#15 No Time to Exercise? Try This

How can you stay fit when you don’t have time to exercise?

If you’re in your forties or fifties and struggle to fit regular workouts into your busy schedule, then this may be the solution you are looking for.

In this episode of the Living Midlife Well Podcast, I explore the science behind exercise snacking—the simple practice of adding short bursts of movement throughout your day instead of relying on long gym sessions.

You’ll discover why our bodies may be better suited to frequent movement than occasional workouts, what the latest research says about exercise snacking, and why this approach may be especially beneficial in midlife.

In this episode you’ll learn:

✔️ What exercise snacking is✔️ Why short movement breaks can be as effective as longer workouts✔️ The science behind exercise snacking✔️ How exercise snacking supports heart health, blood sugar and healthy ageing✔️ Why consistency matters more than workout length✔️ Why exercise changes after forty✔️ How hormones influence the way your body responds to exercise✔️ Simple exercise snack ideas you can start using today

Whether you’re balancing work, family, caring responsibilities, or simply find traditional workouts difficult to maintain, this episode offers a practical and realistic approach to staying active without adding more pressure to your life.

Remember:

The best exercise isn’t necessarily what’s scientifically perfect—it’s what you’ll actually do consistently.

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. It really helps support the podcast and allows more people to discover practical, science-backed ways to improve their health and wellbeing.

Thank you so much for listening.

Aroha nui, much love,

Janine Lattimore

Living Midlife Well PodcastHelping you reduce stress, restore your energy, and create a healthier, happier life in midlife.

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Free subscribers receive my weekly article and podcast. Paid subscribers also receive access to a monthly 20 minute wellbeing session video or audio and a monthly live group coaching call with me.

Transcript

Do you ever think

“I know I should exercise more, but I just don’t have the time...”

What if staying fit didn’t require hours at the gym?

What if improving your physical health could be as simple as sprinkling short bursts of movement throughout your day?

In this episode, we’re talking about a concept that I have been actively practicing for the last few years and it challenges one of the biggest assumptions many of us have about exercise.

It’s something called exercise snacking and I’ll be talking about what it is, why it works, what the science says about it, and why it may be especially beneficial for those of us in midlife.

Kia ora and hello, welcome to the Living Midlife Well podcast. I’m Janine Lattimore, a wellbeing writer and coach here to help people in midlife get off the treadmill of stress and exhaustion, rediscover their joy, and create a life that is aligned with who they really are and what they really want.

Let’s begin by talking about why it is It So Hard to Find Time to Exercise in your forties and fifties

Between demanding jobs, family responsibilities, caring for aging parents, and managing a home, midlife can feel like a constant juggling act.

And when time is short, exercise is often the first thing to disappear from your daily to-do list.

The gym session gets skipped.

The yoga class is postponed.

The lunchtime walk or run quietly falls off the calendar.

Most of us know that regular physical activity is essential for our health, energy, and wellbeing, but unlike missing a work deadline or taking a rain check on picking up our kids from school, there are no immediate consequences for skipping a workout.

Sometimes, it’s not even that we have an actual shortage of time, but rather a perceived one.

Stress and overwhelm narrow our thinking and increase our sense of time being scarce. Psychologically, setting aside an hour or more to go to a fitness session can feel completely unmanageable.

Added to that can be the fact that you find long exercise sessions hard, boring, or both, and suddenly you have even more reason to strike them from your daily schedule.

But if you’ve ever wondered how to stay fit when you don’t have time to work out, perhaps the problem isn’t your motivation.

Perhaps it’s the way we’ve been taught to think about exercise.

If not having time to exercise is a consistent problem for you, then exercise snacking could be the solution.

Exercise snacking is simply the practice of including short bursts of activity throughout your day.

These movement breaks can last anywhere from one to ten minutes and can be surprisingly simple.

For example:

You might go for a short walk around the block after lunch.

Do a set of hand weight exercises every thirty to forty minutes while working at your computer.

Complete a short yoga flow sequence as part of your morning routine.

Spend a few minutes on a stationary bike, mini tramp, or stair climber.

Vacuum one section of the house in between sitting tasks.

Take the stairs instead of the lift.

Or play active games with your family in the evening.

None of these activities take a huge amount of time.

But when you add them together, they create a very different pattern of movement throughout your day.

And that’s where things start to get really interesting.

When we think about exercise today, most of us picture a gym, a fitness class, a run, or some kind of structured workout.

But if you zoom out and look at human history, that’s actually a very modern way of thinking about physical activity.

