GrandmaSTRONG ‘Strength Snacks’ 28-Day Challenge

Don’t discount the small, discount the not at all.
Sheree King

So what’s “Strength Snacks” you ask?

Well simply put… It’s doing a little bit of something throughout the day

Think about it, our modern lifestyle can see us spending up to 15 hours a day sitting in a chair, with this inactivity taking a toll on both our body and mind.

Consider how we lived 50 or a 100+ years ago without many of the modern conveniences that give huge benefits on one hand, but have paved the way for a sedentary lifestyle on the other.

Compare that to todays construction, agricultural and other manual labouring workers who regularly have days of almost continuous movement. They maintain stronger bodies that can functionally move and respond when called upon without breaking (and yes, those long days of continued movement can lead to repetitive strain injuries).

What then, if you peppered throughout your day short bursts (2-5mins) of activity (Multi-Micro-Workouts or as we call them “Daily Strength Snacks”) between the longer periods (1-2+hrs) of inactivity, would that functionally benefit, strengthen and condition your body?

WHY?

There are many significant benefits that “Daily Strength Snack” workouts achieve:

INCREDIBLE CUMULATIVE TRAINING EFFECT – When completed throughout the day they obtain an incredible cumulative training effect, essentially banking a lot of strength, power and explosiveness without prompting the stress hormone producing and muscle cell depleting that comes from the high intensity hour gym session.
COMPLEMENT NOT CONFLICT WITH WORKOUTS – Additionally, they complement not conflict with your regular 20+min workouts during the week. I.E. Doing a day (or morning/afternoon) of micro workouts isn’t going to see your body fatigued for your next SpiceSTRONG 20+min workout.
COUNTERACT PROTRACTED PERIODS OF STILLNESS – Possibly the greatest benefit is that they counteract the acute health hazard of protracted periods of stillness that has become typical of the modern life. Studies identify that even a few days of inactivity can result in a significant reduction in glucose tolerance and heightened insulin resistance ☛.
Incorporating “Daily Strength Snack” workouts as a regular habit you’ll notice tangible changes in your body, eg getting up from your chair or work desk after an extended period and hustling up or down a flight of stairs without hearing the usual creaks and cracks of an ageing body.
STIMULATE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM – Because “Daily Strength Snack” workouts are undertaken at a moderate or above intensity level, they stimulate the cardio respiratory system. These regular workouts throughout the day have a cumulative effective that enhances your aerobic system.
BURN FAT – “Daily Strength Snack” workouts will stimulate the body to burn fat. There is still however the age old rule of energy in vs energy out, ie don’t eat more than your body is utilising in a day. Whilst they can be a great starting point for some, “Daily Strength Snack” workouts work best when complementing an existing regular workout routine. In this instance, the “Daily Strength Snack” workouts become that bonus afterburner you employ to burn any unwanted excess you’re carrying, let alone the significant benefits identified above.
STRENGTHEN NEURO MUSCULAR MOVEMENT PATHWAYS – Undertaking specific exercises in this way is an excellent way to strengthen new functional movement patterns by not only practicing them more frequently, but as they’re undertaken in a relaxed and shorter timeframe, this allows form, technique and neuro-muscular pathways to be sharpened. Alternatively, typical workout sessions are longer, were exercise fatigue can lead to poor technique and possible injury.
ENLARGE YOUR MINDSET ENDURANCE LEVEL – It’s a great way to create some mind (physical) endurance ☛. Workouts/exercise is primarily set in units and quantities ie. I’m doing X reps of an exercise for X rounds and/or X time, and generally to a certain level of fatigue. So at anytime your mind knows what you can do (how hard that activity should feel) and anything beyond that is unknown and considered potentially threatening, off putting or impossible. So when exercise is shifted from set units/quantities and into an open ended environment (eg. “Daily Strength Snack” workouts throughout the day) there is an association (mindset) change to the exercise/effort and perceived outcome (belief in ability to complete, endure or even tackle). So instead of ‘the most I can do is X quantity for Y time,’ I can now ‘do X for as long as is needed,’ as the brain reflects on past experience to assess how hard an activity should feel and corresponding ability to complete and endure.
Let’s consider this in an everyday situation. In a gym session you’re asked to complete step-ups for as long as you can, your mind says… I’ve done this before in a workout session for a few minutes with short breaks between each minute, so I reckon 5-10mins is gonna be where it’ll get too hard. Here, a ceiling is being set in your mind based on past feeling, pain required and effort needed.
On the other hand, you’re invited to go on a day walk to a local mountain/hilltop. A similar type of movement, however your mind says… I’ve done “Daily Strength Snack” workouts like this many times where I completed 2mins of step-ups at home throughout the day every 1-2hrs, so I can handle this and last the distance, no problem.
RESET YOUR STRESS RESPONSE – There are two types of stress responses ‘Distress’ and ‘Eustress’ ☛. Distress has a negative effect that can cause you to give in, where as eustress is considered manageable and can build endurance/resilience. How you perceive and fall into either response is generally governed by the predictability and control you have of the situation at hand.
So as we undertake workouts/exercise/shorter physically demanding activities, and particularly during those first periods or things we haven’t done before or in a while, there’s a distressed response created, so our brain thinks ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry’ and ramps up the epinephrine (ie. adrenaline) and cortisol as its unsure how you’ll cope and your ability to control the outcome. As a consequence this additional adrenaline and cortisol in the body has knock-on effects with weight control, sleep, recovery and more.
Now consider exercise/physical activities over an extended period throughout a day, construction workers, farmers, labourers and of course multi-micro workouts. Here, the brain has a far more relaxed response as it knows the outcome and can control the effort. Instead, norepinephrine (ie. noradrenaline) and significantly less cortisol is released and no anxiety is triggered just an ability to complete the task (even over and above what was expected) efficiently.

