When life gets in the way, it can be tough to stick to your usual workout routine—but new research suggests you might not need to try to cram in your typical hour- or hours-long workout schedule. The study, published in the Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness in October 2026, found that exercising in short bursts throughout the day—a practice sometimes called “exercise snacking”—can 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.
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.
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. The results show that both [training plans] get you fairly equitable outcomes,” Dr.
In other words, both groups saw comparable improvements in muscular strength compared with those in the control group. But while we don’t have enough research to say that exercise snacking is a good solution for everyone—or even most people—it’s certainly safe to try if you’re looking for ways to fit more movement into a busy schedule, Dr. 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’re 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. We want you to move your body,” Dr. And for tips on how to train, fuel, and recover better, .
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