Office workers who spend most of the day sitting can improve their fitness with short, three-minute micro-movements, according to fitness experts. Fiorella Rafael, a pilates instructor at Sydney’s Scout Studios, says she felt stiff after long days in her old office job, which drove her to become a trainer. She now recommends exercises that can be done in everyday clothes without drawing too much attention.
Professor Cathie Sherrington from the University of Sydney’s school of public health notes that prolonged sitting is linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. “Anything that breaks up that sedentary behaviour helps,” she says. Personal trainer Yago Aldir of Project Better in Melbourne suggests stacking habits: “You might not have 30 minutes but you might have 10 x three minutes throughout your day.”
Rafael recommends calf raises while waiting for the kettle to boil. Stand with weight evenly distributed, lift and lower the heels slowly, avoiding momentum. Sherrington does 30 calf raises while waiting for the shower’s hot water. Wall sits are another option: lean against a sturdy wall, sit as if in an imaginary chair with legs at 90 degrees, and hold for 30 seconds or longer, engaging core, hamstrings and quadriceps.
Balance exercises can be done while the kettle boils: stand on one leg with eyes closed, aiming for longer each time. Aldir says balance is important for longevity. At 4pm in the office, one can test balance by closing eyes and holding a single-leg stance. With eyes open, 10 seconds is achievable; with eyes closed, reaching 10 seconds is considered good, according to the late Michael Mosley.
Simply taking the stairs instead of the lift also counts as incidental exercise. These micro-movements can help inactive people meet physical activity guidelines, which only 22.4% of Australian adults achieved in 2022. In England, one in four do less than 30 minutes of exercise a week, and globally nearly 1.8 billion people are insufficiently active, says the World Health Organization.
