Hi there, did you know that small amounts of movement adds up to a lot? At GrandmaSTRONG™ we have a saying:
"Don't discount the small, discount the not at all"
Sheree King
So micro workouts or 'strength snacks' as we call them, which we have inside our 28 Day Strength Snacks Challenge are a great way to improve your fitness without committing to a dedicated gym routine.
So for many of us, we spend so many hours a day, probably up to 15 hours a day sitting in a chair with little time for our fitness. By the time we sit in our car to go to work, we sit in our offices, sit in our car to come home and then sit down for dinner.
But what if you could include short bursts of physical activity into your day?
If you could make time for three to five minutes of daily effort peppered thought the day, it does accumulate over the week to take you towards a functionally strong body.
You can do these workouts with no weights, but we love the idea of putting a weight in sight just where you see it every day.
So every time you do see it, you can pick it up, do three to five minutes or so, and then you can strengthen your body in a short period of time.
And the good thing is that picking up a weight, you get your cardio at the very same time. One of my clients recently would leave a skipping rope outside by her car. And every time she came out to her car, she would do 50 skips. So that could be a simple way that you can increase your fitness even today.
In a 2025 study published in the European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, they found that just 10 to 15 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces mortality by 40 to 50%. And 11 minutes reduces mortality by 31%.
So even a 3-4 minute Strength Snack (Micro Workout) repeated 3-4 times during the day, will have significant benefits.
Additionally, in this study, cancer and cardiovascular risk was also reduced.
And all this from just short stints 'Strength Snacks' in the day.
Watch: Strength Snacks: 4 Micro Workouts Women 50+ Can Do Anywhere
Bodyweight - Dumbbells - Resistance Band - Kettlebell
So today, I'm going to be showing you four workouts with different bits of equipment, one with no equipment at all, that you can be doing.
Just change them around to suit yourself. But particularly, if you could do one in the morning, then in the middle of the day, and one in the afternoon, wow, great, you've got your workout right in there. But even if you only did once, it will change your health outcomes in large ways when it all adds up over the period of time.
So let's have a look at four different workouts we can do:
- I'll take you through them once
- We'll only do a few reps of each one
- And then you can decide if you like that or want to introduce this or introduce that move and make it for yourself
So let's get into it.
#1: BODYWEIGHT Strength Snack - Micro Workout:
BODYWEIGHT Exercise Movements in this Snack Workout:
- Small Jumps (Variations for those whose legs don't like that)
- Crawl outs (Variations for those that can't get to the floor)
- Curtsy behind moving into a side lunge (Both sides)
- Push-ups (Variations, on the floor (knees down or full plank position) or chair as demonstrated)
Just do 8 repetitions of each movement (remember both sides, arms/legs) for 1 round, and that should be 2-3 minutes.
- NO BREAK (but only 30sec if needed) and repeat again for a 5 minute strength snack if desired, otherwise one rounds OK
- REPEAT this micro workout routine, 2, 3, 4 times throughout the day
This is both a great strength and cardio micro workout. Try it and tell me in the comments below how you went.
#2: KETTLEBELL Strength Snack - Micro Workout:
KETTLEBELL Exercise Movements in this Snack Workout:
- Goblet squats (Variation by squatting over a chair)
- Bent split stance single arm rows
- Wide leg stance upright rows
- Kettlebell circles around the body (Both directions)
- Overhead press
Just do 8 repetitions of each movement (remember both sides, arms/legs) for 1 round, and that should be 2-3 minutes.
- NO BREAK (but only 30sec if needed) and repeat again for a 5 minute strength snack if desired, otherwise one rounds OK
- REPEAT this micro workout routine, 2, 3, 4 times throughout the day
- CHALLENGING, for max benefit select a kettlebell weight that is challenging, but you can still complete the round, or two. (In this video I'm using an 8kg kettlebell)
Try it and tell me in the comments below how you went.
#3: DUMBBELLS Strength Snack - Micro Workout:
DUMBBELL Exercise Movements in this Snack Workout:
- Bent over double arm rows.
- Reverse lunge with a bicep curl. To work harder the curl becomes a front raise (Both sides for lunge).
- One legged squat (using chair for aid if needed) into an overhead press (both legs).
- Standing punch out rotations.
Just do 8 repetitions of each movement (remember both sides, arms/legs) for 1 round, and that should be 2-3 minutes.
- NO BREAK (but only 30sec if needed) and repeat again for a 5 minute strength snack if desired, otherwise one rounds OK
- REPEAT this micro workout routine, 2, 3, 4 times throughout the day
- CHALLENGING, for max benefit select a set of dumbbell weights that are challenging, but you can still complete the round, or two. (In this video I'm using two 3kg dumbbells)
Try it and tell me in the comments below how you went.
#4: RESISTANCE BAND Strength Snack - Micro Workout:
RESISTANCE BAND Exercise Movements in this Snack Workout:
- Band pull aparts.
- Band squats. Stand on band (both feet) hands in handles & racked at shoulders (Variation, hold band at hip height).
- Band bow and arrow (single or double band).
- Band diagonal steps outs (Stand on band, hold handles and reverse step out on diagonal).
- Standing, stretch band out with both hands in front, then while stretched, position band behind head.
Just do 8 repetitions of each movement (remember both sides, arms/legs) for 1 round, and that should be 2-3 minutes.
- NO BREAK (but only 30sec if needed) and repeat again for a 5 minute strength snack if desired, otherwise one rounds OK
- REPEAT this micro workout routine, 2, 3, 4 times throughout the day
- CHALLENGING, for max benefit select a resistance band that is challenging, but you can still complete the round, or two. (In this video I'm using a heavy resistance rated band)
Try it and tell me in the comments below how you went.
Final Thoughts & Challenge:
MIX IT UP, alternate these 4 micro workouts across the week, or even across the day. Or for simplicity, do the same micro workout for several days, then change to something different that strengthens different muscle groups.
Well done on your awesome effort. I hope you enjoy that. You can make that workout work for you however it best works for your body.
So mix in there what you would like to. Don't forget about our 28 day Strength Snacks Challenge inside the Grandma Strong Program. Want to know more? CLICK the image below.
Thank you for joining me today.
