Think about how much time you spend not moving during the day. Most of us spend about a third of our time sleeping and another third sitting. Chances are, you’re sitting right now while reading this! Sleep is unavoidable, but sitting for long stretches is something you can change.

Research shows that interrupting prolonged sitting with short bouts of activity can make a big difference. For example, doing 15 bodyweight squats (from a chair stand to calf raise) or taking a quick two-minute walk was shown in a recent study to enhance dietary amino acid utilization for muscle protein synthesis. That’s a big win if your goal is to build muscle!

Bottom Line: Break up prolonged sitting with a short “activity snack” every 30 minutes. Small changes like this add up to big improvements in health and performance.