Get moving — a little at a time!
You’ve heard the warnings. Sitting is the new smoking. Sitting is killing us. Even if you get in a solid workout or trip to the gym, sitting the other 10 or 11 hours of the day at the desk, in the car and on the couch is super-bad physically and mentally. Here’s a great way to quit that and get in your needed exercise. Exercise snacks!
Exercise snack once an hour
Pick a time for your exercise snack once an hour. Set an alarm. Be your own fitness app. Fit it in between phone calls and intensive work that requires sitting in one spot. (I’m a writer. I know what that’s like.) If you work in an office, you need to be a bit more creative, but maybe you can choose a movement buddy and work in the time together. If you work at home, you just need to motivate yourself. When your movement break comes, stand up and do something for 2 to 10 minutes. What you do depends on what’s happening and on you.
If you work in an office
If you’re in a work environment with other people, obviously you need to pick activities you can do in work clothes. These might include side bends, toe raises, semi-squats and/or walking in place. Those are things you can sneak in even if you’re talking on the phone. (Probably don’t want to try it on Zoom calls.) If you have a staircase nearby, go up and down the stairs twice or take a stroll around your floor. Time yourself. No less than 2 minutes. Try to fit in some longer exercise breaks at least a few times a day, and if you can include one where you get sunshine and air, that’s fantastic. But that’s not essential. The movement is.
If you work at home or are retired
This is fun. Set up your home office (or a corner of your private cubicle or office if you have such a thing) just for exercise breaks. Put a yoga mat on the floor. Set a couple mini-barbells to the side. (Truthfully, you don’t even need those props, but they add motivation and a reminder.) See the photo below? This is a mini-stair stepper i bought to help me both do my movement breaks and work in more steps per day. It’s great.I hop on it for a few minutes and it get’s my heart pumping. Again, not something you need, but a fun addition.
Start exercise snacks today
Make sure you have a water bottle handy so you can add hydration to your exercise snacks. Pick times that work for you. I have an Apple watch and it tells me to move once an hour, BUT it drives me crazy because it wants me to move whenever it says and it doesn’t count the movement any other time. If i ignore the prompt to stand and move, but do my movement a half hour later, it doesn’t record it. Grrr. Not very reinforcing! So make this your goal to move at the time that works in your schedule as long as it’s within the hour.
Ideas for exercise snacks
- Staircases are great whether at home or the office. A couple flights at a time makes a great break.
- Get a mini-stair stepper and use it.
- Walk in place. Plug in some earphones and reward yourself with music or an audiobook as you walk.
- Do yoga postures – standing poses if you’re in work clothes or on a mat if you’re comfy at home
- Planks are great for the whole body if you have a place to stretch on the floor. If you’re not too dressed up, you can even do them in a business suit. If planks are a no-go, do wall push-aways.
- Keep a couple small barbells or an exercise band nearby and use them often.
- If you really have to stay at your desk, do stand-ups without using your hands, knee lifts, side bends
The minutes add up
Even if you only do two or three minutes on each break, after six or seven hours you’ve got at least half the exercise you need for the day. Add in a 15 minute walk when you get home or before work, and you’ve got the basis for a solid exercise program that you can fit into your life. Plus, you’ve defeated the sitting monster. Well done!