10 Bodyweight Squats Or Walk 30 minutes?

Last week I wrote about how a fast or slow metabolism does not influence your weight gain or weight loss. For those of us who run or exercise to manage our weight, it definitely does burn calories while you are exercising, but it does not boost your metabolism, at least not in the long term. 

Well, I can suggest a fairly simple way to improve your blood sugar regulation better than a single 30 minute walk if you're pressed for time. Also helps to lower cancer and cardiovascular related mortality.

A recently published study (Gao et al, 2024) on overweight and obese subjects who either sat uninterrupted for 8.5 hours or had interruptions while sitting with matched energy expenditure and duration. A 30 minute walk at 4 km/hr, sitting with 3 minutes walking at 4km/hr or squatting 10 times every 45 minutes.

The authors found that doing 10 body weight squats every 45 minutes or short frequent walking breaks during a 8.5-hour period of sitting improved blod sugar regulation better than a single 30 minute walk (at 4 km per hour).

These superior benefits seemed to be associated with increased muscle activity intensity in their targeted muscle groups during frequent transitions from sitting to activity.

These brief, intense bursts of activity (bodyweight squats in the study) termed 'exercise snacks' offer a simple yet strong strategy to mitigate the health risks associated with our sedentary lifestyles. It is not too difficult to get up from sitting and do 10 bodyweight squats every 45 minutes (or when you can). You can also do burpees or run up stairs to break up sedentary periods. Those at home may want to do some dumb bells/ kettle bells swings.

Of course some other people may prefer to walk outside for fresh air, sunlight meeting other people and psychological/ mental health benefits. Or a combination of exercises and walks. Works well too. Go on and add some some exercise snacks into your day.

References

Gao Y, Li QY, Finni T ey al (2024). Enhanced Muscle Activity During Interrupted Sitting Improves Glycemic Control In Overweight And Obese Men. Scan J Med Sci Sp. 34(4): e14628. DOI: 10.1111/sms.14628

Stamatakis E, Ahmadi MN, Gill JMR et al (2022). Association Of Wearable Device-measured Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity With Mortality. Nat Med.28: 2521-2529. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02100-x