require equipment and can be done almost anywhere. (and can be attached to any other type of activity),” she adds. 

Snack Outside. 

Weather allowing, Kanashiro recommends bringing your exercise snacks outside for the best possible experience. "During the winter, colder or more extreme temperatures can make it harder or even unsafe to get outside, but spring [and summer] offer more comfortable conditions and a better opportunity to be outdoors.”

“In addition to movement snacks, you can also benefit from getting more vitamin D and fresh air. Longer daylight hours in the spring also make it easier for people working a typical 9-to-5 schedule to go outside after work. In contrast, winter days are shorter and often already dark by the time work ends, which can reduce motivation to get outside and stay active," he adds. 

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Don’t Get Hung Up on Equipment.

“Exercise snacks are incredibly easy because they don’t require a gym or equipment. Bodyweight movements like squats, push-ups, wall sits, lunges, planks, or sit-ups can all be done in short bursts at home or at work. I often tell people: if you have a floor, you can exercise. Movement doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective,” says Matthews. 

Stridekick Shop Picks: Actual Snacks to Fuel Your Exercise Snacks

All this snack talk has us hungry. Check out these faves from our Shop for a solid combo of flavor, nutrition, and snackability:

• Legendary Foods’ Nacho Cheese Popped Protein Chips, with 20g protein, 3g net carbs, and a whole lot of cheesy crunch
• Olyra’s Cinnamon Tahini Breakfast Biscuits, with a deep, complex blend of warming cinnamon and nutty tahini, plus stone-milled spelt, oat, barley, and lupine for 5g of plant-based protein and 4g fiber
• Barebells Cookies & Caramel, a protein bar (20g) with only 1 to 2g of sugar and a candy-bar taste to satisfy your sweet tooth

Browse our huge collection of crave-worthy snacks online at the Stridekick Shop!