We all know we should exercise more, but the biggest psychological barrier for many is feeling like we just don’t have an hour to spare. If you’ve ever felt guilty about inactivity or struggled with time management, snacking on short bursts of physical activity may be the remedy.

A new term, exercise snacks, describes brief, intentional bursts of movement lasting five minutes or less that can easily be squeezed into even the busiest day. Unlike that “couch potato” type of snacking on junk foods, this form of “snacktivity” is a guilt-free approach that makes achieving better fitness feel doable.

What the Science Says

A rigorous systematic review and meta-analysis (Rodríguez et al., 2025), published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that exercise snacks significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in inactive adults.

Scientific data from 11 trials including 414 participants showed that adherence to exercise snacks was high, with 82.8% of participants sticking with it and completing the program. This highlights how feasible it is to fit short, frequent bouts of “snacktivity” into daily life.

Even if your schedule is hectic and free time is limited, exercise snacks make getting fitter seem possible. As the authors explain,

Exercise snacks may enhance adherence to regular physical activity by providing short, flexible exercise bouts that are easier to integrate into daily routines.

Snacktivity Counters Inactivity

The term “snacktivity” first appeared in sports-related science journals a few years ago, but this new (2025) meta-analysis brings together disparate research and shines a light on the benefits of exercise snacks.

How to Integrate Snacktivity Into Your Day:

Climb stairs in your office building or subway station.
Do bodyweight squats or jumping jacks at your desk.
Park farther away and take more steps to get somewhere.

Ultimately, when it comes to exercise snacks, frequency matters more than duration. Instead of carving out an hour at the gym, incorporate short bouts of movement (five minutes or less) into your routine at least twice a day, and make it a habit.

Why This Approach Works

Psychologically, snacking on exercise flips the workout script. It’s less about discipline or willpower and more about taking advantage of small windows of opportunity in a practical and realistic way.

Attainable goals spark motivation. A five-minute task feels manageable, and the “ding, ding, ding” feeling of successfully finishing an exercise snack releases the “reward molecule,” dopamine, which reinforces habit formation. These small wins build self-efficacy, the belief in your ability to succeed.

Physiologically, extremely minimal workouts can deliver major benefits. Just three 10-second stair climbs spread throughout your day can measurably improve CRF. These potent microbursts enhance mitochondrial function and oxygen utilization, the fundamental building blocks of peak performance in sports.

Snacking on Exercise Has Limitations

Exercise snacks may improve cardiorespiratory fitness in physically inactive adults. However, the evidence linking snacktivity to muscular endurance in older adults is limited. Additionally, exercise snacks don’t appear to improve cardiometabolic health markers significantly. That said, according to Rodríguez et al.,

The time-efficient nature of exercise snacks may help overcome common barriers to physical activity, such as perceived lack of time and low motivation.

Exercise snacks aren’t a full substitute for the recommended 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. Nevertheless, for physically inactive adults, or those currently unable to exercise for more than 5 minutes straight, snacktivity is a powerful on-ramp to fitness and habit formation.

Motivation Essential Reads

Related terms: Exercise snacks are planned bursts of movement that become a predictable habit. VILPA (vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity) refers to unplanned, spontaneous “sprints” such as running to catch a bus or dashing to find shelter in a downpour that also last less than 5 minutes. Both have benefits.

Take-Home Message

Exercise snacks may sound playful, but they’re grounded in solid science. As the latest (2025) systematic review and meta-analysis shows, even short bouts of movement can make a measurable difference, especially for people who don’t have enough time in the day for long workouts.

Remember: Cardiorespiratory fitness isn’t something you have to tackle in big blocks of time. You can nibble away at it through daily snacktivity.