Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines recommend that adults should:

• minimise the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting
• break up long periods of sitting as often as possible

Try doing one or two of these simple tricks to get more movement in your day:

With friends:

• Instead of sitting for coffee with a friend, why not suggest a short walk before or after
• Book in a friend to go for a walk or an exercise class. Walking and talking in the lap lane at your local pool is a great way to exercise and catch up.

With the kids:

• Going to the park or playground with your kids? Instead of sitting on the bench get involved or walk laps around the perimeter.
• Kids doing sport? If it’s safe to do so, then take a walk instead of sitting and watching.
• Kids in swimming lessons? Can you swim laps or hit the gym instead of sitting watching?

Household chores:

• Put the washing basket a little further away from the washer/dryer/clothesline so you have to do a few extra steps to get each item of clothing.
• Put the rubbish bins a little further away
• Use the stairs (up or down) whenever you can rather than creating the “up” pile at the foot of the stairs
• Consider installing a sit and stand table to do your home computer work or craft. Officeworks have a range that is reasonably priced.

Quirky ideas:

• Pin up reminders or sticky notes around your home to remind you to move just a little bit more e.g. walk to check the letterbox before you get in your car
• Install a chin up bar in a doorway – each time you walk past do a chin up
• Trick your brain – tell yourself you are just walking to the letterbox, then keep going past it and walk the block

Adding more steps to your day:

• Reading? Go without your chair for a while or walk on the spot
• Stand and talk when on the phone
• Get into the habit of walking the block or doing a few squats before you eat your meals
• Walk around the house while your toast cooks, the microwave re-heats or the kettle boils
• Park your car further away from your destination or park in the furthest car park
• Get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest
• Drink more water = more trips to the toilet
• Take the long way to your destination – an extra lap of your home, the car park or even around the block
• Invest in an activity tracker – a great way to measure your baseline activity levels and try to beat it each week.
• Pace the floor while you brush your teeth
• When watching TV stand up and down during the advert break
•  Set your alarm to move when settling in for a streaming service binge session or movie
• Can you add in another short walk with the dog?
• Exercise @ home – yoga, seated exercise, aerobics, body weight training. There’s lots of apps you can download which will usually have videos you can follow and tools to keep you motivated