Hopefully, you’ve recently seen the return of our weekly Midweek Picker Uppers on social media. They used to be a regular fixture at Pilates in Holland, but took a bit of a hiatus for the last couple of years. 🙂
Well, now they’re back, and for very good reason. Do you know what happens when you do short bursts of exercise? Your body gets healthier!
A while ago, Jayne sent me information about “exercise snacks,” brief bouts of vigorous exercise, or sprint interval training (SIT). It sparked a fire in me to re-establish that weekly video practice.
Research is showing that “exercise snacks” offer many of the same heart-healthy benefits as taking a class at the gym or jogging around the block. Likewise, New research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that interrupting 30 minutes of prolonged sitting with short activity breaks like a set of squats or a 2-minute walk can help stabilize blood sugar levels. And, most recently, studies show that 30-60 minutes of muscle strengthening a week lowers risk of death from any cause by 10-17%.
That’s right, getting up to walk the dog, climbing just 3 sets of stairs (about 60 steps), or jumping on a Midweek Picker Upper can help control blood sugar in people with insulin resistance AND get the cardiovascular boost of a 30-minute moderate-intensity workout. And when all those little snacks of movement add up, the benefits to your health add up too.
Here are some of my most recent Midweek Picker Uppers, as well as a link to a playlist of past ones on our PIH YouTube channel.
Abs: https://fb.watch/bzfjc-JpUt/
Slow roll: https://fb.watch/brFeTzKlk3/
Arms & shoulders: https://fb.watch/brFm83l_6x/
Posture: https://fb.watch/brFoJ1pI87/
Hips: https://fb.watch/brFqA9Q6cc/
Past Picker Upper Playlist on YouTube:
I hope you have some fun while getting those health benefits, as well as feel a bit of PIH community right in your house. And you can thank me in advance that I don’t ask you to do this for 6 minutes!
