The 60-Second Workout That Actually Works (Exercise Snacks Explained)

[0:00] Kathy: Big milestone. Big. Whoever would have thought that we would make it this far? Jason: Not us. Kathy: Yes. And here we are. This is episode number 50. That is this many. Jason: Five. If you’re not watching, Jason just — Kathy: Yeah. Jason: — know. Kathy: Oh, I think they could — Jason: He’s going to hear his — Kathy: fingers flicking. Jason: — flicks his hands. Kathy: 50 fingers flying through the air. Just a huge thank you to people like — Jason: — still watching. Kathy: We love that. Jason: It’s an honor how well received

[0:30] this has been. We love hearing about how the PTCH Podcast has changed your life, how it’s like saving your marriages, and — Kathy: — important thing that’s ever happened to you. Jason: It’s the most important part of your day. Kathy: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Jason: And hopefully we get at least 50 more. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: At least. Kathy: Yes. And if this is your first exposure to the show, just follow it. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Because — Jason: Kathy: — why not? Jason: Why not? Kathy: Give us a shot. Jason: What else are you doing?

[1:00] You’re not doing anything. Thank you everybody who’s helped us be really successful. We hope that you enjoy it and that you love it. And yeah. Kathy: Send suggestions. If there’s people you want us to talk to, or topics you want us to talk about, please just send them in. Jason: Yes, that’s it. PTCH-ers. We out. Kathy: Out. Jason, what if I told you I have an exercise hack for you? Jason: Oh, Kathy, have you gone full influencer on me? Kathy: Do you want the hack or not?

[1:30] Jason: Is it evidence-based or is this something crazy you got online? Kathy: This is based on real science and evidence like everything else I do. It’s helping people improve cardio health, strength, and decrease disability. Plus, the name is delicious. Jason: The name is delicious? Kathy: Yeah. It’s exercise snacks. Jason: I do love a good snack. Kathy: Jason: Okay. Everyone keep it right here. I want to find out about these exercise snacks that Kathy has been whipping up. This is the PTCH.

[2:01] What happens when a chiropractor and a physical therapist get together to make a health and wellness podcast? Jason: But chiropractors and physical therapists don’t like each other. Kathy: Oh, think again. Jason: I’m Dr. Kathy Lynch, physical therapist who likes to help people move and get stronger. Kathy: I’m Dr. Jason Young, an evidence-based chiropractor who uses humor just as much as adjustments to help people get better. Jason: Welcome to the PTCH Podcast. Kathy: Remember, there’s no I in PTCH. All right. Welcome to the PTCH Podcast. I am Dr. Jason Young. Kathy: And I’m Dr. Kathy Lynch. Jason: All right, and this is the podcast that

[2:31] your mom won’t let you listen to, but you’ll listen to anyway. I don’t even know where I came up with that. Kathy: I don’t know. We can keep it G-rated. Jason: I guess so. I guess so. Yeah, happy podcast day to you, Kathy. Kathy: Yes. Jason: I always look forward to podcast day. Kathy: One of my favorite days of the week. Jason: I wear my PTCH Podcast shirt to the clinic and people are like, “What is that?” I tell them I have a sports podcast. Kathy: We talk about the baseball pitch.

[3:01] Jason: Yes, and it is baseball season. Kathy: It is baseball season. Jason: And my Beavers are doing pretty good. Kathy: Yes. Jason: Not as good as I’d like them to be, but I think I’ve been a little spoiled as a fan. You know, when you win so many national championships and everything like that, but — Kathy: And they won last night. Jason: Yes, they did. Oh, they beat — they beat a smaller program that’s down south. Kathy: Yeah, we like to think of them as our younger brother. Jason: Yeah, I think it was called the — sucks. I think that’s their — the Ducks. Yes. Yeah, they’re from a small baseball conference called the Big 10. Yeah, so

[3:33] yeah, good job, Beavers. Kathy: Good job, Beavers. Let’s go. Jason: Yes, and let’s see, what else have we got? We got spring break coming up. We got March Madness coming up. Kathy: Yes. Do you do a bracket every year? Jason: Always. Kathy: You do? Jason: Mhm. Kathy: See, I do like half a bracket every — like I will watch half of the games with my bracket filled out until it inevitably gets busted. Jason: Busted, yeah. Kathy: Yeah, for some reason Oregon State does not make it through the first round to

[4:04] the first — Kathy: In the first round. Jason: In the first round, yeah. So — Kathy: Well, you’re — Jason: Kathy: Let me stop you there. I don’t do men’s brackets. Jason: You don’t? Oh, you do the women’s brackets. Kathy: I just assumed when you said a bracket, you were talking about the women’s. Jason: I’ve never done a women’s bracket. Maybe this year I do. Maybe this year I do. So, let’s see. I know the Beavers are good. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: I know that — what is it? South Carolina is good. UConn’s good.

[4:34] Kathy: Yeah. Jason: They — well, they won like what? Nine in a row or something like that? Kathy: Nine? They’ve won like 25 in a row. Jason: 25 in a row, okay. And who else is — who else is good? Kathy: UCLA. Jason: Okay, so who — Kathy: — a one seed. Jason: Who’s going to win it this year? Kathy: UCLA. Jason: UCLA? You think so? Kathy: Mhm. Jason: All right. Kathy: They got an inside-outside game. Jason: Okay. I’m picking the Beavers. Do we have to win the WCC tournament? Kathy: That’s easy. Jason: It’s no big deal. Kathy: No big deal. Jason: NBD. Kathy: It’s not like she hasn’t done it like a million times. Jason: Yeah, Scott Rueck. We got to get Scott on the show. Kathy: Yeah.

[5:04] That’d be really cool. Jason: I don’t know if he knows anything about health, but I don’t even care. Kathy: It doesn’t matter. Jason: I don’t even care. I don’t know anything about health. They have me on this show every freaking week, so — Kathy: Wait, is that a prerequisite to like think about health? Jason: Yeah, I think Scott’s probably a nerd. Kathy: Oh. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Yeah, he’s got to have his doctorate in basketball. Jason: Yeah, honorary doctorate from George Fox Kathy: Absolutely. Jason: — Oregon State, yeah. Sweet. Okay. Kathy: Wait, wait. We’re talking about exercise

[5:34] snacks today.

Kathy: Yeah, it is exercise snacks. Okay, this sounds crazy. Exercise snacks — that’s a made-up thing, right?

Jason: It’s not really made up.

Kathy: Are you telling me that in scientific literature, it says exercise snacks?

Jason: Absolutely.

Kathy: Oh my gosh.

Jason: In fact, the articles that we read about for this episode —

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: — this episode has “exercise snack” in the headline.

Kathy: And also, I think another word for it is “snacktivity.”

Jason:

[6:04] Okay. You know, there’s some nerdy scientists out there that are just like — like, I — so, I’m doing this series on my social media called 100 Days of Chiropractic.

Kathy: Yes.

Jason: Anyway. And so I’ve been going through all these studies and there’s one study that I’m just so excited to share. It’s called the OUCH study — yes, Outcomes in Usual Chiropractic. And it’s looking at like side effects and things like that. But those clever guys — OUCH.

[6:34] Oh, guys. Would have loved to have been in the room when they came up with that.

