You may have heard that sitting is the new smoking. Whether or not this comparison is useful, few people dispute that Americans are less active than they used to be—especially at work. And sitting isn’t just a fitness issue. An advisory from the American Heart Association warned that no matter how much physical activity a person gets, it doesn’t undo the negative effects of prolonged sitting.
To make matters even more confusing, there are recent studies warning that standing all day may also be bad for your heart. So, which is it?
The key, say experts, is to avoid prolonged sitting by engaging in many different types of non-exercise activities throughout the day. Move more, sit less. To be clear, sitting sometimes is okay, too.
Because there are so many hours in a day, you’re going to need a lot of different activities to get you out of your seat. Here are 25 ideas to get you started:
- Refill your water or coffee
- Walk the dog
- Make a pizza—from scratch
- Take a guided (or unguided) tour
- Stretch
- Take a dance break
- Rake leaves
- Water those thirsty-looking office plants
- Walk to the bank
- Use the stairs
- Clean the windows
- Have a walking meeting
- Pick up litter in the neighborhood
- Garden
- Paint a landscape
- Wander
- Reorganize your bookshelf
- Clean and vacuum your car
- Use a basket at the grocery
- Hang the pictures you’ve got lying around
- Practice your wastepaper hook shot
- Mow the lawn
- Visit a museum
- Play a musical instrument
- Babysit a preschooler
Here’s a few more of our favorites, in video form:
Have a favorite non-exercise activity that you enjoy? Let us know in the comments!
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