RATHER than slogging it out for hours at the gym, 11 minutes a day is all the exercise you need to look and feel great.
That’s the premise of new book The Feel Good Fix, in which Lavina Mehta delves into the research behind “exercise snacks” and shares dozens of her favourites.
Taking just a few minutes each, these bite-size workouts accumulate over a day and are just as good as hitting the gym, according to science.
Lavina, who is of South Asian heritage, tells Sun Health: “To clarify, the term ‘exercise snacking’ is not to do with eating snacks, or exercising with your favourite food in hand.
“It is small amounts of activity, taken regularly throughout the day.
“This has been proven to have incredible health benefits.
“Research has found that this method can be even more effective and beneficial than the single long workouts we struggle to fit in.”
Mum-of-three Lavina, from Watford, didn’t do any exercise until she was 35.
It was only after a health scare that she realised she needed to change her life for good.
The 46-year-old says: “I was always that girl who would do anything to get out of PE at school, and that followed me into adult life.
“I didn’t grow up in a family where we exercised and it was an alien concept to me — just as it is for many South Asian people.
“I have many family members and friends with diabetes, and I lost my grandfather to it.
“South Asians are six times more likely to have type 2 diabetes, leading to higher risks of health complications, especially heart disease.
“After my youngest son was born in 2007, I decided to make changes to my life.
“Although I was always slim until I fell pregnant and became a mother, I wasn’t healthy or fit.
“The weight kept creeping on and I felt so unhealthy.
“I joined a gym and started going to classes before deciding to book sessions with a personal trainer, who introduced me to weight training, which transformed my body and mind.
“I was so passionate about the changes in my own body and wanted to share them with others.”
Lavina resigned from her corporate job as a project manager and qualified as a personal trainer.
She dedicated her work to helping people get fit while her boys were at school.
Lavina says: “Within weeks of starting my business, I had a waiting list.
“However, the Government guidelines of exercising for 150 minutes a week seemed excessive, so in 2018 I started researching the benefits of exercise snacking when writing my book.
“I discovered 11 minutes is the magic number.
“Research shows that exercising for as little as 11 minutes could prevent one in ten premature deaths, one in 20 cases of cardiovascular disease and nearly one in 30 cases of cancer.”
The exercise “snacks” in Lavina’s book vary by ability, but are all effective and come with a variety of intensities.
Those who fear the gym, don’t know where to start or have injuries are able to give it a go.
Lavina said: “I live and breathe everything in the book.
“My husband and boys are so used to seeing me ‘snacking’ throughout the day and don’t think anything of seeing me balancing on one leg when I’m brushing my teeth or squatting when I’m watching TV.
“Because they’re so used to doing it, it’s become a way of life for them too. We all snack as a family.
“I’ve even got my 78-year-old mum on it, and my 76-year-old mother-in-law who has become a bit of a snacking fanatic.
“Walking is one of the best ways to banish the dreaded peri-menopausal brain fog — in nature for even more mental health benefits.
“It doesn’t have to be a long walk, it can be just a five-minute snack.
“I find it energises the mind.” Lavina, whose motto is “exercise for sanity not vanity”, said: “I’ve changed my approach to exercise.
“At first, I might have been motivated by how I looked and wanting a six-pack, but now it’s about how I feel.
“I’m interested in how exercise helps us to deal with life’s ups and downs.
“When my father-in-law died of a brain tumour, regular movement was my sanity.
“It was the only thing that would give me mental strength and resilience.
“Exercise can work wonders for anxiety — it increases your sense of wellbeing, your self-worth and confidence.
“Studies prove exercise promotes the growth of neurons in the hippocampus (a deep part of the brain responsible for learning and memory), so people who exercise tend to be able to handle stress better.
“Exercise changes the brain in ways that help to protect memory and thinking skills.
“Aerobic exercise (cardio) and resistance (or strength) training also help your brain to function better.”
Lavina has a message for those who think they are too old to exercise.
“You’re never too old to lift weights,” she says.
“Strength training not only builds muscle but works wonders in boosting your brain, heart, bones and mental health.
“I tell people to focus on the weight they are lifting rather than the weight on the scales.”
To hit your 11 minutes a day, choose from the “snacks” on this page.