Kathy: I know. It’s like, you know, it’s like, “Oh my gosh, we can call it OUCH.”

Jason:

All right, you nerds. So, yeah. So when somebody is doing this study and they’re like, “We can call it snacktivities.”

Kathy:

Jason: Oh, exercise snacks. Yeah. Man, I wish I had glasses so I could push them up on my nose right now. So, yeah. So, exercise snacking though — I

[7:05] think the first time I found out about this was not from a journal article, though. I think it was — I think I probably did see it on social media. Like, to be honest with you.

Kathy: Influencer.

Jason: What’s the idea? What’s an exercise snack?

Kathy: They are short bouts of exercise, of physical activity. Let’s not even call it exercise.

Jason: Okay. Yeah.

Kathy: Physical activity. Any kind of physical activity that you could think of.

Jason: You just get crazy for a little bit, huh?

Kathy: You know, and it can be as short as 20 seconds.

[7:35] Jason: Right.

Kathy: Mm-hmm.

Jason: Yeah. And the idea is get the heart rate up, get moving, and get on with your life. So —

Kathy: I think one of the ways that — well, one of the articles that we read — I think we’re leaning really pretty heavily on four different articles. One of them gave a description for it, says that it’s like short bursts of intense activity. One to five minutes, done multiple times a day, so like two to four times per day.

[8:05] And what I heard is — you know how many steps you’re supposed to get a day, Kathy?

Kathy: 10,000.

Jason: 10,000 — that’s what the science has said, right? I don’t know where the number 10,000 came from. It’s like all the healthy people, all the people who live forever, are getting 10,000 steps a day.

Kathy: 10,000 steps.

Jason: Yeah, so that’s kind of arbitrary. I think 10,000 was developed by the pedometer industry.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: Do you remember like pedometers — you used the ones that you hook on your belt?

[8:36] Kathy:

Jason: Yes.

Kathy: What about the ones that actually clicked clicked?

Jason: Yes.

Kathy: Like, it wasn’t digital, it just clicked.

Jason: Oh yes, yes, and it would just like measure your little bounces. And then what are some of the other innovations in pedometer technology — where you had like the flip cover so you didn’t accidentally hit the button while it’s on your belt right next to your cell phone holder case and then your pocket knife, right, and your keys.

Kathy: Yes, on a chain.

Jason: Yeah. Didn’t Fitbit — I think Fitbit started as

[9:08] a pedometer.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: It was just a pedometer that you hooked to your belt, it wasn’t even — it was wearable, but —

Kathy: One of those.

Jason: I think so. I think I had those too, like — yes — like 2009, 2010, ‘cause I remember like my clinic had just started and I think I remember giving away

Kathy: Oh.

Jason: one of those Fitbits as a promotional thing, like we’re begging you to get an adjustment.

Kathy:

Jason: Here’s a pedometer. And people are like, a pedometer, what’s that? Yeah. So anyway, so those are the people that came up with the idea that you

[9:39] magically needed 10,000 steps.

Kathy: You must — and you must track it with our device.

Jason: Absolutely. And if you don’t get 10,000, you’re probably a bad person.

Kathy: Die in less than a year.

Jason: Yeah, your family will hate you because of your early demise.

Kathy: Mom only got 9,000 steps yesterday. Why did papa leave us?

Jason: He didn’t — he only wanted to do 9,000 steps today. Your dad was very tired. Huh. Anyway, but these exercise

[10:11] snacks, they could take the place of the 10,000 steps, which, you know, I have every kind of tracker known to man, I think. I’m maybe one of the most highly monitored human beings. Like — but a lot of people do, like I’ve got my Oura Ring. Usually I’m wearing my Apple Watch. I don’t like wearing my watch while we do the show —

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: — ‘cause I hate looking back and seeing what time it was.

Kathy: Is it?

Jason: Is that stupid?

Kathy: No.

Jason: Okay, thank you. Right? It’s just like —

Kathy: Hot.

Jason: I mean, I’m watching and I’m like,

[10:41] that was 3:21.

Kathy: 3:21. Now it’s 3:25.

Jason: Okay, anyway. But yeah, usually I’m rocking the Apple Watch and just collecting all the data. And so, I don’t know, getting around work and everything like that. I think if I don’t go and exercise that day, I get like maybe 7,000. And then one of these things too is with all these trackers — like, I think people kind of developed this attitude that if it doesn’t get tracked —

Kathy: No.

Jason: — it didn’t count.

Kathy: It doesn’t count.

Jason: — happen.

[11:11] Kathy: If it’s not on Facebook —

Jason: Yeah.

Kathy: — and it’s not on my watch —

Jason: Yeah, Strava.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: If I haven’t uploaded it to Strava, I didn’t really get the benefits of exercise that day.

Kathy: There are definitely times I have driven home from the gym because I forgot my watch.

Jason: Yeah, uh-huh.

Kathy: This workout won’t count. I better go get my watch.

Jason: There’s no point to this, yeah. I mean, I could just imagine somebody being in the gym and everything and like, “Hey, what’s wrong? Work harder.” Why? It doesn’t matter. None of this counts.

[11:42] Jason: Yeah. Kathy: How am I going to post this? Jason: I broke my streak. Kathy: Yeah. I mean, I think we make fun of those things, but I think the wearables are really helpful because it gamifies exercise. Like, I want to be able to get a high score, get to the next level, or anything like that. It’s good to be able to track things. But it’s also gotten a little psycho, too. Wouldn’t you agree? Kathy: Over the top. There’s no doubt about it.

[12:12] Jason: Yeah. So, snacktivity I think is maybe an alternate way to sort of gamify fitness. Kathy: Yeah, what is it good for? Jason: What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again. Sorry. I don’t know why I just broke into “War.” Whoops. Sorry. All right. What’s it good for? Yes. Well, Kathy, one thing that I think of is I cannot tell you how many times a

[12:44] day I have conversations with people where they claim that they have experienced what they would call random back pain. Like, “I don’t know what happened. I was sitting there minding my own business for 11 hours straight.” “I didn’t even move.” Kathy: “Why would my back hurt?” Jason: Suddenly I have back pain, right? And then after it started hurting, I did the right thing. I just laid in bed for the next 3 days.

