Do you find it hard yourself getting brain fog at work, or stiff, tired or sore during the day? Finding it hard to get  your workouts in due to a lack of time? (or, usually more accurately…..not prioritizing that time, if you’re honest 😉😉) 

Sometimes we feel that if we can’t or won’t get in a “regular” workout, we just give up and do nothing. Or we assume that in order to get the benefits of exercise we have to engage in a strenuous workout for a a 30-60 minute chunk of time. But during the day our bodies and minds need movement and can benefit in huge ways from even just very short “movement moments”. 

In fact, recommendations published in the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health as well as in the the American Heart Association’s physical activity and public health guidelines state that to improve health and reduce risk of chronic disease individuals should aim to engage in a total of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. This can be performed in 30-minute bouts of activity five days a week or it may be accumulated with mini-workouts throughout the day that are at least 10 minutes in duration. 

While these are minimum recommendations for physical health benefits and we will want to do  more than that if we have specific goals - such as muscle-building, specific sport training, endurance-building, or weight loss - the benefits of “mini-movement breaks” are huge not only for your body but for your mind and energy levels throughout the day. 

The fact is,  our bodies are meant to MOVE and the current day work and life environment means that most of us are actually sitting or even lying down (Netflix binge on the couch, anyone?)  for a good chunk of our days while at work and commuting to work or even some of our off-work daily activities. 

Research is now showing that short periods of exercise accumulated throughout the day may provide many of the same benefits as one continuous bout of activity, including improvements in aerobic fitness and even weight loss. In fact, shorter bouts of exercise may actually be more beneficial than one continuous bout of exercise in helping to promote long term adherence to an exercise program, especially in overweight and sedentary adults, who may find the shorter duration to be more tolerable. (Source: American Council on Exercise).

But for most of us, one of the major benefits of taking  mini-breaks has the other major benefit of giving us a mental break from what we are doing at work or at home. It is important for our brains to have a little rest too as we are focusing hard. I find taking a short, 5-minute break every hour during my work day has reaped enormous benefits for my mood and mental and physical energy during the day. It has also kept my body free from the tension that happens with sitting for long periods. It really has felt  like magic  in the difference it has made to my life and how my body feels (though it makes sense and is research-backed so there’s that too). 

Taking short movement or mini-workout breaks throughout the day has increased my productivity with my work and also just puts me in a clear, focused, joyful and energetic  mood when I sit down to my next hour of focused work! 

Tips:  

1. To make this work you need to schedule this into your day and set a reminder. I use a timer on my phone so I work for an hour then take a 5-10 minute (depending on my day’s work) timed movement break EVERY hour while I’m working.  Or set an alert that will make a sound or pop up on your work computer every hour. Some fitness tracking watches or devices also allow you to set a reminder or alert that tells you to get up and move. If you don’t schedule or set this up and get that reminder when you’re deep into your work or other activity,  you likely won’t do it. 

2. Mini-movements can be different each break and do not require any equipment. Examples include short walks, jogging on the spot, jumping jacks, pushups, ab exercises, squats. There’s an endless variety so mix it up! My fave combination is to do 25 jumping jacks at the beginning of my movement break, then do a couple of sets of these other exercises, mixing them up each time. So  - a combination of a full-body, more intense movement then a targeted exercise sets or two. 

3. Even a 5-10 minute walk will re-charge you and get you moving. I used to work in an office where we sat all day long but every 2-3 hours us co-workers got up and walked around the building. It took just 5 minutes and was a great mental and physical break before and made us a lot more productive when we sat down again to our work. 

4. Walk to a co-worker or supervisor’s office rather than picking up the phone if you need to talk to them. 

5. Hydrate during the day so you have to use the restroom a lot! It sounds funny, but every bit of movement rejuvenates you. (And of course keeping hydrated during the day is a must too!).

en you are on the phone for work or at home, do your call standing up. Do things like stretching or calf raises while you talk. If you are on the phone a lot at work see if you can get a headset so you have the ability to stand up and move around a bit during calls. 

1. Get up during commercials when you’re watching TV and bang out some jumping jacks or a set of pushups. Use your imagination! 

Some of these things might sound tiny and insignificant. They’re not. They all add up to helping keep your body and mind healthy and your mood joyful!

Schedule exercise into your day- Just like you would a meeting or an appointment, pencil in your activity. Set aside time each day for exercise and note that designated time frame down on your calendar as a reminder to get moving!

Try 10-minute mini-workouts- As mentioned above, three 10-minute bouts of physical activity accumulated throughout the day can have all the same benefits as one continuous 30-minute bout. Try taking 10-minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening to do some form of activity, such as 10-minutes of bodyweight exercises (push-ups, crunches, lunges, squats, etc) in the morning, a 10-minute brisk walk during your lunch break at work and 10-minutes of yoga-inspired stretching in the evening.

Fitness Spark!: Try doing this and you will immediately see and feel the benefits to your mind and body! Set a timer or reminder every hour and take 5-10 minutes break throughout the day! 

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