Activity Breaks While Working (even at home!)

Adults require 150 minutes of physical activity each week, or 30 minutes most days, to keep healthy and reduce the risk of lifestyle-related disease. This might seem like a lot, but the good news is that you don’t have to do it all at once. By breaking the time down into smaller, more manageable chunks, getting your 30 minutes each day is easy. And it becomes even easier when you have the support of your workplace!

Here are some 10 minute activity breaks to incorporate into your day:

• Take all phone calls standing up on one leg
• Do 1-minute sets of step ups on a chair or step. Rest and repeat for 10 minutes
• Use a large water bottle to touch the ground then press it above your head. Repeat for 10 minutes
• Complete 10 x 1 minute bursts of push ups
• Draft an email while walking then come back to your computer and type it out
• Choose a 10 minute YouTube stretch video to do
• Take away your chair for 10 minutes and try to hold a squat position for as long as you can
• Set a calendar reminder to take a walk every 2 hours
• Hold a wall sit for 30-60 seconds or as long as you can hold it. Rest and repeat 10 times.
• Lie on your back, put your legs straight in the air and reach for your toes. Rest and repeat 10 times
• Hold a plank position for 1 minute. Repeat 10 times
• Count the steps you can do in 10 minutes. Tip – use your phone or smartwatch to help count the steps
• With two 1 Litre water bottles and do 1-minute rounds of raising your arms straight ahead and above you head. Repeat for 10 minutes

• Do squats every time you boil the kettle for a tea or coffee
• Sitting at your desk, ‘jig’ your legs without stopping for 10 minutes
• Holding on to your desk, raise your leg backwards, squeezing your butt and flexing your foot
• Hold for as long as possible, change sides and repeat for 10 minutes
• Grab some weights and do 10 x 1-minute shoulder presses, alternating arms. Tip –a sticky tape dispenser or full water bottles make great weights
• Do 10-15 squats every minute on the minute for 10 minutes
• Starting at your feet, squeeze and relax every major muscle group (feet, calves, thighs, bottom, abs, shoulders, chest, hands, teeth, face) 3 times for 20 seconds
• Do a circuit of 20 x squats, 20 x push-ups, 20 x ab crunches. Repeat for 10 minutes.
• Grab a ball or frisbee and toss it around with a partner for 10 minutes
• Find some starts and take two steps up and one down for 10 minutes
• Challenge someone to a sit-up competition – who can do the most sit-ups in 10 minutes
• In a chair, raise your legs out straight, while bracing your abs. Hold for 2 minutes and repeat 5 times. Tip – make it harder by holding a water bottle between your feet