[13:15] And it just kept hurting. Kathy: It didn’t go away. Jason: Yeah. So, I think talking about this in the context of how do we avoid some of these simple lifestyle illnesses, really. Some of those lifestyle illnesses would be like postural syndromes, postural stress, pain associated with a lack of movement — which I think there’s significantly more people that are experiencing pain because of a lack of movement than people who are experiencing pain because of movement,

[13:45] which everybody has kind of the opposite idea. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: Do you remember the pandemic? Kathy: Which one? COVID-19? That one? Jason: The Spanish flu. That’s the one that I’m talking about. Kathy: That was way worse than COVID, yeah. Jason: Yeah, Raul, you’re old enough to remember the pandemic, yeah? Okay. Good. Okay, so yeah, I remember during the pandemic — so, first of all, everybody gets their home gym. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: Right. And we still actually have ours. There’s a significant portion of

[14:17] our basement family room that has an exercise mat. We got the weights and everything. And it still gets used, which is good. But so you get your home gym and everything, and there’s a lot of people that just aren’t doing anything, right? They’re just waiting for the end. Kathy: When will this be over? Jason: Yeah, and I remember whenever it actually was over, I had a lot of people who were like, “So, are you seeing a lot more injuries now because people are starting to go back to the gym?” No. Kathy: No. Jason: It was actually the opposite because,

[14:48] you know, people got away from their janky homemade desk that was made out of like three cardboard boxes and a puzzle board. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: And they started moving again, and strangely enough, they felt better. So, exercise snacks are a way to kind of, I think, avoid some of the — the word that came to my mind right now is doldrums. Kathy: Oh, the doldrums. Jason: The doldrums. Now, I have to admit,

[15:19] I have no idea what the word “doldrums” means, but in context — why don’t you talk for a second, Kathy, because I’ve got to Google “doldrums.” Kathy: Doldrums is like — if you have peaks and valleys, the doldrums are the valleys. It’s the low spot. Jason: Am I right? Kathy: Yeah. Jason: Close. Kathy: This is probably how I did well on the SAT, because I had some understanding of what some words meant, but didn’t know exactly what — I could get the context

[15:49] clue. A doldrum is a state or period of stagnation or depression. Kathy: Stagnation. Jason: Yes. So, that’s what we’re fighting with exercise snacks — we’re fighting the doldrums of life. Kathy: Doldrums. There’s no doubt about it. You know, I think the idea of exercise snacks is something you and I run into every day where someone says, “I don’t have time to exercise.” Jason: Mm-hm. Kathy: And I feel like the exercise snack is the perfect comeback. Jason: It is, yeah. Kathy: Right? Like, oh, you don’t

[16:20] have 2 minutes to go run up and down those stairs? Jason: Yeah. Kathy: I bet you do. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Let’s check your screen time. You know, Sunday mornings when that screen time notification comes around. Jason: Mm-hm. Absolutely. Kathy: Most shameful part of my week. Jason: This is not exercise, right? If you can’t see what I’m doing, I’m just moving my finger from south to north repeatedly, like scrolling on a phone or playing a game. Yeah, so “doldrums” I think is the perfect word for this. It’s

[16:51] like too much calm, too much stagnation. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: And shaking it up with a little bit of exercise actually turns out to have some darn near miraculous effects. Should we get into those? Kathy: Yeah, let’s talk about the Jason: Let’s get into those. Kathy: the evidence. Jason: Yes, the evidence. So, we’re going to work from four studies. I’ll put them in the show notes. There is one from the Journal of Sports Medicine, Jones et

[17:22] al. from 2024 Kathy: Mm-hm. Jason: called “Exercise Snacks and Other Forms of Intermittent Physical Activity for Improving Health in Adults and Older Peoples.” Doesn’t say “peoples,” but I said “peoples.” The other one is from Rodriguez in 2025. This is all like recent. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: British Journal of Sports Medicine, “Effects of Exercise Snacks on Fitness and Cardiometabolic Health Kathy: Mm-hm. Jason: in Physically Inactive Individuals.” I don’t know if there’s anybody out there who’s Kathy: No.

[17:52] Jason: physically inactive, right? That’s a systematic review, so that’s high-level evidence. This next one’s going to be a challenge. I was talking with you about this one before. I am probably not going to stick the landing on how to pronounce this journal. Kathy: Oh, yeah. Jason: But, “Exercise Snacks Before Meals” — this is by François Amie. Okay. “Exercise Snacks Before Meals: A Novel Strategy to Improve Glycemic Control in Individuals with Insulin Resistance.” So, if you are diabetic or you have metabolic disease or you’re prediabetic, which is

[18:23] maybe the worst name for a condition possible. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: And here we go. Here’s a — I’ve been stalling. Here’s a big moment. That is from a journal called Diabet- dang it. Diabetologia? Jason: Yeah, maybe it’s French. Maybe you need to say it with a French flair. Kathy: Yeah. Diabetologia? Jason: Kathy: Diabetologia. Diabetologia? Jason: I think so. Kathy: Diabetologia is maybe what it is. Jason: That sounds about right. Kathy: And that one was in 2014. So, as far back as 2014. Jason: Mhm. Kathy: And then

[18:53] the other one is a PLOS ONE study from 2023, “Promoting Participation in Physical Activity Through Snacktivity.” Jason: Mhm. Kathy: A qualitative mixed methods study. Jason: Snacktivity, I love that. Kathy: Yes. Yeah. So, let’s get into the benefits. Well, I guess first we should talk about what it is, right? So, you mentioned some of it. So, an example — well, during the pandemic, right? We have a split-level house, and I

[19:25] have like seven steps, and then you turn the corner, and then there’s another seven. And there are sometimes when I’d get up in the morning, and I’m like, “I’m just going to go up and down these steps like four or five times, right before the world ends.” Jason: Yeah. Kathy: And that is a form of snacktivity. Jason: That is snacktivity, right? Kathy: Exercise snack. Jason: It’s vigorous. Kathy: Yes. Jason: Yes, and it’s short — it’s a short bout of vigorous activity. Kathy: What if somebody doesn’t have specialized equipment like stairs? Jason: You don’t — Kathy:

[19:55] Jason: I almost answered that with a straight face. Kathy: Jason: Like, what are some other things that somebody could just do really quick? Kathy: Hopping. Jason: Hopping. Yes, hopping in place. Kathy: High knees. Jason: Yes, we had — Kathy: — up. Jason: We had Amy on last week. Yes. Jump some rope. Kathy: Yeah, jump some rope. Or pretend, if you don’t even have a rope, pretend you’re jumping rope. Just — Jason: I’m actually a lot better — I’m a lot better without the rope. Yeah. I can do lots of tricks. Kathy: Jason: So, yeah. Kathy: Yeah. And if you watch that episode, you

[20:25] should get some padding. Jason: Yes. Kathy: For jump roping. Jason: For both your shins and your keister. And eye protection. Mhm. For heaven’s sake. Kathy: It’s a must. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Safety first. Jason: Yeah. Let’s see. Other good ones — oh, what about squats? Kathy: Squats. My favorite. Jason: Some squats, some lunges. Kathy: Mhm. Push-ups. Jason: Push-ups. And — Kathy: Planks. Jason: Yeah. Yep. Yep. Kathy: Little parkour. Jason: Mhm. Kathy: Jason: Yeah. I mean, totally. Why not, right?

[20:55] Kathy: Yeah. So, work on your back handspring, or you know, whatever it is that you want to do. Yeah, so it just — it has to be something vigorous. It has to be something local, and the goal is to get your heart rate up, get a little strength — Jason: Mhm. Kathy: — little strength workout in quickly. Do you even need to break a sweat doing it? Jason: You don’t have to. It’s just — from what we read, it has to be vigorous though.

[21:27] You can’t just saunter up and down the stairs. Kathy: Anyway, right? It’s like — some of you just listen to us talk about — first thing we did was we talked about snacks and you started sweating. You’re like, “Ooh, Doritos. Jason: Kathy: Give me some Doritos.” And then we said exercise and you started sweating even more. So, Jason: do this. Kathy: You might get a little bit, but I think even going for a good high-speed stroll, right? Just take a walk around

[21:57] the block or something like that. And I think probably most people have done something like this. Jason: When it’s like, “Hey, I just need to get out and clear my head,” or something like that. Go out, go for a walk, smoke a cigarette. Kathy: No. Jason: No. Kathy: No cigarettes. Jason: Without the smoking. Kathy: Yes, without the smoking. Jason: There — there’s this other study. The headline — the title headline. Kathy: Huh? Jason: Do stair climbing exercise snacks improve cardiorespiratory fitness?

