Parkinson’s: Movement Snacks

Snarky Parky & me

A Journey Into Parkinson's with Nancy Mellon 

Coordinated By Corrine Bayraktaroglu

Movement Snacks

I love this idea! It means that you can take your exercise in small intense bites. The only draw back for me is that it is hard to remember to stop and do it. 

“Current health guidelines, call for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. But a growing body of evidence suggests that taking an all-or-nothing approach to fitness isn’t realistic. Some days, five or 10 minutes is all you’ve got.” Quotes are from a Silver Sneakers article.

"Movement snacks are short bursts of physical activity that can fill up your fitness tank and help you hit that 150-minute target.”

Also called high-intensity physical activity- The words “high intensity” tend to make me shiver, I want to run the other way. I remember watching a webinar about a study where the partner of a person with Parkinson's is forcing high intensity exercise on their partner by riding a tandem bike with them. The partner rides faster than the Parkie normally would. They are “forced” to keep up. I really hate the term Forced. It brings out my stubborn streak. Big Time. On the other hand, I love that exercise can be considered medicine for a person with Parkinson's. So If forcing is the only way to get me to exercise hard enough to get the benefits of exercise? Will I do it? No, probably not if forced.

You and I might be tempted to think I am a lazy git. And in some ways I am. But I have also been very proud of myself in all the exercise that I have been doing since I got my diagnosis of Parkinson's. Remember this is a girl that never exercised before!

Is nothing that i have been doing, the walks, the Boxing, the Cardio Rehab, high intensity? Wellll, I have been wondering. After cardio rehab, I feel better able to move about without the stiffness that has been bothering me so much lately. It is an hour long , work out. I am trying to push myself to go harder at the machines (which is different than having someone force you to do it harder!) Afterwards, you report in to the nurse about how long you worked on the machine and how many watts it had on it. Then the nurse asks what number do you feel you worked to? The scale on the wall goes from 1 – 10. and each has a description beside it. Of course, at the moment, i can' t see well enough to read them very well. I think, for cardio rehab we are supposed to be in the high intensity range which is, I think, 7-10. But, even at moderate intensity the list says you are sweating and having trouble holding a conversation. I don't sweat, (I hardly ever do in general,) and my breathing doesn't become ragged with the amount of energy I am putting out. 

But it is still amazing to me the amount of exercise I am doing! I tend to feel like i am tired or that I am breathing a little harder but it doesn't jive with what i have read or been told we need for our Parkinson's symptoms to get better. So is it worth it? I think so.

In our Rock Steady Boxing class, Cynthia has us sing a verse of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat.” And then she tells us, that if we don't have enough breath to sing a song after our exercise then we are doing enough. If not....then she needs to push us harder. No one ever says, “Cynthia you need to push us harder.” But I know that I need to push harder.

So, back to the movement snacks: Just ,”three or four movement snacks a day, can provide a surprising improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness, according to a 2018 study that involved brief bouts of stair climbing. Participants went up a flight of 60 steps briskly and then had between one to four hours of recovery time.“ 

(I need to count our steps , but I think it Is only about 20 steps to our second floor, so I would need to go up and down and then up again.) 

I think the idea of, brief bouts of high intensity exercise might be the answer to my quandary. I have been trying to do brief spurts at my different cardio exercise stations. For a little while, I do them faster and harder.  I can do that.  So I go chugging along at my normal speed and then try a burst of speed for about a minute. Then I go back to my normal speed and then a little later I go back to the speedy version of me exercising. It is kind of fun and it is doable!

“When they did this three times daily for six weeks, they improved the way their bodies used oxygen and boosted heart health measures. They saw these benefits from only about one minute of extra activity daily.“

And listen to this-”In another study, people who did a movement snack before each main meal had better blood sugar control compared to those who did one session of continuous, moderate-intensity exercise for a longer period of time. 

“Even just a few seconds of intense activity, done regularly, made a difference in the muscle mass and cardiovascular function of older adults in a 2021 study reported in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.“

So, what exactly is a movement snack? 

“It can be anything that feels like a short burst of activity that breaks up a block of sitting time.”

What could be your movement snack? 

• Go up the stairs more quickly than usual

• Run in place for 10 seconds

• Lift a gallon of milk over your head for five seconds, then switch sides

• Dance to your favorite song

• Vigorously scrub your kitchen counters

• Do a yoga sun salutation sequence

• Run alongside your grandchild or dog for a few minutes

• Stand up and sit down five times whenever you get up from sitting (I've been giving this a try)

“By seeing these movement snacks as fun, you’re more likely to keep putting more of them into your day, plus, that way it feels like you’re playing. Get creative with it and begin seeing opportunities everywhere. .” Quotes are from a Silver Sneakers article.

We might want to make it a challenge- 

• How many movement snacks can I do today?

• five?

• Ten?

• How many different movement snacks can I come up with?

• Can I do more than you?

• Can you do more than me?

Good snacking,

Nancy & the Snark