You’ll need a timer and light dumbbells (or tins or water bottles).
Try to do a variety of strength, cardio and HIIT.
ONE-MINUTE “SNACK”: Pick three exercises and do them for 15 seconds, with five-second breaks in-between.
FIVE-MINUTE “SNACK”: Pick any of the exercises, put a timer on and do each for as many seconds as you can, five minutes total.
Boxing. March or jog while punching your arms out and holding tins or light dumbbells.
Vary the punches forwards, upwards and sideways.
High knees and rope pulls with arms. Lift your alternate knees towards your belly button and imagine pulling on a rope with your arms.
Star jumps. Step one or both legs in and out, with arms meeting to clap above your head. You can do this with or without jumping.
Walk, jog or sprint. On the spot.
Mountain climbers. From a high plank position, alternate bringing one knee in (to your chest or opposite elbow), then back out again.
FOR each exercise, do as many reps as you can in one minute.
The last few reps should be harder, almost to the point of failure while maintaining form.
Narrow press-ups. Like a press-up, but your hands are closer together and your elbows are drawn in towards the side of your body.
Perform against the wall or on your knees, in three-quarters or full floor position.
Triceps kickbacks. Engage your core and maintain a straight spine as you hinge forward at the waist, bringing your upper body almost parallel to the floor.
Raise your elbows close to your body so your upper arm is parallel to your upper body.
Keep your head in line with your spine, tucking your chin in slightly.
Engage your triceps by straightening your elbows so that your lower arms raise up behind you in a straight line, but hold your upper arms still, only moving your forearms during this movement.
Pause, then inhale to return the weights to the starting position.
Triceps overhead extension. Raise your arms above your head, holding a weight between your hands.
Keep your biceps and arms close to your ears and elbows narrow, close to each other and not flaring out, as you lower and lift the weight behind your head.
Keep the back and neck straight, core tight, and try not to swing the body.
DO these for one minute at a time.
Seated swimming. Visualise doing the breaststroke or forwards crawl/backstroke, with some marching on the spot.
Seated star jumps. Step one or both feet in and out, with arms meeting to clap above your head.
Chair boxing. Punch all your worries away while “walking, jogging or sprinting” on the spot from your seat.
Seated skipping. Hold an imaginary rope with your arms, circling and jumping or stepping with single or both feet as the rope “swings”.
SELECT as many exercises as you have time to do.
Start by doing each move for 30 seconds, with 30 seconds of rest in between.
As you progress, increase to 40 seconds, with 20 seconds rest in between.
When you feel ready, advance to doing each move for up to one minute, with less or even no rest in between, i.e. doing the moves back to back.
If you have five minutes, do these five exercises for up to one minute each.
Press-ups. Get into plank position keeping your back straight and your core tight.
Bend your arms at 90 degrees and lower your chest between your hands.
You can start at a wall, standing upright and pressing your arms to the wall and back, and progress to the floor once you feel stronger.
Rest on your knees if a plank is too difficult.
Shoulder press. Holding a weight in each hand at shoulder height, with your palms facing away from you, keep your chest up, brace your core and keep your back straight.
Lift the weights directly upwards until your arms are almost straight and are directly above your shoulders.
Return to the start position.
Front to lateral raises. Start with straight arms by your side (holding a weight in each hand), palms facing down.
Lift your arms in front to shoulder height, then back down to thighs.
Then lift your arms out to the side (to shoulder height) and back down. Repeat.
Dips. Sit on an elevated surface (a bed, sofa or steps), then shuffle your body off and use your arm strength to help you to lower and then bring yourself back up while keeping the elbows facing back behind you, your fingers facing towards your body.
You can try this with legs bent or straight.
Bent-over rows. Hinge at the hips and push them back, lowering your upper body to an angle of around 45 degrees to the floor.
Row the weights towards your armpits while keeping your elbows close to the side of your body, then straighten the arms.
It is key to keep your back straight and engage your core muscles in the stomach.
IN one minute, aim to take three flights of stairs, three times a day.
Start small and build up to vigorously climbing a few flights of stairs in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening.
Go as quickly as you can, but use the guardrail for safety.
To progress, take two stairs at a time or increase your pace.
Add some shopping bags, a rucksack or the laundry basket as weights to progress and increase your load.