[22:27] Kathy: Mhm. Jason: And what they did is they took sedentary young adults and they were randomly assigned to perform three bouts per day of vigorously ascending a three-flight stairwell, which is 60 steps. Kathy: Mhm. Jason: So, three times a day and they separated that by 1 to 4 hours. So, you can do it, you know, 4 hours from now. And they did it 3 days a week for 6 weeks. And then the control group was the people just sitting on the couch. So,

[22:59] what they found was that peak oxygen uptake was higher in the climbers after the intervention, suggesting that stair climbing snacks are effective in improving cardiorespiratory fitness. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: Although the absolute increase was modest. But still, it increased. Kathy: Yeah, it was up. It was better than being on the couch. Jason: Yeah. So, if you want to kick up your VO2 max a little bit, Kathy: Yeah. Jason: do some stairs. Kathy: 60 steps. Jason: Yeah. Well, and I think that mentally — Kathy: Three times a day. That’s — Jason: Kathy: Yeah, because mentally, like some people are

[23:31] thinking, “It’s time to go to the gym.” Jason: Yeah. Nothing wrong with gyms. We love gyms. Kathy: I own a gym. Jason: Helix training. Look at that. You’ve even got the shirt on. It’s great. So, but going to the gym is a commitment. I think some people need the ritual, right? It’s like, “I’m not going to work out unless I go to the gym.” And if that works for you, that’s fantastic, right? Kathy: There’s other people who the idea of going to the gym stresses them out. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Now I got to get up. I got to change. Jason: Mhm. I got to have the right shoes on. Who am I going to see there? Does my hair look okay? Kathy: Yeah. I got to drive there. Oh, it’s

[24:01] raining outside. I’m going to get wet getting into the car. Jason: Wet. Kathy: Right? And so, yeah. So, there’s all kinds of stuff. And so, if the gym works great for you, go to the gym, right? If the gym isn’t working for you, this is maybe a good way to get started. Jason: Mhm. Kathy: So, let’s look at another study. This is the François study, the one that I can pronounce — the journal. They looked at blood sugar control and the participants did six 1-minute intense walking intervals

[24:34] before meals. Jason: Okay. Kathy: So, we’re talking just like a few minutes before meals. Jason: And what they found was that their 24-hour glucose average overall dropped by 0.7 millimole per liter after doing that. Kathy: Mhm. Jason: And the idea, the thinking is that if you’re doing some intense exercise right before it’s time for you to eat. You always have — so, what blood sugar is is you have sugar circulating in your blood. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: You need it in order to stay alive. If

[25:04] your blood sugar gets too low, your brain stops working, right? This is the simple physiology lesson on it. If your blood sugar gets too low, your brain stops working, okay? If your blood sugar is too high, also your brain stops working. So, you can be too high or too low. People who have diabetes or who have metabolic syndrome or who have insulin resistance, they have difficulty regulating their blood sugar. And so, you need to take measures in order to make sure that you’re staying in a good

[25:35] healthy range. So, good healthy range for most people is like between like 70 and — like, you know, right after a meal, you’ll probably be up over 100, but you should be able to come back down to or under 100. And then if you’re diabetic, then those numbers move a little bit because you’re no longer regulating your blood glucose as well. And so, this is an important thing to be able to do. And

[26:05] one of the places where your body stores sugar is in your muscles in the form of what’s called glycogen. And so, when your muscles are working, especially like your fast-twitch muscles, like your biceps, your quads, things like that, your muscles are going to burn up this glycogen. And then, once it’s all burned up, it’s going to need some more. Where does it go to get it? It’s going to go to your bloodstream. And so, doing some of this — getting an

[26:35] exercise snack before you get an actual snack — makes it so that your blood sugar is going to come down a little bit, because your muscles have soaked some up. So, then when you go and you have that, you know, that sandwich or that healthy snack, Kathy: Yes. Jason: it’s not going to push your blood sugar up to a point where then your body has difficulty regulating again. So, if you have metabolic syndrome, you got pre-diabetes — which is a stupid word, because what comes after pre-diabetes?

[27:05] Kathy: Diabetes. Jason: Yeah, but pre-diabetes is reversible. Kathy: Yeah, aren’t we all pre-diabetic? Jason: I guess, unless you’re post-diabetic, right? Kathy: Jason: Oh no, I feel like we’re about to talk about the menopause thing. You’re pre until you’re post, and menopause is one day. Kathy: And then are we really post? Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Jason: Post-menopause is just old? Kathy: Yeah. Jason: So, Kathy: Anyway. Jason: So, metabolic syndrome is reversible, it’s treatable, and so that’s really the thing to do — you don’t want to say, “I have pre-diabetes and I’m just

[27:35] waiting to treat it until I get the sugar, until I got the diabetes,” right? Until the ghost of Wilford Brimley is coming to my house. So, yeah, this is a good thing to do if you have any worries that way. All right, I’ve got ADHD, which means that my brain is incredible at ideas, and it’s terrible at staying in one lane. So, for most of my life, focus is something that I’ve had to fight for, and then I found Brain.fm. No exaggeration, it feels like someone

[28:05] installed a performance upgrade in my brain. Brain.fm uses music engineered with neuroscience to guide your brain into specific states, deep focus, flow, relaxation, even sleep. It’s targeted input for how your brain actually works. When I turn it on, it’s like my mental noise drops, and my attention locks in. I can work for longer without burning out, writing, clinic work, podcast prep — stuff that used to feel scattered suddenly feels organized. For my ADHD

[28:36] brain, it’s basically a superpower. So, right now, you can try Brain.fm for free for 30 days. Use our affiliate link in the description, the free trial costs you nothing and it supports the PTCH podcast. It gives you a chance to see what your brain can really do with the right tools. So, if you’ve got ADHD like me, see if Brain.fm can help unlock your superpower instead of struggling with willpower. Kathy: And it’s much more manageable, like we

[29:06] were talking about. People think about going to the gym as an event that they have to do. You know, where this is an easy win. Jason: Mhm. Kathy: It’s literally an easy win. Stand up from your chair and do 10 squats. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: And sit back down. Jason: Heck, yeah. Kathy: It’s easy to start. Jason: Well, and you’re going to freak your wearable out, right? Kathy: Jason: Okay, let me tell you what I hate about Apple watches. They’re so freaking condescending. Kathy: They are. Jason: So condescending. It’ll buzz and it’s like, “Oh, what’s going on —

[29:37] am I getting a text message?” And it’s like, “You stood up 12 times today.” Kathy: Jason: Look at your — Kathy: Look at you. Jason: You stood up 12 times in a row. Kathy: Wow. Jason: Wow. And you know what? That’s the fourth day in a row that you stood up 12 times. Kathy: Keep it going. Jason: Like, we had our doubts when you rolled out of bed at 1:00 p.m. It’s just a stupid, condescending watch. But anyway, like, as you look at your activity during the day, you’ll see these little spikes and they’re pretty intense. And so it’s like you can

[30:07] see what you’re feeding your body. Kathy: Jason: What about this piece about living forever? The overall mortality risk. There’s observational studies. This is that Jones study. Kathy: Mhm. Jason: Excuse me. Allergies. Kathy: Oh, it is bad. Jason: Yes, well I’m in the valley in Oregon. Yesterday this eye was like all swollen. Yes, we’ll do a whole episode on Zyrtec. Kathy: Yes. Jason: Kathy: No, they could sponsor us. Jason: But what did you suggest that I do in

[30:37] order to fix my allergies? Kathy: Chiropractor. Jason: I just should get an adjustment, right? Everybody knows. Kathy: Please. Of course. Jason: Yes, don’t forget to — Kathy: Don’t forget to follow my 100-part series on evidence for chiropractic. We do have one about do adjustments fix allergies? Spoiler alert, no. Jason: Okay. Turn it. So, overall mortality risk, there’s something called all-cause mortality. And this is just the chances that you’re going to die from anything.