Are these workouts right for me?

“Daily Strength Snack” workouts are not intended as a replacement for structured workouts/exercise throughout the week. They come into their best when complementing an existing workout/exercise plan.

All that being said, is this additional type of workout right for you? Consider then:

TOO BUSY FOR FITNESS – If you’re busy and find it hard to start and maintain a workout and fitness lifestyle, “Daily Strength Snack” workouts can be a great place to start. Don’t discount the cumulative effect throughout the day.
FITNESS ISN’T A PRIORITY – Perhaps fitness has never been high on your priority list, “Daily Strength Snack” workouts peppered through your day is a great taste and see test.
CAN’T STICK TO THE PLAN – Do you plan to workout everyday then it just falls apart, resulting in stress, overwhelm and feelings of failure as your intended 30+min workout keeps getting put on the back burner because it will take you away from immediate tasks, deadlines and pressures. Try “Daily Strength Snack” workouts, you’re not only going to get the cumulative physical benefit, but there’s also an immediate endorphin and blood flow kick that’ll give a mini mind reset, help stress feelings, enhance creativity and give you a sense of achievement.
I ALREADY EXERCISE – Maybe you already have a regular walking, cycling, kayaking regime which whilst more for fun than simple exercise, you realise that for an ageing body you need to add strength training, however you’re battling time and intent. “Daily Strength Snack” workouts are an ideal way of adding strength workouts to this already established exercise you’re doing.
WHO DOES WORKOUTS ON HOLIDAYS – When on holidays established workout habits can easily take a back seat. Hey, it’s holidays so there’s so much to do, or not to do, right? “Daily Strength Snack” workouts are both a great way around the busyness of sightseeing and pleasures of simply relaxing, whilst at the same time maintaining fitness levels and conditioning.
THE BIG EVENT – Then there’s that ‘big event’ on the horizon and you want to double down to be in the best shape. Whether its a dress or a mountain hike, adding “Daily Strength Snack” workouts to an existing program is not only going to ignite the after burners to any fat burn or muscle tone, it’s also going to heighten your endurance level and ability to respond to whatever physical challenge is thrown your way.

What Prompts the ‘Snack’ time?

