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Sitting down is hard. I’d rather get hard abs.

  • 3-min read

Don’t tell me you haven’t suddenly felt the urge to walk around, work out, or twerk to a Beyoncé song when you’re hours-deep in a spreadsheet. Here are six workday workouts you can fit in between conference calls.

Red joker puppet bench presses during his 10-minute workout
Joko / Giphy

How do I fit a workout into the workday?

It’s easier than you think. If you can find time to go for a Starbucks run, you can find 10 to 15 minutes to fit a good workout, even if you’re working from an office. A 10-minute workout between meetings—what else are you doing, really—can be effective for your mental and physical health. 

6 workouts you can do during the workday

Yoga 

Your back called, and it’s looking like the McDonald’s arches. One of my favorite yogis, Yoga With Adriene, has tons of yoga exercises that are beginner– and expert-friendly. Reenergizing movements like downward dog, warrior, chair pose, and even child’s pose will have you and your abs at their best, and it can also help you find some much-needed calm in the middle of the workday. 

Plus, 10 minutes of restorative poses likely won’t leave you out of breath, which means nobody’ll suspect a thing when you immediately hop on your next call.

A woman sitting cross-legged says "Child's pose is always available for you" during a 10-minute workout
Peleton / Giphy

Crunches

Crunches are a great way to hide your Nutter Butter addiction. 

Try squeezing three sets of 20 in 15 minutes. You can also turn your crunch workout into a fun challenge by counting how many you can do in a day from behind your desk before someone sees you.

Lateral lunge to knee drive

Workouts that allow you to exercise more than one muscle are always clutch for a corporate baddie. A lateral lunge to knee drive will work out both your glutes and abs in no time. This workout can be your go-to body sculpt.

Here’s how it works:

  • Start by standing up.
  • Step to the side with your right leg and push your hips back.
  • Lower your body towards your right leg until make a 90-degree angle with your leg, driving your right leg to the tummy area as you stand back up. 
  • Switch sides and repeat.

Complete 12 to 15 reps on each side. But if you only have 10 to 15 minutes, don’t rush it: Do what you can in a short amount of time.

Ab roller

Who knew a little piece of plastic could be so humbling? To do this workout, you’ll have to pick up an ab roller—they’re cheap—and a mat to protect your knees.

  • Start on your hands and knees.
  • Put your hands on both sides of the ab roller.
  • Round your back to brace your core.
  • Extend your arms forward without bending your elbows.
  • Carefully—and this is the hard part—draw your hands back toward your legs.
  • Repeat. And cry.

I don’t even know if it’s humanly possible to do this for 10 minutes, but let’s just say this ab workout hits different and is super effective at working your core. 

Planks and mountain climbers 

Planks are challenging exercises that most people, including myself, don’t like to do but pay off sooner rather than later. Plank leg lifts are an excellent way to target those ab muscles.

  • Lay flat, and then hold yourself up using your elbows and toes.
  • Count to five as you bring your left leg to your right elbow and return to your plank.
  • Count to five again as you bring your right leg to your left elbow and return to your plank. That’s a mountain climber!
  • Then, hold your plank for 30 more seconds and try not to curse my name. Challenge yourself by doing four sets of 10. 

Abs are cool, but body positivity is sexy

Please don’t feel pressured to have the hottest abs on the planet. Take it from a foodie like me, who has no shame in doing an ab workout and eating a cookie after.