[31:07] Kathy: Anything, okay. Jason: Could be heart disease, could be lung disease, could be diabetes, it could be getting hit by a bus, right? So all-cause mortality factors into that. And that Jones study found that when they refer to it as VILPA. Kathy: Oh. Jason: VILPA. Kathy: What is VILPA? Jason: Gosh, what does it stand for? VILPA stands for vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. Kathy: Okay. Jason: Much worse term than exercise snack, snacktivity — but VILPA.

[31:37] Kathy: VILPA. Jason: Yes. When you do VILPA, you lower your all-cause mortality. Kathy: Let’s go. Jason: Yes. Kathy: It’s VILPA time. Jason: Yes. So lower risk of cardiovascular death, cancer death, all-cause mortality. So sprinkling in a few exercise snacks in there — the evidence is there. You will live forever. Money back guarantee. Kathy: These kind of snacks are good for you. Jason: Yes, absolutely. I think there’s some people that have seen the title of this show and they’re like, “Exercise snacks?”

[32:09] “I’m down for snacks.” And they have already stopped listening because they’re like, they just keep talking about healthy stuff. Kathy: Are they talking about exercise again? Jason: We haven’t talked about like Costco samples even once on this show. Kathy: Jason: When are we going to talk about little smokies, you know? Kathy: Jason: Bacon wrapped shrimp. Anything. Shrimp cocktail. No. They’re exercise snacks. Kathy: Yes. Jason: All right. Let’s see if you got another one of these studies

[32:39] Kathy: Mhm. Jason: ‘cause I’m staring at one. Kathy: Yeah, go for it. Do you want me to do this? Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Okay. So, lipid profile. So, exercise snacks — there’s a study that shows that it improves your overall lipid profile. So that is like your blood triglycerides, your total cholesterol, your LDL cholesterol, which is your bad cholesterol, right? And it even — well, so that is a big deal because a lot of us are like, “I need to get my cholesterol

[33:10] cholesterol medication,” and we think that that is the only way to help regulate cholesterol. But no, the only way is through exercise snacks. Jason: Kathy: Okay, that’s not true. Yeah, that’s not true. Talk to your doctor about whether you should be on a statin or not. But there is evidence that exercise snacking does help to balance out your cholesterol. So I think that’s pretty awesome. Jason: I would agree with that. Kathy: Yeah, let’s see. Jason: Oh. You got one? Kathy: I got one more —

[33:42] one more study. Mitochondria activation, too. That’s another thing. So, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Jason: It is. Kathy: Yeah, there’s just generations of people who took high school biology that just sang along with it. It’s the powerhouse of the cell. I’m a biologist. Jason: There we go. Kathy: Yeah, so they say it because it’s true, right? The mitochondria — you have a bunch of these inside of just about every cell in your body and it helps to create ATP, which is

[34:14] adenosine triphosphate. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Which is the fuel of cellular activity. And so, if you have healthy mitochondria, your cellular energy is going to be high enough for those cells to be healthy. So you need mitochondria for like everything. You know where we’re getting mitochondria? From our mommies. Yeah, you have your mom’s mitochondria. Isn’t that neat? Jason: I love that. Kathy: Yeah, it’s so beautiful. So something that lives in each of us is that we have the mitochondria of our mothers. And so,

[34:45] excuse me. Short intense effort signals the body to build more mitochondria, okay? Jason: Okay. Kathy: Which I think makes sense. It’s like, “Well, what? We’re exercising ourselves?” Jason: What? Kathy: You just see a staircase, you’re going to run up a staircase? Is that what we’re doing now? Like, “Oh, I’m going to drop and give you 50?” And so, when you’re using — it’s like use it or lose it, right? And your body is built to kind of meet the demands of its environment. So, throughout the day, if you’re giving it, if you’re feeding it some exercise, you’re feeding it some

[35:15] snacks, then it’s going to take steps to prepare those cells, which means more mitochondria, which means more health because the cells have the energy to do what they’re going to do, which also means that you’re not just going to have better health, you’re going to have the energy to do stuff that isn’t just like random stairs or random parkour or random jumping jacks. Jason: Is that all you want to do? Kathy: And then, great. You’re there. You’ve reached the pinnacle, Jason: Kathy: right? But if it’s like, “Hey, I want

[35:45] to play with my grandkids.” Jason: Yeah. Kathy: “I want to be alive to have grandkids.” You know, things like that. The upregulation of mitochondria in your body is — I think — one of the things that’s responsible for some of those other factors, like a decrease in all-cause mortality and all those kinds of things. So. Jason: Okay. Next. Kathy: Next. Jason: Next review. This one is very recent, 2024. Kathy: Oh, I remember that.

[36:15] Jason: Jones. Kathy: 2024. Great year. Jason: Really, really, really good year. Kathy: Fine vintage. Jason: Really good year for Notre Dame football, too. 2024-2025 was a really good year. Kathy: How’d the Beavers do that year? I think we had a pretty decent year. Yeah, we did do okay. Yeah, but that was the last one for a while. Jason: They’re coming — Kathy: Yeah, we’re coming back. Jason: I know. I know. Kathy: All right, we should get Coach Shepherd on here. He probably doesn’t want to come on. All right. Jason: Wow, this one is from NIH. Let me pull this one up.

[36:46] Exercise snacks and other forms of intermittent physical activity for improving health in adults and older adults. That is a population that I work with a lot. And so the summary on that is short, frequent 1-to-3-minute bursts of activity — stair climbing, brisk walking, chair sits throughout the day — are a safe and effective strategy for older adults to improve functional capacity, lower

[37:16] limb strength, and cardiovascular health. And so, you know, PT and chiropractic speak — we measure things in gait speed, and balance, and muscle strength. And this specific article’s experiment was a 4-week intervention that showed marked gains — is it “marked” or “marked” gains? Jason: You sound smarter when you say “marked.” Kathy: Showed marked gains in gait speed, balance, and muscle strength, making it a viable approach to combat age-related

[37:48] functional decline. If that doesn’t get it for you,

Jason: Yeah.

Kathy: I don’t know how else to talk you into doing exercise snacks.

Jason: You know, as we’re talking about this, I’m kind of getting a business idea.

