Do short workouts count? Marie Murphy on exercise snacks

Yes, short workouts count. Current guidelines no longer ask for a minimum block, and trials found that the same exercise split into shorter pieces worked as well for fitness as one long session. The practical move is a short version, about ten minutes, that you do on the days the full session won't fit, so a hard day doesn't end the week.

The rule that ends more routines than laziness sounds sensible: if I can't do thirty minutes, why bother? Michelle Segar, a behavioral scientist at the University of Michigan and author of No Sweat, hears it all the time. On The Art of Manliness, Segar described "people's beliefs about what constitutes a valid session of exercise" as a big reason people stop. "If, in order to successfully exercise or be a healthy eater, I have to achieve X, Y, and Z, and I can only achieve X, then why bother?" (The Art of Manliness, YouTube, 9:10).

Marie Murphy has spent about thirty years researching how people fit activity into ordinary lives, starting with a PhD on breaking one bout of exercise into shorter ones. In 2019 Murphy led a review of the trials comparing the two. On a BBC Radio 4 special of Just One Thing with Michael Mosley, Murphy put the result plainly: "Years ago, we used to think you had to do 20 minutes or 30 minutes. Now we know that every little bit adds up" (BBC Radio 4, about 7:32).

Below are seven steps in three parts: why the thirty-minute rule is out of date, how to build a short version that counts, and how to grow from there. The grouping is ours.

Why "thirty minutes or nothing" is out of date

1. Know that the ten-minute rule is gone

Older guidance said activity had to come in blocks of at least ten minutes to count. The World Health Organization removed that rule in 2020, saying the recommendation "for bouts of least 10 minutes duration has been removed" (WHO, 2020). The US guidelines had already listed the "elimination of the requirement for physical activity of adults to occur in bouts of at least 10 minutes" in their 2018 edition (US HHS, 2018).

The UK Chief Medical Officers go further. "There is no minimum amount of physical activity required," their report says, and "small bouts (including fewer than 10 minutes) accumulated over the day and week will also provide benefits" (UK Chief Medical Officers, 2019). Their summary line is "Any activity is better than none."

Segar makes the same point from the other side. The 2018 US guidelines, Segar said in the same conversation, restated that "you can accumulate physical activity during the day, and everything counts. Everything." A five-minute walk round the block with the dog counts.

2. Trust the split

Murphy's review, published in 2019, pooled 19 randomized trials with 1,080 adults. Each compared one daily session with the same total exercise, of the same kind and intensity, split into shorter bouts across the day. "There were no differences between accumulated and continuous groups for any cardiorespiratory fitness or blood pressure outcomes," the authors wrote (Murphy et al., 2019).

The limits matter. The trials were small (only three had groups above 30 people), the short bouts were usually around ten minutes, and each compared the same total split two ways. So it doesn't show that five minutes does what thirty does. It shows that splitting the time made no difference to fitness, which is enough to retire the idea that a short session is a lesser one.

3. Notice the short bursts already in your day

Researchers now call quick, everyday bursts of effort "exercise snacks". Martin Gibala, a kinesiologist at McMaster University, tested stair climbing spread through the day in a small trial with inactive young adults. The stair climbers ended up fitter than a group that didn't exercise. "Those who work in office towers or live in apartment buildings can vigorously climb a few flights of stairs in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening," Gibala said (McMaster University, 2019).

A larger study looked at what people do without planning it. In the UK Biobank, 25,241 adults with an average age of about 62, who said they did no leisure exercise, wore a wrist tracker for a week. About 89% still recorded short bursts of vigorous activity in daily life, such as climbing stairs briskly, carrying shopping or hurrying for a train. On average they had eight bursts a day, totaling just under four and a half minutes (Stamatakis, Hamer & Ahmadi, 2022). Over about seven years, a few of these bursts a day were linked with better long-term health than none (Stamatakis et al., 2022). It was an observational study, so it shows a link, not cause.

