A spate of new research has found that prolonged sitting—like the kind you do all day at work—is sabotaging your health and turning you into a 9-to-5 couch potato. One study last year found that sitting can increase your risk for cancer by more than 60%.
What’s a desk jockey to do? Luckily, spending all day at the office doesn’t have to mean spending it sedentary. We asked Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise, and John Porcari, executive director of La Crosse Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, to tell us their favorite office-appropriate workouts. These 10 exercises you can do at your desk are subtle enough to spare you strange looks from your coworkers, yet effective enough to make a real dent in your sedentary time.
Happy deskercising!
Click the interactive feature at the top of the article to see exercises you can do at your desk.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Jane Fonda Champions Climate Action for Every Generation
- Biden’s Campaign Is In Trouble. Will the Turnaround Plan Work?
- Why We're Spending So Much Money Now
- The Financial Influencers Women Actually Want to Listen To
- Breaker Sunny Choi Is Heading to Paris
- Why TV Can’t Stop Making Silly Shows About Lady Journalists
- The Case for Wearing Shoes in the House
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Mandy Oaklander at mandy.oaklander@time.com