Kathy: Oh.

Jason: Right. It’s like you have a gym.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: And it’s like people are coming to you because they want to exercise. What if I had a business where I was delivering exercise snacks? It’s like I’m just going to show up at your job and I’m going to get you out of your chair. You get up right

[38:19] now.

Kathy:

Jason: Get up right now. I’m going to stand on your back, and I want you to do a push-up, right? Or like, you know, I just show up and I start wrestling you.

Kathy: DoorDash for exercise.

Jason: Yeah. Here I am.

Kathy: Uh-huh. Yeah.

Jason: Stand up from that chair.

Kathy: Do you want the nacho cheese ranch style exercise snack? Right? And it’s like, you’re going to do sit-ups but with this cowboy hat on.

Jason: Would you pay extra for expedited delivery? Straight to you delivery.

[38:49] Yeah. I think you should have to pay more, right? That would —

Kathy:

Jason: That would kind of be a crazy good idea, right?

Kathy: Well, and I think that they actually have apps for this. No apps that have actually paid us money to sponsor the show, so I’m not going to say any of their names, but you might go and Google like, are there apps that can help you do exercise snacks? I will say that there’s a really simple one and it is called the alarm app.

Jason: Yes, comes free on every iPhone that I —

[39:20] Kathy: And Android.

Jason: Okay.

Kathy: Yeah, even if you’re poor and you have an Android.

Jason:

Kathy: No, just set a timer, right? When you’re at work or something like that, you can set it on your computer or just set a timer so that — like, if you could realistically, if you’re at work, you could do eight — I was going to say rap snacks, which is an actual brand.

Jason:

Kathy: Like if you’re on the East Coast, you know what rap snacks are. It’s like little Bow Wow barbecue chips with my

[39:51] baby. Anyway, these are not rap snacks. Those are the opposite of health.

Jason: Okay, yeah.

Kathy: They’re full of preservatives and they will take not minutes but hours from your life.

Jason: of what we want —

Kathy: Exactly. No, but exercise snacks — you can probably, if you have an 8-hour work day, you could probably do like seven of these, right? Yeah, so I’m at work, I’m filing the reports, you know, I’m looking at the quarterlies or whatever, and it’s just like, “Oh, my alarm went off. Okay, I’m going to do 10

[40:21] squats right now. Boom, right back to those reports.”

Jason: Mhm.

Kathy: And so, you have the technology to do this, right?

Jason:

Kathy: It might be something that you can build into your day where it’s like, “Hey, instead of driving half a mile to work, I’m going to walk —

Jason: Mhm.

Kathy: — that half a mile, right?

Jason: Could do that.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: I think we have another business idea. This is amazing. We just drive around town,

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: show up to offices.

[40:51] Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: I mean, look at the benefits. Like, we would increase productivity.

Kathy: Oh, heck yeah.

Jason: Employers —

Kathy: Heck yeah.

Jason: — would want to hire us.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: Because you get people’s blood flowing, get their squats up, they come to work,

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: are jazzed and ready to go.

Kathy: Jason, I think all we need is a Prius and a bullhorn.

Jason:

Kathy: The bullhorn is so we can yell at people. All right, you, get down. On the floor, eight jumping jacks. Roll around, get up, jump, jump, jump. And then the Prius.

[41:21] Jason: Because we —

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: It is climate friendly.

Kathy: Let’s just say any car. Any car, any reasonable car. Yeah, not a Prius, probably.

Jason:

Kathy: Yeah, I think — and so in terms of implementing that. So, think about some stuff that you love. Like, last week when we talked with Amy,

Jason: Mhm.

Kathy: talked about like find stuff that you’re interested in or that might be easy to do. I think that it would be fun — like if I worked in an office setting, to just find a coworker or even like

[41:52] make a bracket or something like that where it’s like, “Hey, at 10 till every hour, we’re having a sprint race up the hall,

Jason:

Kathy: right? And like the person who wins the most heats during the day gets like some sort of a prize or something like that. Like, have some fun with it. Find something cool to do where it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to have some sort of physical challenge. We’re going to see who can plank the longest, you know, every single hour.’” And you know, I think that’ll be fun. And it just needs to last like, you know, a couple

[42:23] minutes, like 5 minutes, and then you’re right back to it.

Kathy: Okay, I think I have another idea.

Jason: Okay, what’s your idea?

Kathy: Challenge.

Jason: Yeah.

Kathy: Encore V Body of Health.

Jason: Okay.

Kathy: Monthly exercise snack challenge.

Jason: Okay, how’s it going to work?

Kathy: We record.

Jason: Oh, jeez.

Kathy: Every day.

Jason: it. We’re recording.

Kathy:

Jason: Every day exercise snacks.

Kathy: Okay, and see who has like the most snacks at the end of the month. Are we

[42:54] doing this per capita? Because, you know, we got to — or is it just an individual award or is it my clinic versus your clinic or —

Kathy: versus your clinic.

Jason: Okay, and we got to do it per capita though, right? Because I don’t know if we have the same number of people.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: I kind of feel like physical therapists have an advantage.

Kathy: We do.

Jason: Yeah.

Kathy: But you can squeeze in you and Dr. Lilly —

Jason: Uh-huh.

Kathy: — and Mandy.

Jason: Mandy won’t do it. She doesn’t want to look silly.

Kathy: Oh, okay. Audrey —

Jason: Mandy —

Kathy: Lilly, okay.

[43:24] Jason: She would do it. I think she would. I don’t know.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason: Or she won’t.

Kathy: Okay. One —

Jason: One of those two.

Kathy: Yeah.

Jason:

Kathy: Yeah, okay.

Jason: Keep an eye out.

Kathy: do this.

Jason: podcast.

Kathy: All right, so we’re going to figure out all the rules to this. And then what does the winner get?

Jason: Bragging rights.

Kathy: Oh, yes, I want those. Yes. Okay, cool. And they get to live a lot longer. So, if there’s a bus, they have a much better

[43:54] time or much better chance of surviving getting hit by it. Jason: March Madness. Kathy: I love it. Jason: Comes to you — Kathy: Exercise snacking. Jason: Yes. Kathy: Well, and I think one thing that you could do, too, is if you make a point of getting an exercise snack before you get a food snack, that’s probably good, too. Jason: So, win-win. Kathy: Yeah. Like, a lot of people have Doritos built into their schedule. Oh. Oh, my app. Jason: Kathy: It’s time for me to take a little chip break. Jason: Doritos. Kathy: Yes. I’ve got my Frito timer set,

[44:26] so. Let’s see. Cool. So, oh. A little more data. So, does this actually work in real life? So, I know there’s probably somebody who is thinking, “Well, this is completely implausible. Nobody’s really doing this.” Well, that was one of the interesting things about this study. When you’re looking at studies in general, one of the things that you want to see is what is the dropout rate in the study? If you go and you recruit 5,000 people to be in your study, at the

[44:57] end of your study there’s only 2,500 people left, then first of all, was that study powered enough to answer the questions you’re trying to answer with the study? Second of all, is there something wrong with your intervention to the point where you lost half the people? And that’s something that might need to be addressed. These studies tend to have — like the Rodriguez study had a 91% compliance rate. So, 91% of the people did the exercises and an 83%

