{"id":18731,"date":"2026-11-03T11:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=18731"},"modified":"2026-11-03T11:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:36:16","slug":"is-exercise-snacking-as-effective-as-a-traditional-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=18731","title":{"rendered":"Is Exercise Snacking as Effective as a Traditional Workout?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>Depending on your schedule and your mood, a full-length workout session may be the last thing you feel like doing. The good news? A new research study found that you don&#8217;t need hours to build strength; short sessions work, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--$?--><template id=\"B:1\"\/><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\"> (Photo: Ayana Underwood\/Canva)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published November 3, 2026 03:02AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When life gets in the way, it can be tough to stick to your usual workout routine\u2014but new research suggests you might not need to try to cram in your typical hour- or hours-long workout schedule.<\/p>\n<p>The study, published in the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1728869X26000821\"><i>Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness<\/i><\/a> in October 2026, found that exercising in short bursts throughout the day\u2014a practice sometimes called \u201cexercise snacking\u201d\u2014can be as beneficial as one long, continuous workout. In fact, exercise snacking may be more fun for some people, which could lead them to exercise more often.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea behind fragmented resistance training [or exercise snacking] is that there\u2019s more of this feeling of autonomy when you\u2019re achieving things on a regular basis,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/nyulangone.org\/doctors\/1376171181\/craig-a-pille\">Craig Pille, MD<\/a>, a sports medicine physician at NYU Langone, who was not involved in the study, told <i>Outside<\/i>. \u201cI think that changes the psychological burden of exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what to know about exercise snacking and how you can adapt it into your own workout routine,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>whether you\u2019re just trying to stay fit or prep for your next outdoor adventure.<\/p>\n<h2>Shorter Workouts Can Help You Build Muscle Over Time<\/h2>\n<p>The authors of the new study recruited 45 male college students at Tongji University in Shanghai, China, for involvement in the research. The students were put into one of three groups: a traditional resistance training group, a fragmented resistance training group (the exercise snacking group), or a control group. The participants in the two resistance training groups were asked to work out three days a week for eight weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Those in the traditional resistance training group completed their workouts by doing three sets of 20 squats all in one workout session, while those in the exercise snacking group performed one set of 20 squats at three different points throughout the day; they had at least a one-hour block of time between each squat session. During their final training session, participants filled out a questionnaire asking how much they enjoyed their workouts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cool thing about this study is that it shows that both groups had benefits. The results show that both [training plans] get you fairly equitable outcomes,\u201d Dr. Pille said. In other words, both groups saw comparable improvements in muscular strength compared with those in the control group. \u201cBut the difference was in an enjoyment scale survey,\u201d Dr. Pille continued. \u201cThe fragmented resistance training group scored a little bit higher.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>If Your Current Routine Feels Draining, Exercise Snacking May Be for You<\/h2>\n<p>There are a few limitations to note. \u201cThis is a pretty small sample size: 45 kids who already had some experience doing weight training,\u201d Dr. Pille said. \u201cAlso, the authors only looked at one real test, the back squat.\u201d The researchers also pointed out that because women weren\u2019t included in the study, the results may not be as applicable to them.<\/p>\n<p>But while we don\u2019t have enough research to say that exercise snacking is a good solution for <i>everyone<\/i>\u2014or even most people\u2014it\u2019s certainly safe to try if you\u2019re looking for ways to fit more movement into a busy schedule, Dr. Pille said.<\/p>\n<p>When you find yourself with ten minutes to spare, any kind of movement is better than no movement, he added. You could climb a few sets of stairs in between meetings to loosen up before a hike, do a set of ankle and hip mobility exercises before you head out for lunch if you\u2019re prepping for an upcoming run, or do some lower-body sessions in short bursts during your strength training days ahead of your next bike ride.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea here is what we preach all the time in sports medicine: movement is medicine. We want you to move your body,\u201d Dr. Pille said. \u201cExercise snacking makes this a little more achievable for people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Want more <\/b><b><i>Outside<\/i><\/b><b> health stories? <\/b><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/hub.outsideinc.com\/bodywork_newsletter_sign_up-0\"><b>Sign up for the Bodywork newsletter<\/b><\/a><b>. And for tips on how to train, fuel, and recover better, <\/b><b>sign up for the Sweat Science 101 newsletter<\/b><b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/health\/training-performance\/exercise-snacking\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Depending on your schedule and your mood, a full-length workout session may be the last thing you feel like doing. The good news? A new research study found that you don&#8217;t need hours to build strength; short sessions work, too. (Photo: Ayana Underwood\/Canva) Published November 3, 2026 03:02AM When life gets in the way, it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}