The ‘Prompt’ is simply a reminder, motivator, spark and/or trigger that you put in place to undertake these “Daily Strength Snack” workouts periodically throughout the day. Examples could be:

A timer (watch, phone etc) set for as many periods throughout the day as you desire.
Perhaps its stairs, back door, fridge, etc that every time you walk past, through or use, you undertake the “Daily Strength Snack” workouts. Obviously not enough to be overwhelming.
Alternatively, place a piece of equipment in a location you know you’ll walk by regularly, so when you see that kettlebell, weight, fitball etc away you go.
Triggers can be set times, ie. hourly or 2+ hourly intervals, or simply random intervals throughout your day, there is no ideal other than the act of doing it.

So think about what ‘motivator’ would walk for you and try it, today.

HOW?

Here’s how to get started:

ESTABLISH YOUR MOTIVATOR – Simply what ever you know will work. See above for examples.
PICK AN EXERCISE – Generally, choose a movement that works a lot of big muscle groups and can be done safely without a warmup. EG bodyweight squats, lunges, pushups, step-ups, pullups, dips etc (with their many variations), or alternatively utilise simple equipment like a kettlebell, dumbell, band, fitball, sliders etc. Mix in equal amounts of upper and lower body exercises along with any favourite mobility movements.
DECIDE YOUR REPS, SETS, TIME AND FREQUENCY – Having a specific number isn’t critical as you’re seeking to make the movement stay within a moderate physical effort. IE. Staying at a level where you don’t feel a significant “muscle burn,” and you’re nowhere near failure. For time seek to workout for 2-5mins and as a general rule, it’s better to do multiple sets of lower reps than one long set of a bunch of reps. The frequency, four, five ten times throughout the day, or a few times in the morning before a 20min workout in the arvo or vice versa. There’s no rule other than taking advantage of the time you have. However, daily cumulative benefits only occur when there are multiple actions.
A cautionary guide on frequency:
- For workouts in the 2-3min range, you can achieve and more importantly sustain a significantly increased frequency. IE every hour, meaning anywhere from a 20-30+ minutes of “Daily Strength Snack” workouts could be completed within a 12hr period.
- For workouts in the 4-5min range, decrease the frequency keeping it safe and sustainable. It only needs 4-6 “Daily Strength Snack” workouts throughout the day to achieve a typical 20-30+ minute session.
- When adding this to an existing weekly workout/exercise routine there are many variations that could apply. Mix it up and find what works for you so you don’t adversely impact but compliment these already establish routines.
MODERATE INTENSITY ONLY – “Daily Strength Snack” workouts should always be undertaken at a moderate not high or low intensity. As a simple ‘Max Heart Rate’ and ‘Talk Test’ guide:
- Low, could be defined as your heart operating at 40 to 75 percent max and you can easily talk and sing while exercising without running out of breath. Multi-micro workouts at this intensity have a significantly less cumulative effect. Even though you’re moving it could be comparable to undertaking general housework, which your body is already acclimatised too.
  HOWEVER, if undertaking a day of “Daily Strength Snack” RECOVERY workouts these would be undertaken at a low intensity.
- Moderate, could be defined as your heart operating at 50 to 70 percent max and you can comfortably chat, but you can’t sing any more than a few words without running out of breath. This is the optimal intensity where cumulative benefit, maximised time and minimal risk, reaps the greatest rewards.
- High, could be defined as your heart operating at 70 to 85 percent max and you can’t say any more than a few words without having to pause to breathe. Here, you’re taking your body to a repeated red zone throughout the day where 4 key elements are at play or danger:
  - Any high intensity workouts should be preceded by a period of warm up.
  - Correspondingly, there should be a period of stretching and cooling down post workout.
  - Undertaking neither of the above heightens the risk of injury.
  - By adding warm up and cool down periods, the time taken means the workouts cease be “Daily Strength Snacks” and thereby not easily peppered throughout a day. Additionally, in all likelihood for the sake of time you’d simply skip the warm up and cool downs making the impact of “Daily Strength Snack” workouts at this intensity dangerous.