How to avoid sedentary behavior – 3 minutes at a time

1. Get up. Sit down. Repeat

It is important to get up from your chair at least once an hour. The simplest way to start moving is to get up from your chair and sit down again to do an exercise.

Coaches and coaches call this the box squat. Standing in front of the chair, sit down slowly, making contact with the seat without putting all your weight on it. Then, drive by your feet, legs and hips to get up. Repeat this movement, at your own pace, for three full minutes.

If you’re in the mood, after a minute or two, you can progress to a squat with body weight without the chair. If your chair has wheels, be sure to lock them before squatting on the box.

2. Make your heart beat faster

Jumping is a simple but effective movement from side to side that makes your heart race. That said, I am not recommending that you jump out of your chair every hour and immediately start doing jumping jacks.

To avoid the risk of injury after sitting for a long time, first prepare your body for any type of high-impact activity. Preparation time counts for your three minutes, so spend a minute doing some side turns, side lifts and running before turning into jumping jacks. If jumping has a very high impact for you, modify it with alternate side steps instead of jumping.

3. Move your hands to relieve tension

Have you ever thought that the tension in your hands from all that typing may be contributing to the tension in your shoulders?

The muscles work in chains, so tension can go up and down your body. When you are tense or immobile in an area, other muscles need to compensate to help you move. These muscles then understandably become overloaded and tense, triggering a chain reaction of muscle compensation and chronic tension.

To perform hand exercises, focus on one hand at a time. Rest the elbow of the hand you are exercising on the table to stabilize it. Close your fist, open your hand and spread your fingers as far apart as possible. Repeat five times.

Then close your fist and slowly rotate your wrist in one direction five times. Repeat in the opposite direction. Open your hand and use your other hand to gently press your fingers back and stretch the inside of your wrist and hand. Hold for three breaths. Repeat pressing the hand forward to stretch the back of the hand and the wrist.

Then focus on your fingers. Use the opposite hand to hold and stabilize your wrist while stretching your thumb and making three circles in one direction and then the other. Repeat this action to the best of your ability with each finger. Repeat all exercises with the other hand.

Finish by standing up, interlacing your fingers and stretching your arms over your head, with your palms facing up. Hold for a few breaths and repeat with your hands clasped in front of you and then behind you.

You may find that you struggle with some fingers more than others and that it is more difficult with the non-dominant hand. This is OK. Do the best you can and you will see improvements over time.

4. Move your feet too

The same type of muscle chain reaction caused by tension can happen to your feet. Spending just a few minutes a day actively moving your feet and ankles can have a dramatic impact on how you feel throughout your body.

You will need to remove your shoes and, if possible, your socks. However, if you work in a real office, be considerate of coworkers who may not want to see (or smell) your feet!

Cross one leg over the other, focusing on the top foot. Point your toes forward and down, like a ballerina, then flex your foot backwards to point them upward, spreading them as wide as you can. Repeat 10 times. Then slowly circle the ankle in one direction 10 times. Repeat in the opposite direction. Spend a moment focusing on your toes, seeing if you can move your big toe, little toe and other toes independently. Repeat the exercises with the other foot.

Finally, get up and do 10 toggle repetitions, shifting your weight evenly to the outside of your feet, trying to lift the inside edges and then shifting the weight to the inside of your feet while trying to lift the outside edges. Then do 10 slow, controlled calf raises, lifting your heels and pushing the weight on the soles of your feet, then lowering your heels. Place one hand on a chair or wall to maintain balance.

5. Raise your energy and mood with a dance break

It is common for physical and mental energy to decrease in the afternoon, after lunch. Instead of grabbing that extra cup of coffee or energy drink, why not take a break to dance to one of your favorite beats?

Most songs have an average duration of three to four minutes, so you will more than cover your movement fee per hour. Just activate a nice jam and let your body move with the music.

6. Practice standing meetings with movement

Now that everyone has discovered Zoom, it’s rare to have a workday that doesn’t include at least one virtual meeting. During these meetings, place your screen on a higher surface, such as a kitchen island, so that you can stand comfortably during the meeting. While standing, spend a few minutes gently marching in place or shifting the weight from one foot to the other to work your balance.

If you have regular daily meetings with people you know well, ask them if they would like to institute a break in the movement. Think of it as stretching the seventh entry into a baseball game. Meeting participants can take turns leading the stretch.

7. Build strength with good old-fashioned push-ups

There is a reason why flexion has been a basic exercise since its inception over a century ago. You won’t find many other unique exercises that increase upper body and core strength, as well as a push-up. Although challenging, there are easy ways to modify it to ensure that some variation in flexion is accessible to almost anyone.

Traditional push-ups are done on the floor in a plank position, with your legs stretched back and your wrists under your shoulders. You bend your arms and stabilize your core to lower your body almost to the floor, then stretch your arms to push back up.

To cover three minutes, do as many push-ups as you can in good shape for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat for six rounds. To modify, you can place your knees on the floor or raise your hands on a ladder or chair seat. You can also make surfboards.

8. Take a few minutes to correct your posture and prevent pain

Although you have moved every hour at the end of the workday, it is useful to spend a few minutes recovering proactively by sitting in front of a screen. Focus on movements that open and relax that curved posture that we tend to have in front of our computers and when we look at our phones. Do gentle stretches and twists on your chest and back.

Don’t forget to walk

With 24 minutes of movement to interrupt your workday, even adding a six-minute walk will take you to a good 30-minute mark for daily exercise. After just a week of practicing this plan, you will definitely notice an increase in your overall health and fitness.