Doing short bursts of movement throughout the day is much closer to how people traditionally engaged with exercise.

The idea of setting aside a dedicated hour for fitness is a modern concept and construct—and possibly not the healthiest one.

The human body evolved engaging in lifestyle-based activity throughout the day.

Walking.

Running.

Digging.

Hunting.

Climbing trees.

Climbing hills.

Carrying things.

Using a wide variety of muscles regularly as part of everyday life.

Interestingly, the longest-lived populations in the world still tend to live this way.

They often walk as their main form of transport.

They do outdoor work.

They complete household chores manually.

Movement is naturally woven into daily life for them.

Compare that to how many of us in cities live today.

We use elevators and escalators instead of stairs.

We drive instead of walk.

We use dishwashers and washing machines instead of washing things by hand.

We buy food rather than growing it.

We hire people to complete tasks around the house that previous generations would have done themselves.

Most of us sit to do our jobs.

Then sit for our leisure activities.

Then sit some more.

And after all that sitting, we try to compensate by squeezing in an hour-long workout a few times a week—or maybe just once a week.

When you look at it that way, it starts to seem a little strange.

Our bodies evolved for frequent movement, not occasional workouts.

And that’s why I find exercise snacking so fascinating.

It’s not introducing something new.

In many ways, it’s helping us return to a pattern of movement that our bodies already understand.

And as you’ll hear in a moment, the benefits go far beyond simply making exercise easier to fit into a busy schedule.

In the next part of this episode, we’ll explore the benefits of exercise snacking, what the research says about its impact on your health, and why short bursts of movement may be just as effective as longer workout sessions.

So now that we’ve talked about what exercise snacking is, let’s look at why it works so well.

One of the biggest advantages is simply that it’s realistic. It fits into real life rather than expecting real life to fit around it.

Exercise snacking takes much less time than going to the gym or a fitness class. Instead of trying to carve an hour or more out of your already busy day, you simply incorporate movement into the day you’re already living.

Those shorter bursts of activity bring a couple of other benefits too. They’re much less likely to become boring because they’re over so quickly, and they’re much easier to motivate yourself to do because they only take a few minutes.

I haven’t been to a gym or regular exercise class since I was a group fitness instructor about seven years ago.

Since then, I’ve been meeting my physical wellbeing needs through exercise snacks, movement throughout the day and active leisure.

For example, my main recreational activity is going for long outdoor walks, and I also love to dance.

I live a very full life

About Living Midlife Well

I'm Janine Lattimore, a wellbeing coach helping people in midlife get off the treadmill of stress and exhaustion, rediscover their joy, and create a life that is aligned with who they really are and what they really want.

Living Midlife Well — helping you slow down, feel better and enjoy life more, one simple step at a time.