[45:28] adherence rate. So, 83% of the people went from beginning of the study to the end doing this. Jason: Wow. That’s an incredible number. Kathy: It’s very high, right? It’s not too common, especially in like exercise and nutrition trials. Those tend to have some of the highest dropout rates because you’re relying on people to have a little bit of willpower and everything. Medication trials, the reason people drop out tends to be side effects, right? So, this is really high for an interventional study

[46:00] where people have to have some discipline. So, what that says to me is that there must be something about this that’s pretty enjoyable. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Right? That people will be like, “Yeah, I’m going to do this.” And so, that’s kind of a neat intervention, too. Let’s see, we got the technology portion we talked about. You got your smartphone, wearables are helpful, right? Yeah, just stop obsessing about steps for a little bit. Well, maybe this is a good way to make sure you get your steps, who knows? And then you also have — there’s like AI,

[46:31] there’s like your Google Home, your Alexa, you know, set some timers, reminders, all that. Jason: They’ll tell you. Kathy: Totally. Jason: It’s time for a snack. An exercise snack. Kathy: So, what are some barriers that people might have to — Jason: Siri’s like, “Oh, yes?” Kathy: Yeah. Jason: You’re telling me you’re going to have me on? Kathy: My Siri just came out and said, “When should I schedule that?” Jason: That’s great. Kathy: So,

[47:02] what about some barriers to doing the exercise snack? What would get in people’s way of doing this, do you think? Jason: Yeah, well, first, you know, make sure that you are cleared. If you have a cardiologist, Kathy: Jason: please — remember, this is for entertainment purposes only. We are not giving out medical advice. Kathy: If you’re like, “I died because I fell down a flight of stairs that Kathy and Jason told me to — mostly Kathy. Jason just was on the show.” Jason: Yeah, if you’re in A-fib, please don’t —

[47:34] please don’t. What are barriers? Well, that’s my first thought is safety. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Right? Safety, and if this is a new exercise to you, don’t do it vigorously. Jason: Yeah. Work your way up to it. Kathy: Work your way up to it. Jason: Yeah. Like, don’t try and deadlift your desk. That would be weird, right? Also, don’t damage yourself or the equipment where you happen to be. Kathy: Yeah, and if you’re doing squats, just start with eight. Jason: Yeah. Kathy: Don’t try to get a hundred in in a

[48:04] day. Jason: Sure. Kathy: Yeah. Or, you know, you can do — instead of doing like a number of squats, you can do squats for like a minute. But it’s just like — yeah, just do it to — what is that called? Like, they — Jason: To failure? Kathy: Yeah, no, no, no, in — like they say in CrossFit, like — AMRAP. Jason: As many rounds as possible? Kathy: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like — Jason: Okay. Yeah, don’t do as many rounds as possible. Kathy: Well, but like in a time limit, right? So, in a minute it’s like, yeah, do

[48:34] — just yeah. Jason: Yeah, bust out some squats like that. Yeah. Another good one — like another good exercise would be like maybe just turn on some music and dance for a little bit every so often. So, it doesn’t even have to be good. And that kind of — I think brings up another barrier though, which is a little bit of social awkwardness. Kathy: Yeah. It is kind of like, Jason: Kathy: “She’s doing squats in her office.” Jason: Why do you keep running up the stairs? What’s up there? Kathy: There is that, but — Jason: Get off that ladder.

[49:06] Kathy: But there’s also a certain element of peer pressure, like, “Hey, Nancy’s running up the stairs. I can do that.” Jason: Yeah, that’s true, right? Like, “What are you doing?” They might explain it. “I’m trying to attend your funeral.” Kathy: Jason: Right? I’m trying to live longer than you. I’m getting a snack. What are you doing? Kathy: Yeah, what are you doing? Jason: You’re eating a snack? Gross. Yeah. Well, and I think — I think also when we’re looking at like during the day, another barrier might be like “What do I have? What do I need?” So,

[49:37] do I have the equipment that I want to have in order to do this? So, like if you’re going to be doing it throughout the day, make sure that you’re wearing — not high heels. Jason: Yeah, don’t do it in heels. Kathy: Right? Or pick an exercise that maybe you could do barefoot, so you could take your shoes off. Or if you’ve got to wear like a dress or a suit or something like that, find something where, you know, it’s going to work into your day. Some people just love the gym. Jason: They do. I do. Kathy: Yeah. And if you just love the gym, you don’t have to do exercise snacks. Jason: Right.

[50:07] Jason: You can. Like, if you’re traveling one day and you can’t — you can’t make it to the gym, you’re waiting there at the gate. Kathy: Yeah. Jason: Like, just challenge the guy next to you to a wrestling match or a sprint. Yeah, something — Kathy: Jason: You know, just hang out at security until they announce that your — that your flight’s leaving. Then — Kathy: Sprint to your gate. Jason: Yeah, I — jeez, I — my son and I were going down to Arizona and we had to catch a flight. It was — the flight was at 5:00

[50:39] a.m. And so, we’re going to stay in a hotel — closest hotel to the airport. We had everything figured out. We’re like, okay, we’re going to be up at 4:00 so that we can get to — we didn’t have to check luggage, so it was like, we just want to get through security at 4:30 and — oh, no, we were getting up at 3:30 so we could get through security at 4:30 and then we could — cuz 4:30 is when it boarded. Yes, thank you. That’s the word I was looking for. And so, at 3:37, he says, “Dad!

[51:09] Dad! We — oh, it was 3:47. Dad, get up. We got to go.” And so, I was like, “All right, I got to get in the shower.” He’s like, “Shower?” He’s like, “You’re not going to shower.” I was like, “Yeah, I’m going to shower. I’ll shower before I fly.” So, we barely made it. But, there was — there was about a 1-mile-ish sprint. Kathy: 1-mile? Jason: Yeah, it felt like it. Yeah. Kathy: Jason: We made it. We got to the gate at like 4:29. Nobody had gotten on that plane yet. But, yeah, so that was quite the exercise snack that morning.

[51:40] So. Let’s see. You know, I think that it’s probably time for a game. And I’ve got a good one. I’ve got a good one. I got to — I got to walk out of frame for a second. Kathy: Okay. Jason: All right. Kathy: Oh, he’s got props. Jason: I’m excited for this game. Scott went and got a prop. Raul and Kathy — Kathy: Okay, here we go. Jason: You’re both going to participate in this game. I got to see if I can — oh, pull it up here. Yes.

[52:11] Is this it? No, no, no. Okay. Kathy: Jason: Where is my game? Aha, yes. Kathy: Got it. Jason: All right, so — Kathy: We’re in. Jason: When people play role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons — Kathy: Oh. Jason: they like to eat snacks. Kathy: Okay, yes. Yes.

[52:41] Jason: Like you want to eat a pizza or drink a Dr. Pepper — Kathy: Yeah. Jason: So, I thought, what if you played a role-playing game but you had exercise snacks, okay? So, we’re going to do a little role-playing game. It’s going to be like Dungeons and Exercise Snacks. Kathy: Oh, here we go. Jason: I’m going to be your Dungeon Master, okay? And here I have — I don’t know if you can — like which camera is on. Oh, yes, here we go. So, I have a 12-sided die.

