If you’ve reading my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a big fan of the “little a lot” concept.
You’ve probably heard me talk about it in the context of exercise – I mean, I built an entire online strength training program around it! But it’s not just a workout strategy for me. I apply it to posture, joint health, habit formation, and honestly, my personal life too.
I’m not someone who white-knuckles their way to the weekend waiting for rest. I’ve designed my week with small pockets of something good each day – a short walk, reading time, sitting outside to eat a yummy lunch – so I’m not hanging on by a thread by Friday. Because we all know the weekend never delivers the reset we’re hoping for if we come into it burnt out and desperate.
Before I share some recent research with you, I want you to do a quick self assessment and see if any of these resonate:
➡️ You spend a lot of your day in the same position – whether that’s at a desk, in the car, on your feet, or with a baby on your hip – and no matter how much you stretch at the end of the day, you still feel tight and stiff.
➡️ You’re exercising – getting to the gym, going for walks, showing up – but you still have back pain, neck pain, or headaches. You thought exercise was supposed to help with that.
➡️ You’re already doing the little a lot approach – maybe you’re inside GLOW10 Tribe, doing your daily sessions, feeling the benefits – but somewhere in the back of your mind you worry it’s not enough. It all seems a bit slack compared to what others seem to be doing.
If you said yes to any of these, you will want to read on.
The first two are signs your body isn’t getting enough variety throughout the day – not a strength problem, not a flexibility problem. When any tissue is held in the same position for hours, it starts to complain. And one workout at the end of the day can’t undo that.
And if it’s the third you can relate to? Well, you’re just going to feel really validated by the end of this email…
What the research actually shows
A recent 12-week randomised trial had 86 office workers take a three-minute movement break every single hour during their working day.
Not a workout. Not a walk. Just three minutes of movement, once an hour.
After 12 weeks: measurable improvements were noted in:
✔️ blood glucose
✔️ blood pressure
✔️ insulin sensitivity
✔️ waist circumference, and
✔️ cholesterol.
But do you know which finding I find even more interesting?
➡️ 82% of participants stuck with it for the full 12 weeks. In a research study, that is almost unheard of!
The reason they stuck with it is the same reason it worked: it was simple enough to actually do.
Frequency matters more than you think
We’ve been taught to think about consistency as showing up perfectly – never missing, doing it properly, completing the full plan.
But what the research keeps showing us is that frequency is the real driver. How often your body gets the signal. How many times across the day and the week it’s reminded that it needs to be mobile, capable, and strong.
Six 10-15 minute sessions spread across a week create a very different physiological experience than one long session on a Sunday – even if the total time is the same.
Your body doesn’t need a big conversation once a week. It needs a lot of small ones.
In this week’s episode of my podcast, I cover this in more depth and I also share a simple three-step framework for actually putting it into practice rather than just nodding along and moving on. Pop it on while you walk or do the school run.[Listen to Episode 51 here]