Reclaim your time 

Restore your energy 

Build meaningful relationships 

Rediscover yourself 

Janine Lattimore | Living Midlife Well | janinelattimore.com 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Do you ever think I know I should exercise more, but I just don't have the time? What if staying fit didn't require hours at the gym? What if improving your physical health could be as simple as sprinkling short bursts of movement throughout your day? In this episode, we're talking about a concept that I have been actively practicing for the last few years, and it challenges one of the biggest assumptions many of us have about exercise. It's something called exercise snacking, and I'll be talking about what it is, why it works, what the science says about it, and why it may be especially beneficial for those of us in midlife. Kiara and hello, welcome to the Living Midlife Well podcast. I'm Janine Lattimore, a well-being writer and coach, here to help people in midlife get off the treadmill of stress and exhaustion, rediscover their joy, and create a life that is aligned with who they really are and what they really want. Let's begin by talking about why it is so hard to find time to exercise in your 40s and 50s. Between demanding jobs, family responsibilities, caring for aging parents, and managing a home, midlife can feel like a constant juggling act. And when time is short, exercise is often the first thing to disappear from your daily to-do list. The gym session gets skipped, the yoga class is postponed, the lunchtime walk or run quietly falls off the calendar. Most of us know that regular physical activity is essential for our health, energy, and well-being. But unlike missing a work deadline or taking a rain check on picking up our kids from school, there are no immediate consequences for skipping a workout. And sometimes it's not even that we have an actual shortage of time, but rather a perceived one. Stress and overwhelm narrow our thinking and increase our sense of time being scarce. Psychologically, setting aside an hour or more to go to a fitness session can feel completely unmanageable. Added to that can be the fact that you find long exercise sessions hard, boring, or both, and suddenly you have even more reason to strike them from your daily schedule. But if you've ever wondered how to stay fit when you don't have time to work out, perhaps the problem isn't your motivation. Perhaps it's the way we've been taught to think about exercise. If not having enough time to exercise is a consistent problem for you, then exercise snacking could be the solution. Exercise snacking is simply the practice of including short bursts of activity throughout your day. These movement breaks can last anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes and can be surprisingly simple. For example, you might go for a short walk around the block after lunch, or do a set of handweight exercises every 30 to 40 minutes while working at your computer. Complete a short yoga flow sequence as part of your morning routine, or spend a few minutes on a stationary bike, mini tramp, or stair climber. You could vacuum one section of the house in between sitting tasks, take the stairs instead of the lift, or play active games with your family in the evening. None of these activities take a huge amount of time, but when you add them together, they create a very different pattern of movement throughout your day. And that's where things start to get really interesting. When we think about exercise today, most of us picture a gym, a fitness class, a run, or some kind of structured workout. But if you zoom out and look at human history, that's actually a very modern way of thinking about physical activity. Doing short bursts of movement throughout the day is much closer to how people traditionally engaged with exercise. The idea of setting aside a dedicated hour for fitness is a modern concept and construct, and possibly not the healthiest one. The human body evolved engaging in lifestyle-based activity throughout the day. Walking, running, digging, hunting, climbing trees, climbing hills, carrying things, using a wide variety of muscles regularly as part of everyday life. Interestingly, the longest lived populations in the world still tend to live this way. They often walk as their main form of transport, they do outdoor work, they complete household chores manually. Movement is naturally woven into daily life for them. Compare that to how many of us in cities live today. We use elevators and escalators instead of stairs. We drive instead of walk. We use dishwashers and washing machines instead of washing things by hand. We buy food rather than growing it. We hire people to complete tasks around the house that previous generations would have done themselves. Most of us sit to do our jobs, then sit for our leisure activities, then sit some more. And after all that sitting, we try to compensate by squeezing in an hour-long workout a few times a week, or maybe just once a week. When you look at it that way, it starts to seem a little strange. Our bodies evolved for frequent movement, not occasional workouts. And that's why I find exercise snacking so fascinating. It's not introducing something new. In many ways, it's helping us return to a pattern of movement that our bodies already understand. And as you'll hear in a moment, the benefits go far beyond simply making exercise easier to fit into a busy schedule. In the next part of this episode, we'll explore the benefits of exercise snacking, what the research says about its impact on your health, and why short bursts of movement may be just as effective as longer workout sessions. So now we've talked about what exercise snacking is, let's look at why it works so well. One of the biggest advantages is simply that it's realistic. It fits into real life rather than expecting real life to fit around it. Exercise snacking takes much less time than going to the gym or a fitness class. Instead of trying to carve an hour or more out of your already busy day, you simply incorporate movement into the day you're already living. Those shorter bursts of activity bring a couple of other benefits too. They're much less likely to become boring because they're over so quickly, and they're much easier to motivate yourself to do because they only take a few minutes. I haven't been to a gym or regular exercise class since I was a group fitness instructor about seven years ago. Since then, I've been meeting my physical well-being needs through exercise snacks, movement throughout the day, and active leisure. For example, my main recreational activity is going for long outdoor walks, and I also love to dance. I live a very full life, and trying to fit in an hour-long fitness session several times a week feels challenging to me. Not only because of the time, but also because of all the overthinking that goes on in my head. You might recognize this internal