5 'Exercise Snacks' You Can Easily Perform for Heart Health

Giselle Castro-Sloboda of cnet.com shares easy "exercise snacks" that can help get your blood pumping, improve cardiovascular fitness and provide the same benefits as a longer workout.

Photo Creds: goodhousekeeping.com

Exercise snacks are short bursts of vigorous exercise lasting 1 minute or less done intermittently throughout the day. For those who either don't have the time of day to exercise or simply don't like long periods of physical activity, exercise snacks could be the perfect solution. In fact, brief, vigorous movements throughout the day can have the same benefits as a traditional, longer workout. 

A UK study found that those who participated in vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (three bouts of 1 to 2 minutes of vigorous exercise daily) reduced their risk of death from cancer or other causes by 38% to 40%. It also found that participants reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 48% to 49%. Another study examined healthy older adults and observed how exercise snacking improved their leg muscle power and size over the 28-day program. In other words, you can still get all the benefits of exercise snacking regardless of your age or fitness level. 

If you don't have time to follow an hour-long workout routine, try doing exercise snacks to reap the heart health benefits. Below are ideas to get you started that are easy enough to do anywhere throughout the day.