10 Easy Exercises to Do During Your Lunch Break
Whether You're Working From Home or in the Office, These Exercises Will get You Moving During Your Lunch Hour
Why waste 10 to 15 minutes doom scrolling on your phone or staring at the window at pigeons and pedestrians? Your lunch break is ample time for you to exercise your entire body.
You get a precious 30 to 60 minutes to yourself during the work day. Use them to eat a healthy, balanced meal, and then while you’re at it, squeeze in a quick workout.
Luckily, there are plenty of easy exercises you can do when you have a limited time frame. Just be sure to bring casual clothes and sneakers so you’re not a sweaty mess when you return to your desk!
1. Burpee Squats
Doing burpees is an amazing full-body workout. Add in a squat at the end when you stand up instead of a jump.
If you're wearing nice clothes and don't want to get on the ground, you can only do squats. Hold the squat and pulse at the end of each set to really tone your quads.
2. Wall Push-Ups
It can be embarrassing to get down on the ground for push-ups when your colleagues are walking around. Plus, you become a trip hazard! A simple solution is to do wall push-ups instead.
There are a ton of fantastic wall Pilates moves you can do at work to strengthen your body. Wall push-ups are a great place to start since you don’t need a mat or any other equipment.
3. Walk and Lunge
Walking can burn a ton of calories depending on your body weight, pace, and the terrain. Lace up your sneakers, put on a good podcast or audiobook, and stroll around the neighborhood or a nearby park.
To kick up the workout, drop down into forward lunges for at least three sets of 10 (five lunges on each leg). Your legs will feel like jelly afterward in the best possible way!
4. Forward and Side Planks
Never underestimate the power of a plank! This simple move tones your entire body, all while you’re staying completely still.
Start with a 60-second regular plank. Without a break, switch to your left side with your right arm in the air for 30 seconds. Then switch to your right. Do three sets, and you’ll get that wonderful tingly feeling that follows a good workout!
5. 100 Jumping Jacks
Classics never go out of style! Do 25 jumping jacks, take a breather, and then repeat for four sets.
Jumping jacks are a great workout when lunch gets away from you, and it’s almost time to clock back in to work. Feel free to do even more than 100 if you have a few extra minutes to spare!
6. Advanced Push-Ups
Take push-ups to the next level! Go down into a push-up, come up and touch your shoulder, go down into another push-up, and then tuck your knee into your side. Go back and forth between each side for three sets of 10.
Don’t worry if you can’t do the whole routine right away. Start with just the push-ups and then add in only the shoulder taps or knee tucks. You’ll feel yourself getting stronger over time, and eventually, you’ll be able to do everything!
7. 3-Jog, 2-Walk
Do you want to be a runner? You can start training during your lunch breaks at work. Start small with just 3 minutes of jogging followed by two minutes of walking. Go as long as possible until you have to stop and eat lunch.
Eat lunch after you work out in this case. You’ll end up burning more calories when running in a fasted state. Plus, you won’t feel full, which makes it easier to put in the extra minutes.
8. Side to Side Squats
Drop into a squat, bringing your arms down to the side. Step to the side while bringing your arms into the air. Keep alternating between squats and side steps until you have a full minute. Take a brief break and then repeat. This workout gives you cardio and weight training all in one move.
Try to go as fast as you can while maintaining your balance and the correct form. Be sure that you have enough space as well to complete the entire movement.
9. Standing Crunches
You don’t have to lay on the dirty ground to do crunches. Stand with your hands behind your head and then bring your elbow to the opposite knee. Do 10 on each side for 20 total and then repeat for three sets.
Focus on sucking in your core. The movement should be coming from your abs and not from your arms or legs.
10. Mountain Climber Leg Lifts
Scale a mountain while you’re still at work! It’s easy when you drop down into mountain climbers. Go as fast as you can for 30 seconds and then lift the opposite leg and opposite arm for 10 sets. Take a rest and repeat.
Adding in leg lifts gives you more of a full body workout. The movement also allows your heart rate to slow down after the mountain climbers.
Exercising at work is a realistic goal. Do any of these workouts sound good to you? Any other ideas? Let’s get a conversation going!
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