In practice: take the stairs, carry the shopping home, walk the last stop. Brisk stair climbing is vigorous effort, though, so if you're starting from little, begin at the talking pace in step 4.

Build a short version that counts

4. Set your short version before you need it

A short version is what you do on a hard day, when the full session won't fit. Ten minutes is a good place to start. The UK guidance suggests "aiming to do at least 10 minutes at a time" as a behavioral goal for people starting from low levels of activity, and five minutes counts too if ten feels like a lot.

Make it specific: a ten-minute brisk walk from your front door, ten minutes of the home video you already know, or two songs' worth of dancing in the kitchen. Keep it at a moderate pace, where you can talk but not sing, as the NHS describes it (NHS, 2024). And stop while you could still do more, so the next one feels easy to start.

Before you move more, a quick check, in the program's words: "The NHS suggests speaking to your GP first if you haven't exercised for a while. WHO and US guidance say that for light to moderate activity, like brisk walking, that's generally not needed. If checking would put your mind at rest, do." Check with a doctor first, then come back to your plan, if you have chest pain, pressure or fainting when you're active; a pounding, skipping or racing heart, dizziness or unusual breathlessness when you're active; a heart, kidney or metabolic condition, or another long-term condition or symptoms you're unsure about; if a doctor has told you to limit your activity; or after recent surgery, a heart event, an injury or an illness. If you're pregnant or recently gave birth, agree your choices with your midwife or doctor. With a cold or fever, wait until you're better. Every session has one rule: stop if anything hurts or you feel unwell (British Heart Foundation, Staying active).

5. Use it on the day the full version won't fit

The advantage Murphy calls probably more important is practical. "The second thing that I think is probably more important about the short bouts is if you miss an exercise, you're only missing 10 minutes," Murphy told Mosley (about 8:14). Miss a 30-minute walk because "life throws you a curveball" and you've lost all of it. Miss a 10-minute one, and "there's still a chance that you might get another 10 or maybe another 20 at another stage during the day."

A routine rarely ends on a good day. It ends on a day the full version felt too big, and then the next. So decide the swap in advance, in one sentence: "If my slot comes and the full session won't fit, I'll do my short version." On that day, the short version is the session, and it counts like any other.

The same logic helps after a miss. If you skipped yesterday, today's slot gets the short version, never a double session to make up for it. Our guide to getting back into exercise covers the comeback in full.

6. Count the week, not the day

The UK guidelines say adults "should aim to be physically active every day," and the NHS suggests spreading activity over four or five days, or every day. That's the direction. The same UK report says the weekly total can also come "in one or 2 sessions per week while still leading to health benefits." Both are true: moving most days is a good aim, and a week with one or two sessions still counts.

That's also the honest answer about weekend warriors. Researchers at Teesside University summed up a study of more than 60,000 adults aged 40 and over in England and Scotland. People who fitted the recommended amount into one or two days a week were linked with better health than inactive people, and people who spread their activity across the week were linked with the most (Taylor & Graham, 2022). Activity was self-reported, so read it as a direction.

The guidelines' full direction is up to 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, or 75 of vigorous, plus strength work on at least two days (WHO, 2020). Treat that as where you're heading over months. The UK report says the greatest gains come from going from inactive to fairly active, "even if this is below the 150 minute threshold." Your plan can start well below it.

So count sessions by the week, with room for two planned skips, so one missed day is an ordinary miss. Our guide to making exercise a habit explains why that matters.

Grow it slowly

7. Add one thing after two steady weeks

Once the short version and your weekly number hold for two weeks, grow one thing by a small step: one more slot, about five more minutes, or one strength day. Keep it for two weeks before the next change, and step back if sessions start to feel too hard more than once. Those amounts are our own working rule, built on public guidance to "start low and go slow" (US HHS, 2018). The same US guidance says the risk of getting hurt is "directly related to the gap between a person's usual level of activity and a new level of activity." Small steps keep that gap small.

If you notice new symptoms as you do more, talk to a doctor. To find a slot that holds, see the best time to work out. If you'd like steps as a measure, see how many steps a day.

