Keeping fit and healthy doesn’t have to be about joining an all singing, all dancing gym and pounding the treadmill every evening for an hour at a time, and there are plenty of much cheaper, and just as effective exercises you can do on your own steam, if you simply think a little outside the box and be creative.

Your worktime lunchbreak is the ideal time to get active, because not only are you boosting your fitness levels, but you’re going to give yourself an energy boost to get through the rest of the working day, avoiding that mid-afternoon energy slump, when we often reach for unhealthy snacks to give us a bit of oomph.

If you’re thinking about incorporating a lunchtime workout into your day, here’s five quick and easy ideas to do just that, without going too far out of your comfort zone.

Posture exercises

This can be done simply at your chair, and whilst you’re not going to break a sweat and burn any calories, it will help strengthen your core, protect your back, and starve off any aches and pains which come from sitting incorrectly at your desk. Place your feet flat on the floor, your legs bent at right angles, and make sure your chair fits snugly into the bottom of your back. Keep your shoulders back, your arms at right angles to your body, and your back straight. Be mindful of this position throughout the day.

Go for a walk

A brisk walk around the block a couple of times during your lunchbreak will not only burn some calories, strengthen your muscles, and give you a healthy boost, but it will also give you a break from your desk, a breath of fresh air, and wake you up, ready to face the rest of the working afternoon. If you can find somewhere scenic, all the better, but if not, simply a circuit around the building a couple of times gets the same results.

Find some stairs

This is not the best idea if the set of stairs you’ve found are busy, but if you can find a quiet place then you could make yourself a little circuit training exercise. Make sure you have comfortable and sensible footwear on for this, however! Make sure you warm up a little, and walk up and down the stairs at a steady pace for a minute. Once you’ve done that, walk up the stairs as fast as you can, then for a further minute, walk down them at an easy pace. Repeat ten times.

Find a buddy and go for a jog

Much like the walking idea, but with higher impact. Take a change of clothes to work, find a jogging buddy, and pound the pavement for half an hour. You will return back to your desk feeling energised, refreshed, and you will probably have burnt off a good amount of calories!

Make like a mermaid, or merman

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise out there, and if you have access to a swimming pool either in your place of work or nearby, then this is an excellent opportunity to get active. All you need to do is take your swim clothes to work with you and head off on your lunchbreak, half an hour is all you need.

Time to get active!