Every year we see new wellness trends popping up. I personally love experimenting with these health/wellness trends, mostly so I can do more research and be able to recommend things to my clients with more conviction (and avoid recommending those trends which I see as unsustainable or not so healthy), and of course, for my personal benefit, too!
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR RECENT HEALTH & WELLNESS TRENDS?
These are my favorite recent trends that I believe will be here to stay in 2023 (and beyond):
Note: I’ll be doing a series of blogs going deeper into many of these trends, so please reply / message me letting me know which topics you’d like me to write on!
Today I want to shed light on a NEW “hot” wellness trend that seems to be trending for 2023 (that began to get popular last year), and that is the concept of “movement snacks”.
WHAT ARE “MOVEMENT SNACKS”?
Also known as exercise snacks, they refer to mini workouts of 3-15 minutes (or up to 30 mins) that you can do throughout your day (or just once, too!). Movement Snacks are great to help counteract all the sitting down at our computers or cellphones, and it’s a way to give us an energy boost instead of relying on food or caffeine. Also, it can be a better, more doable alternative to a one-hour workout that many of us don’t have the time for.
Even if you do make time for your one hour fitness classes (like I do), movement snacks are still amazing to add into your routine to amp up your daily exercise, help stabilize blood sugar, keep energy levels up and more! For example, you can do your full hour workout in the morning, then add in a 10 minute movement snack at 4 or 5pm.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO MOVEMENT SNACKS?
Help with blood sugar balance (a lot!). Even a 5 minute workout after your meals can help stabilize blood sugar (which is soooo important!)
Perfect fitness alternative for people who don’t have the time to fit in a full hour workout in the gym. You break it down into 2 or 3 mini 10 minute workouts that you can do from your home or office and still get huge benefits
Help counteract all the sitting down at our computers or cellphones, preventing back /neck/shoulder soreness, bad posture, etc., that can come from sitting down too long
Literally work as a SNACK - giving us an energy boost mid-afternoon or mid-morning when we’re starting to feel the energy slump - instead of relying on food or caffeine.
Opportunity to get up, get fresh air, move around and take a mini break from work (yet keeping it productive!)
Mentally, its way easier and linked to a positive mindset shift – instead of viewing your workouts as “exercise” that you force yourself to do for weight loss, you view them as “movement” in a more positive light; just an opportunity to move. It’s just 5-15 minutes and doesn’t require a ton of energy, stamina nor mental strength as a longer workout might.
And of course, you get all the benefits of regular exercise in general (from lower risk of disease, lower risk of depression and anxiety, weight management, more happiness, better sleep, ETC.)
Plus, you get the benefits of taking breaks from sitting too long: which for example, can help lower risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and as mentioned back/neck pains.
Here are a few ideas for Movement Snacks:
Do a 10-15 minute barre, yoga or Pilates workout
Do a 7-10 minute higher intensity interval workout (HIIT)
Walk around the block (or it can be to get your tea/coffee)- but make it fast paced and intentional
Walk while you’re on a conference call
Do a few planks, sit-ups and/or pushups midway through your Netflix show or in between episodes
Take the stairs instead of elevator, and bonus, maybe do 5 squats before entering your house/office etc.
For new moms, doing leg lifts for the glutes while leaning over your baby’s crib (silently while she naps, or when she’s up and happy/playful in her crib). Bridge pelvic tilts with your baby on top of you is also a great glute and core workout – you’ll feel it in under 5 mins!
Need inspiration? Here are 3 “balance barre movement snacks” that I created just for you!
1) Legs + Glutes
2) Arms/ Upper Body
3) Core/Abs (+ a bit of full body, too!)
And of course for longer full body workouts, I teach amazing full body barre and yoga classes, and coming soon, I’ll have my VIRTUAL Balance Studio on-demand library available for monthly subsciptions. I also have a series of special Pre & Post Natal barre classes (together with nutrition coaching, recipes, shopping list and bonus videos) to help new moms have amazing, informed, supported pregnancies and postpartum months.