Every little bit, counted

Segar's "why bother" and Murphy's "every little bit adds up" describe the same moment from two sides: the day the full plan won't fit. The evidence is on Murphy's side, and a short version decided in advance is how you use it on a busy Tuesday. Murphy's own advice, earlier in the same interview, is to fit activity into your normal life until it becomes a habit.

To build this around your own week, try the 1h Protocol to Build an Exercise Routine, a program of practical education. Its free first chapter starts with a quick check, asks how your last try ended and finds your pattern, one of five or the Tune-up, with one thing to do tomorrow. The full program takes about an hour: seven chapters show why your last try stopped and what counts, help you set your full version, your short version for hard days and your weekly number with planned skips, build one session from your slot to the next, and plan the slot after a miss. You leave with up to three changes to start now, your line for the slot after a miss in your own words, a log that counts the week with planned skips, your slots in your calendar, and reviews on days 7, 14 and 30. Four one-tap check-ins follow by email on days 1, 7, 14 and 30, if you're signed in. Start free

Frequently asked questions

Is 10 minutes of exercise worth it?

Yes. The current WHO and US guidelines dropped the ten-minute minimum, and UK guidance says small bouts, including under ten minutes, add up over the day and week (UK Chief Medical Officers, 2019). Ten minutes at a time is also the UK's suggested first goal for people starting from a low level.

What are exercise snacks?

Short bursts of activity spread through the day, such as a few brisk flights of stairs, carrying shopping or a quick walk between meetings. Most adults who said they did no leisure exercise still recorded such bursts when they wore a tracker, in a UK study (Stamatakis, Hamer & Ahmadi, 2022). If you're starting from little, begin at a talking pace.

How much exercise do I need a week?

The guidelines give a direction: up to 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, or 75 of vigorous, plus strength work on at least two days (WHO, 2020). It's where you head over months, not an entry ticket. Any activity is better than none, and the biggest step is from doing very little to doing some.

Does it count if I only exercise at the weekend?

Yes. UK guidance says the weekly total can come in one or two sessions a week (UK Chief Medical Officers, 2019). In a study of more than 60,000 adults, weekend-only activity was linked with better health than none, and spreading it across the week was linked with the most (Taylor & Graham, 2022).

Do I have to exercise every day?

No. Being active most days is the guidelines' aim, and one or two sessions a week still count. A plan with two or three sessions and a short version for hard days is a sound start. Count the week, so one missed day doesn't end it.

Sources

This article draws on Prof Marie Murphy's interview on BBC Radio 4's Just One Thing, Dr Michelle Segar's interview on The Art of Manliness, and the studies and guidance listed below.

• Exercise Special, with Prof Marie Murphy (radio and podcast episode, Just One Thing, BBC Radio 4, 2023)
• Counterintuitive Advice on Making Exercise a Sustainable Habit, with Dr Michelle Segar (podcast episode and official transcript, The Art of Manliness 575, 2020; YouTube upload)
• Murphy et al, The effects of continuous compared to accumulated exercise on health (meta-analysis, 19 randomized trials, 1,080 adults, 2019)
• UK Chief Medical Officers, Physical activity guidelines (government guideline, 2019)
• WHO, Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour (international guideline, 2020)
• US HHS, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (government guideline, 2018)
• NHS, Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 (health information page, 2024)
• Stamatakis, Hamer & Ahmadi, Short bursts of physical activity during daily life (the study authors on their UK Biobank cohort, The Conversation, 2022)
• Stamatakis et al, Vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity and long-term health (cohort study, 25,241 UK adults who reported no leisure exercise, 2022)
• McMaster University, Exercise 'snacks' make fitness easier (university news release on a small stair-climbing trial, 2019)
• Taylor & Graham, 'Weekend warrior' exercise (researchers' article on a study of more than 60,000 adults in England and Scotland, The Conversation, 2022)
• British Heart Foundation, Staying active (health information page, 2025; named, not linked, because the page offers a helpline)