Ever wondered who the lucky woman married to Chris Hemsworth is? Well, the better question would be ‘who’s the lucky man married to Elsa Pataky?’
Chris’ wife, Elsa, is an actress and a huge star in her own right in her homeland of Spain. She also starred in four of the Fast and the Furious films and currently appears in the Netflix series Tidelands. Oh yeah, and much like her husband, Elsa also happens to have a smokin’ bod, which recently graced the cover of Women’s Health Australia.
Alongside Chris, the 42-year-old (yes, really!) recently launched a new lifestyle app, Centr. In the WH magazine article, she dished on the app, how she practices mindfulness and the couple’s idyllic life in Byron Bay with their three kids. But it was what Elsa reportedly did during the cover shoot that really piqued our interest. “Between set changes on our shoot, she does squats and stretches to ‘feel strong’ and energised,” Alex Davies writes in the article. Elsa calls this ‘fitness snacking’—pumping out a few moves on the go, whenever she has the chance.
What is fitness snacking?
The term ‘fitness snacking’ has actually been around for years, but was recently popularised by UK personal trainer Matt Richards. Matt, who trains the likes of Naomi Campbell, recommends this bite-sized fitness technique to his high-profile clients. [Fitness snacking] involves short periods of exercise dotted throughout the day, rather than doing it all in one go,” he explains to The Telegraph. He recommends trying to hit five ‘points’ per day. “Keep a tally in your head. I’ve walked the dog, that’s two points. I went for a 20-minute walk at lunchtime, that’s another two points.”
Some ways you can incorporate fitness snacking into your life include doing a few push-ups upon waking, pumping out 10 squats while you’re cleaning your teeth, walking to work, taking the stairs and doing a few covert booty exercises at your desk. Before you know it, you’ve done 30+ minutes of exercise!
But can these shorter bursts of exercise really replace your longer sweat sesh? According to Exercise physiologist Andrew Daubney from Rebound Health, the answer is yes—so long as you keep the intensity up. “You can still get the hormonal and metabolic effects of exercise by breaking it up into bite-sizes throughout the day,” he tells Body+Soul. However, the key is to go for dynamic, full-body movements that get your heart rate up. “Exercises like squats, lunges, plank, push-ups and pull-ups are ideal,” Andrew says.
What are the benefits of fitness snacking?
The biggest benefit of fitness snacking is that it can be far easier to fit into your day than a one-hour gym session. You’ve gotta love anything that excuse-proofs your workouts! PT and holistic health coach Kylie Anderson also likes the fact that fitness snacking can give you well-rounded workout, without having to slog it out for hours in the gym. “You’re working your arms, belly [and] legs, and getting in cardio with walking and/or taking the stairs,” she says.
There’s also the fact—as Elsa says—it’s a great way to get a little booty/arm/legs pump on and give yourself an instant energy boost. And hey, if it’s good enough for Elsa, it’s good enough for us!