[53:12] Yes, okay. So, I’m going to give you a scenario and you’re going to have to come up with an exercise snack for that scenario. So, we’ll roll the 12-sided die and based on the results, if it is between a one and a four, you have to come up with a lower body exercise snack. If it is five to nine, it’s got to be upper body. And if it is a 10 or 11, you have to do a cardio one, and

[53:45] if it’s a 12, you just get to pick anything, okay? Kathy: Have to do it? Jason: No, no, no, you don’t have to do it. Whoa, let’s not get crazy here, Kathy. We don’t have to live — we just give advice on this show. You don’t have to live any of it. No. All right, you got it? So, I’ve got the dice here. Who would like to go first? Raul, thank you for volunteering. Yeah, you didn’t know that. But you did. Okay. You are a level seven orc mage. No,

[54:16] just kidding. I don’t know what you are. All right, you’re trapped in a corporate dungeon known as the 2:00 p.m. meeting. The meeting should have been an email. Your boss is sharing his screen and reading bullet points slowly. You have exactly 60 seconds while everyone argues about the budget spreadsheet. What exercise snack do you perform without getting fired? Here it comes. Let’s see, we rolled an eight. So, that’s lower body — no, that’s upper body. Kathy: Yeah, upper body. Jason: Upper body.

[54:47] Kathy: Upper body. Jason: Yes. Kathy: It’s the middle of a meeting. Jason: Middle of a meeting. You got 60 seconds to get in an exercise snack. Kathy: Oh, man. Oh, jeez. Jason: I think I’ve got one. Kathy: Oh, really? Okay. I’m thinking coffee mug lifts. Jason: Coffee mug — what’s in your coffee mug? Kathy: Rocks. Jason: All right. All right. Kathy, what would you go with? Kathy: Push-ups. Jason: Push-ups? Kathy: Mm-hm. Jason: You just like — like

[55:17] just go underneath the conference table? Kathy: Not underneath. I’m on the conference table. Jason: I was thinking like chair dips, you know? Yeah. Yeah, that might be good. Yeah, I don’t know. All right, here we go. Scenario two. Kathy, this is you. You’re in the staircase of doom. You enter a mysterious tower with four flights of stairs. The elevator is broken. The wizard at the top says, “You may pass only if you demonstrate cardiovascular courage.” What exercise

[55:48] snack do you perform? Here’s the roll. It is a 12. So, it’s your choice. Kathy: My choice? Jason: Yes. Kathy: Okay. Jason: This seems like a real gimme. Kathy: It’s kind of — Jason: Let’s see where she goes with this, folks. Kathy: Wait, is there specialized — is there specialized equipment — Jason: But for cardiovascular — Kathy: How many flights of stairs? Jason: We’re going to do — we’re going to do grapevine up and down. Jason: Oh, grapevine up and down the stairs.

[56:18] Kathy: Just going to go straight up and down. We’re grapevining it. Jason: I like that. Raul, what have you got? Raul: Honestly, that’s way better than what I was thinking. I was going to go steps two at a time. Jason: Oh. Raul: Still a good one. That’s a good one. Kathy: A little plyometric work. Jason: I like it. Kathy: Yeah, I think I would go up the steps backwards then. Yeah, just because — who doesn’t need a good head injury? Raul: Want your knees over your toes. Jason: Yeah, definitely. Trying to protect — trying to protect. Okay. Scenario three, the kitchen ambush. You

[56:50] Walk into the kitchen to grab a snack — like a regular snack. But the refrigerator whispers, “You don’t need more chips. You need more movement. You have 90 seconds before the microwave beeps. What exercise snack do you perform?” Roll the dice. Oh, it’s an eight. We’re upper body again.

Kathy: Okay.

This is you, Raul.

Kathy:

Oh, man. I’m assuming you can’t bicep curl the microwave.

Kathy: I wouldn’t suggest it.

[57:22] I wouldn’t recommend it. Maybe the milk jug in the fridge.

Jason: Oh, there we go. Yes, grab that milk jug. Great, very good. Gabby, what would you do?

We’re going handstand push-ups with your back against the cabinets.

Jason: Holy smokes, you’re a hardcore girl. All right, wow. Man, let’s see. I’ll do doorway lat

[57:53] pulls, you know, just like — yes, okay, there we go. All right, let’s do one more scenario because — weird. All right, okay, here we go. Let me see — which one do we want to do. Oh, this — oh. Okay, gosh, some of these are so applicable. We’re going to do them both. We’ll just do them fast. Okay, here we go. Zoom camera curse. You’re in a Zoom meeting, your camera is off. Great news. Someone has asked you a question — or someone asked you a question.

[58:24] Suddenly, you hear the phrase “any other thoughts?” You have 45 seconds before someone might call on you. What exercise do you perform? Roll the dice. It’s an eight again. These are loaded dice. Upper body. What are you doing?

I’m going to go wall sit.

Jason: Wall sit for your arms? Oh, it’s upper body. Shoot. Okay, I’m going to go —

[58:56] Man. I keep going for like bicep curling right now.

Kathy: Can you curl the monitor?

I would just bicep curl the monitor. You could.

Maybe an overhead press of the monitor.

Jason: Yes, there we go. There we go. Gabby, what do you got?

I’m — well, this is sort of core, but can be upper body. Mhm.

[59:26] I’m going to go front carry of my chair.

Jason: Oh, okay. Walk around the chair.

The chair. Oh, that’s good. What about like an incline push-up on the desk? Yeah. Yeah, just leaning forward on it. That sounds good. Okay, last one, I promise. The Netflix temptation trap. You’re watching Netflix. Da-da. The episode ends and the screen says next episode starts in 15 seconds. You must complete an exercise snack before the next episode begins. What do you do?

[59:56] Roll the dice. It’s a two. It’s finally lower body. What are you doing? 15 seconds is a little short. 45 seconds.

45 seconds.

Yeah. Kathy, you’re first this time. Uh-huh.

Kathy: Okay. I am going — vigorous butt kicks.

Jason: Oh, 45 seconds of butt kicking. Raul.

I’m going to go AMRAP squats.

Jason: AMRAP squats — as many as you can, right? Well, then I’m stealing Raul’s. I’m saying wall sit. All right.

[60:26] Okay, that was — it was a game. I’ll admit that. It was a game. So. All right. So, let’s wrap it up. Final takeaways. Take-homes. What do you got, Kathy?

Kathy: Takeaways — these exercise snacks have been proved by science to help with cardiorespiratory health. And they are easy to do. You don’t need specialized equipment —

[60:56] — to do it. You don’t.

You don’t — you just need your body. It just needs to be vigorous.

Kathy: Yes.

Yeah.

I like to move it, move it.

Move it. To move it, move it.

Jason: Yes, to quote Madagascar. I think for me, I like your idea of implementing this with the people that you work with, right? Create a culture of exercise snacks. This should not be a secret. Everybody should know about this. Let’s normalize exercise snacks. So, when you see somebody — when you see somebody

[61:27] racing down the street pushing a shopping cart full of microwaves and jugs of milk — It’s Raul. Wearing a wizard hat. You know, let’s normalize that.

It. Yes.

All right, but I think that the most important thing that we can get to today is that there’s no “I” in PTCH.

[62:00]