conversation. I really should go, but I don't actually feel like going. I know it'll be good for me, but I have so many other things I need to do. I think many of us have had that internal back and forth discussion with ourselves at some point, or maybe many points. Exercise snacking takes away much of that mental negotiation because it feels achievable. Instead of asking yourself to find an hour, you're simply asking yourself to move for a few minutes. And that feels very different. Another benefit that I've noticed from doing daily exercise snacking is that it gives me regular brain breaks. There are moments where my mind can wander and process freely. Sometimes they're almost like a white noise break if I'm counting repetitions or focusing on a simple movement. I've found that these short body and brain breaks actually make me more productive. Quite often, during one of these movement breaks, an idea suddenly comes to me, or I'll find the answer to a problem I've been wrestling with. Have you ever noticed that you can spend an hour or more trying to force an answer, and then the moment you walk away from working on it, the solution appears almost effortlessly. There's a reason for that. When we're intensely focused on something, our brain and body can become stuck in one particular pathway. Movement activates different brain pathways. It also changes your physical perspective and that can stimulate a change in your mental perspective as well. The third benefit that I will talk about here is that exercise snacking is easier on your body. I know that we've been taught no pain, no gain, and your muscles do need to be challenged to strengthen and develop. But as I'll talk about shortly, exercise does not need to be stressfully intense to produce results. Exercise snacking creates a pattern of movement that's much closer to the way humans have naturally lived for most of our history. Instead of scattering one or two long intense workouts into an otherwise sedentary lifestyle, we create a much healthier rhythm of movement and rest throughout the day. Rather than sitting in the car, sitting at work, sitting at the computer, sitting in front of the television, and then trying to undo all of that sitting with one intense workout. We simply move more often. And I think our bodies respond incredibly well to that rhythm. Now at this point you might be wondering, this all sounds convenient, but does it actually work? It's a fair question. We've established that exercise snacking is easier to fit into our lives, but is it as effective for improving our physical health? The answer is yes. Study after study has found that in almost every way, exercise snacking provides many of the same physical health benefits as longer workout sessions. Let's have a look at some of the research. Clinical trials have found that people who completed a few short, vigorous bursts of activity throughout the day, things like climbing stairs quickly, made meaningful improvements in their cardiorespiratory fitness. That's simply your heart, lungs, and blood vessels becoming better at delivering oxygen to your muscles during activity. In other words, those little bursts of movement really do improve your fitness. Research has also shown that exercise snacking may control blood sugar even better than one continuous workout. When people completed short bursts of movement just before meals, they experienced better blood sugar and insulin responses than people who completed one longer workout. One study found that breaking up sitting with just three minutes of walking every half hour reduced post-meal blood sugar spikes by almost 40%. That's quite remarkable when you think about how little movement is involved. A single workout gives your body one temporary drop in blood pressure. Exercise snacking spreads those benefits throughout the day. Each short movement break acts like a reset for your cardiovascular system. Research has shown that these frequent movement breaks can lower blood pressure and reduce stress hormones compared with sitting continuously. Perhaps one of the most fascinating findings comes from large population studies. People who accumulated around three short vigorous bursts of activity each day, adding up to about four or five minutes in total, had significantly lower risks of dying from heart disease, cancer, and from all causes combined compared with people who did no vigorous activity at all. Again, we're talking about just a few minutes each day. Another large study found that as little as three to four minutes of vigorous activity each day was associated with a lower risk of developing cancer in people who otherwise didn't exercise regularly. Research has also shown that exercise snacking improves muscular endurance in older adults in much the same way as structured training programs. Although those studies focused on adults over 65, it is very likely that similar benefits apply to those of us in midlife as well. Now here's the finding that I think is the most important of all. The research doesn't just show that exercise snacking improves health, it also shows that people are much more likely to actually do it. Many studies compare people who regularly complete shortbursts of movement with people who don't exercise at all. And that's worth thinking about. If you're constantly struggling to find time for the gym or a fitness class, despite your best intentions, then from a research point of view, you may actually fall into the category of people who are not exercising regularly. Not because you don't care, not because you're lazy, simply because life gets busy. When it comes to staying active in a busy life, it's not really about finding more time. It's about finding more opportunities to move. And I think that's a much kinder and a much more achievable way of thinking about exercise. In the final part of this episode, I'd like to talk about why exercise snacking is particularly beneficial after 40, how hormones change the picture, and how you can build a single movement routine that supports your energy, strength, and long-term health. We've established that exercise snacking is convenient, it's backed by science, and it's something people are much more likely to stick with. But there's another reason I think it's particularly valuable if you're in your 40s, 50s, or beyond, because of the way our hormones begin to change. One of our key stress hormones, cortisol, reduces the production and activity of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, especially as we get older. For people and female bodies, there's an additional layer to this. Estrogen actually helps regulate cortisol. So as estrogen levels naturally decline through perimenopause and menopause, cortisol can remain elevated for longer after a stressful event. Now, cortisol often gets a bad reputation, but it's important to remember that it's not the enemy. Cortisol naturally rises whenever we exercise because it