Micro-Movement Beats the Gym for Desk Workers

There is a study readers are sometimes surprised by: for people who sit for more than 8 hours a day, a single daily workout does not fully offset the cardiovascular and metabolic cost of the sitting. The time outside the gym is doing more damage than the time inside it can repair.

The intervention that does seem to move the needle, reliably and cheaply, is movement snacks: one to three minutes of standing, walking, or body-weight movement every 25 to 45 minutes.

This is not a productivity technique. It is the opposite of a productivity technique. It is maintenance. The reason to do it is that the alternative compounds slowly and is invisible until it isn't.

Set a timer. Stand up. Walk across the room. Sit back down. The work will still be there.