Movement easily integrated into everyday life

• Every movement counts. What matters is the total over the day, not a single perfect workout.
• Short bursts of activity can reduce tiredness and tension at work, especially if you plan them regularly.
• The easiest way to achieve this is to link movement to fixed triggers, for example: phone rings - then stand up briefly.

Many people associate exercise with sport. However, every form of physical activity counts for the body, including walking to the bus stop, climbing stairs or standing up briefly between two tasks. The WHO recommends that adults do either 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 to 150 minutes of higher-intensity activity and strength training on at least two days a week (World Health Organization, 2020). If that sounds a long way off at the moment, a change of perspective will help: you don’t have to do everything at once. You can accumulate exercise in very small portions throughout the day.

A second point is sitting. Many office jobs involve long phases without interruption. In a systematic review of interventions for office workers, sitting time at the workplace was reduced on average by about half an hour per workday when measures were combined, for example environmental changes and motivational elements. This is no guarantee of specific health effects, but it shows that small changes are realistic.

Choose a measure that can be implemented in less than two minutes. Examples: get up once an hour, take an extra flight of stairs, walk briskly for two minutes. The lower the barrier to entry, the more likely it is to become a habit.

Several short phases of exercise are often easier to incorporate into everyday life than one long block. Short breaks can also improve subjective well-being and energy levels during work.

Habits arise when a trigger reliably leads to a behaviour, and triggers such as appointments, emails or coffee breaks are particularly suitable for everyday life. A simple plan: trigger occurs, movement prompted. If-then plans like these enable people to stay on track. 

The office is not about sport, but about changing positions and short bursts of activity. The aim is to interrupt sitting on a regular basis. Use the following ideas as a building block and select those that suit your day-to-day working life.

• Stand up and take two deep breaths, consciously lower your shoulders backwards
• Walk around the table or to the printer once, even if this only takes 30 seconds
• Standing calf raises, 10 to 15 repetitions
• Gentle mobilisation: slowly turn your head to the right and left, then look up and down
• Short stretch: place your hands on the wall, open up your chest and hold for 20 seconds

Alternatively, fixed triggers can help, e.g. standing up briefly or taking a few steps after each meeting. 

Stairs are an easy way to bring intensity into everyday life. If you usually take the elevator, start by walking one floor and only increase once it feels comfortable. Very short, more intense bouts of daily activity have been linked to positive health indicators in observational studies. It is important to put this into context: these are associations, not proof of cause and effect.

• Place work materials so that you have to get up more often, for example, keep the printer or folders away from your desk
• If possible, stand or walk slowly during telephone calls
• Choose a deliberately small water bottle so that you can top up more often

If you use height-adjustable workstations, make sure to switch positions regularly and take breaks. Standing for long periods of time is not automatically better than sitting for long periods of time.

• Get off one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way as quickly as you can
• Consciously choose stairs in railway stations, even if an escalator is available
• Walk short distances in the neighbourhood, for example to the post office or to go shopping

If time pressure is an issue, plan micro-walks: two to five extra minutes are often enough to noticeably increase everyday movement.

Cycling is a very efficient way of integrating exercise. Those just starting out benefit from a simple rule: better to do short sessions more often than long sessions infrequently. Choose routes that you are confident with and increase the distance in small increments.

Everyday life at home offers plenty of opportunities for movement without making your day even longer. It is important to make a conscious decision to actively complete small tasks.

• Make phone calls while standing or during a short walk
• Use waiting times: when the water is boiling, stand up briefly and mobilise your hips
• Use the household as your centre of activity: consciously walk more briskly, incorporate two flights of stairs
• Evening routine: two minutes of relaxed stretching after brushing your teeth

For everyday life, the perfect number is less important than a stable, gradual increase. Use two signals as a guide:

• Recovery: do you feel generally refreshed the next day  ?
• Load: are you more aware of your joints and muscles after exercise, but they are not significantly strained?

If discomfort increases or feels sharp, stabbing or unusual, reduce the duration and intensity and seek medical advice if necessary.

• Start week: introduce just one new habit, for example getting up once every hour
• Increase: increase only one element per week, for example an additional flight of stairs or an additional walk
• Regeneration: sleep and breaks are part of performance. Deliberately plan quieter days

Even on days with little energy, a very short, gentle exercise session can be useful, for example a five-minute walk. The WHO emphasises that every activity counts and that exercise can also be accumulated in small portions.

• Select a trigger: for example, coffee, end of meeting or sending an e-mail
• Define a mini-action: stand and walk for 60 seconds
• Make it visible: a tick in the calendar or a short note

Research on habits emphasises that repetition in a stable context is key. This means: better to do the same small action every day than infrequent, large endeavours.

• I use the stairs at least once a day in addition
• I take three micro-breaks per working day
• I walk a minimum of one short distance on foot each day, for example to the bus stop or to do some shopping
• I plan a short evening walk on two days each week