helps mobilize glucose and fuel our muscles. Those short-term increases are completely normal. They settle back down during recovery and actually support long-term health. The difference is that exercise snacking generally involves low to moderate intensity movement. Because of that, the cortisol response is usually much smaller than what you'd experience during a prolonged exhausting workout. That means these short movement breaks place less stress on estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels than longer high-intensity exercise sessions. And that's an important consideration once we reach our 40s, when these hormones are already beginning to decline naturally. There's one more thing I'd like to mention. Any type of exercise, including exercise snacking, can increase cortisol more than is healthy if your body doesn't have enough fuel available. If you regularly exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, your cortisol response can be a little higher. Having a protein-rich breakfast or even a small protein-rich snack before more demanding exercise can help create a healthier hormonal response. More broadly, when our bodies are chronically stressed, underfueled, or running on empty, any form of exercise can become another stressor rather than something restorative. That's why nourishing your body is every bit as important as moving it. So what does this look like in everyday life? Let's make it really practical. The wonderful thing about exercise snacking is that you can do it at almost any time during the day. There are just a couple of points worth remembering. First, fuel up. That doesn't mean eating immediately before every movement break. It simply means eating regular, nutritious meals that help keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day. In the morning, especially, try to have a protein-rich breakfast before doing exercise that places a significant demand on your body. Then throughout the day, doing a short walk or another movement break just before or just after meals can be particularly effective for helping regulate blood sugar and insulin levels. If you've listened to my podcast for a while, you'll probably know that I'm a huge fan of walking. In fact, I think walking is one of the very best exercise snacks available. Even a quick five-minute walk around the block can make a real difference. Walking is low to moderate impact, it strengthens muscles, it improves cardiovascular fitness, it supports your nervous system, and it helps reduce stress. When your nervous system is balanced, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone all work together in a healthier rhythm, supporting your energy, metabolism, and recovery. There's something beautifully calming about the rhythm of walking. You can also modify how you are walking to fit with your current energy capacity. Some days that might be a gentle stroll to help you reset emotionally. Other days it might be a brisk walk that leaves you breathing deeply while still being able to hold a conversation. That moderate pace is fantastic for burning fat efficiently, improving body composition, reducing inflammation, and supporting better sleep and energy. And if you feel ready for a little more challenge, you can easily build on walking. One option is sprint interval training or SIT. That simply means adding two to eight short sprints of around 20 seconds during your walk, with plenty of recovery walking in between. These brief bursts of intense activity have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial health, which influences your body's ability to produce energy, and bone strength. If sprinting doesn't appeal to you, hill walking offers many of the same benefits. Walking forms a wonderful foundation. Then you can add to that some simple strength training. This might include bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, mountain climbers or burpees, or perhaps you prefer using hand weights or free weights for exercises such as bicep curls, shoulder presses, rows, or weighted step-ups. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is simply to move your body in different ways. When you combine daily walking, regular strength training, and one or two sessions each week that include hills or short sprint intervals, you create a wonderfully balanced movement routine. You're supporting your heart and lungs, building muscle and bone strength, improving energy production, helping regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, and as an added bonus, you're also supporting collagen production and healthier hormone balance. That's an incredible return from relatively small amounts of movement spread throughout the week. Finally, don't underestimate the value of everyday movement. Walk or cycle whenever you can. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Wash the dishes by hand. Hang the washing on the clothesline instead of using the dryer. Look for opportunities to move naturally as part of your daily life. And perhaps even more meaningfully, look for ways to make movement something you share with other people. Do the evening dishes together while talking about your day. Meet a neighbor for a morning walk. Play charades with your family after dinner. Go dancing, go hiking, ride bikes together. Movement doesn't always have to be another task on your to-do list. Sometimes it can become a moment of connection. And I think that's one of the loveliest forms of well-being. As always, I'd like to leave you with my just one thing, action point. This week it is to think of just one way you could include an exercise snack in your daily routine. It doesn't need to be complicated, it could be a five-minute walk after lunch, a few squats while the kettle boils, taking the stairs instead of the lift, or dancing to your favorite song while dinner is cooking. Choose one thing and do it every day for a week. I'd genuinely love to hear what you choose. So if you're listening on Substack or YouTube, then leave a comment and let me know. It may also inspire someone else with an idea that works for them too. And if you'd be interested in seeing the daily movement breaks that I personally use, let me know and I'd be happy to put together some video demonstrations. Before we finish today, I'd like to leave you with one final thought. The best exercise isn't necessarily what is scientifically perfect, it's what you actually do consistently. Sometimes improving your health isn't about finding more time. It's about finding more opportunities to move. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. If you found this interesting or helpful, then please remember to like and subscribe and leave a comment or review. This supports me and also helps other people find this information and benefit from it. Until next time, keep living midlife well. Aruhanui, much love. I'm Janine, and I look forward to connecting again on the next episode. Bye for now.