25 Simple Ideas to Add Movement/Exercise into your Online School Day
Are you bored and looking for ways to add some movement into your day? Even if full-on exercise seems too overwhelming, there’s no reason to shy away from using movement to break up some of the boring sameness.
While it’s always good to schedule proper exercise into your day, standing up often and doing a short burst of easy exercise can also make a huge difference to your attention span. Try to add one of these mini movement sessions into every hour of studying.
Here are 25 simple ideas to help you add some movement/exercise into your at-home school day!
*As an Amazon Associate, I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
1) Shoulder Rolls
Stand up and roll your shoulders forward and back 10 times. 5 times slowly and 5 times quickly.
2) Dance around to your favourite song
Let yourself go crazy for the whole song!
3) Jumping jacks
10-20 jumping jacks should suffice.
4) Stand against a wall
Stand with your back against the wall and stand up as tall as you can. Press your shoulders and the back of your head into the wall. Hold for a count of 20. This might not seem like exercise, but your body will thank you since it will encourage good posture.
5) Squats
Get up and do some squats. 5 is all that’s needed, but you can go for more if you’re into it!
6) Wall sit
If you don’t know how this works, stand (back to the wall) a bit away from the wall and lean your back against it. Slowly bend your legs and walk your feet out away from the wall. The end goal is for your legs to be in the shape of sitting in a chair, and your back is pressed against the wall (like the back of the chair)
Start by holding for a count of 10 (or until your legs start shaking, whichever happens first).
7) Arm Circles
Stand up and swing your arms around. They can alternate, they can go the same way, they can go in figure 8’s. Have fun with it!
8) Hip Rolls
Get up, stand with your feet apart, put your hands on your hips and circle your hips around in all directions.
9) Hamstring stretch
Stand up and bend over from your waist so your arms reach towards the floor. Feel free to bend your legs to make it a little more comfortable. It’s best if you can bend your legs enough that your hands can touch the floor….this way gravity will help you more and you’ll be able to relax into it.
10) Ankle rolls
You don’t even have to stand up for this one! Just look at your feet and move them around for 10 seconds.
11) Wrist rolls
Stand up, stick your hands in front of you and roll your hands around. This feels particularly wonderful when you’ve been typing all day!
12) Neck stretch
Bend your head to the side, place a hand on your top ear, and gently press down. Repeat on the other side. You can also repeat the stretch looking down at your toes if you’re particularly enthusiastic.
13) Jog on the spot
Stand up and jog on the spot for 20 strides. For a more advanced version, focus on either getting your knees up or kicking your butt.
14) WIGGLE
There is no technique. Just get up and go for gusto for a count of 10.
15) Hand/leg shake sequence
Shake your right hand for a count of 10. Shake your left hand for a count of 10. Shake your right leg for a count of 10. Shake your left leg for a count of 10. Repeat the sequence for 9’s, 8’s, 7’s, 6’s, 5’s, 4’s, 3’s, 2’s and 1’s. For the advanced version, count out lout as you shake.
16) Calf stretch
Stand away from the wall and put your hands against it (in line with your shoulders). Move your right leg back and bend your left leg. Your right leg should be straight behind you with your heel pressing into the ground. To intensify the stretch, press more into the wall and bend your left leg more/move your right leg farther back.
Repeat on the other side.
17) Sit-ups
Do 10 sit-ups or crunches. Whichever is your favourite ab exercise will be perfect.
18) Arm stretch
Cross your right arm across your body and use your left arm to pull it towards your chest. Repeat on the other side.
19) Push ups
If you’re like me and find proper push-ups near impossible, feel free to do them on your knees. If you happen to have a place to do them against a counter or bench (instead of being horizontal to the floor), it’s even better for you.
20) Yoga
Fit in two poses for a quick study break. If you’re new to yoga, the easiest way to get started is to begin with yoga cards. They’ll give you a pose and explain the details of how to execute it safely. While you can totally follow along with random free online yoga sources, it’s always better to learn the basics correctly so you don’t injure yourself!
Click here to check out these awesome YOGA CARDS available on Amazon
21) Face Scrunch
Close your eyes and scrunch up your face as tightly as it can get. Then open everything as much as possible - eyes mouth, tongue out - EVERYTHING! Repeat 5 or 6 times.
22) Breath work
It might not sound like exercise, but it will be just as rejuvenating! Close your eyes and try the following:
Breathe in for 4 counts
Hold for 4 counts
Breathe out for 8 counts
Repeat for about 10 rounds.
23) Tongue Twister
Your tongue is a muscle, so this for SURE counts as movement. Choose your favourite tongue twister to say out loud 10 times, each time getting faster than the time before. If you don’t have one in mind, start with one of these:
A proper copper coffee pot.
Betty bought butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought better butter to make the bitter butter better.
Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.
Unique New York.
24) Put Some Things Away
Even though I know you ALWAYS put every single thing back in its proper place as SOON as you finish using it…so I guess this really won’t work for you, will it…
25) Wall Handstands
This is a favourite of mine…because I can’t actually do the real thing. BUT it seems productive, and you definitely feel like you’ve done something after! AND it helps blood get to your head. Find an empty wall and put your hands on the ground close to it. Then kick up your feet and see if you can find your balance!
That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?
Adding movement into your day doesn’t always have to mean you need to clear a few hours for an intense, sweaty workout session. While it can be a great thing, it’s also useful to work in some of these simple little energy bursts to refresh your brain.
If you’re like me and need a fun thing to help you WANT to exercise more, check out this adorable water bottle I found on Amazon. It’s SURE to make you want to smile every time you use it!