Don’t have a lot of time during the day? Give these tips a try to stay active during your breaks.
Stretching
If you are sitting at a desk all day, it’s good to incorporate stretching when you can. You can follow a stretch workout online, or develop your own. Some benefits of stretching include increasing flexibility and range of motion, improving posture, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and reducing stress.
Take a Walk
Simple but effective: get outside and take a walk! If you have the ability, this can be a great way to stay active and boost your mood. Put on some of your favorite music to keep a steady pace and get your heart rate up.
Bodyweight Circuit
You don’t need fancy equipment to get a great workout in. Bodyweight circuits come in all shapes and types. Find one online, create your own, or give this one a try for a simple a quick option:
Complete 10 – 15 reps of each exercise and repeat circuit 2 – 3 times.
- Squats
- Arm circles (both directions)
- Reverse lunges
- Pushups (modify as needed)
- Bridges
- Superman
HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training
Don’t be intimidated by the name “high intensity”. You can make it as intense as you like. HIIT is a form of interval training that alternates between short periods of cardiovascular-based exercises and short periods of recovery. A common format are :20 seconds of work and :10 seconds of rest, but you can pick intervals of time that work for you.
Give it a try with this short, 10 minute HIIT workout –
Do each exercise for :20 seconds and work as hard as you can. In between each exercise, take a :10 second rest. Repeat 3 times to make it a 10 – minute workout.
- Jumping jacks
- High knee runs
- Punches
- Butt kickers
- Mountain climbers
- Plank toe taps
Rest for 1 – 2 minutes, or as needed.
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