Every Tuesday, this site looks at a training or technology concept that shapes how tennis is played. Over the past two weeks, we have explored the concept of five-minute movement breaks during the workday and the Seconds Pro app I use to organize them. Today I am sharing one of the routines that has become a regular part of my workday.
I call this one (I like to) Move It Move It.
The entire routine lasts just five minutes. It requires no equipment, very little space, and can be performed almost anywhere. In fact, I routinely do it at my desk. Most of the movements are subtle enough that I can continue engaging in a teleconference without anyone on the other end realizing that I am not passively seated.
The routine consists of ten thirty-second intervals, prompted and timed using my Seconds Pro app.
- Marching with high knees
- Lateral leg raises (left)
- Lateral leg raises (right)
- Lateral lunges
- Squats
- Alternating reverse lunges
- Standing calf raises
- Shoulder gators
- Arm circles (15 seconds forward, 15 seconds backward)
- Snap downs
None of these individual exercises are particularly demanding by design. The goal is not to finish the five minutes exhausted, but rather to interrupt prolonged sitting, slightly elevate my heart rate, and reactivate muscles that have been largely inactive. This sequence prepares both my mind and body for another period of focused work.
As I alluded to when I introduced the research on the benefits of 5-minute exercise breaks interspersed throughout the day two weeks ago, every movement targets muscles that translate directly to tennis. Marching and lunges reinforce balance and single-leg stability. Lateral leg lifts develop hip mobility and strength required to cover the court. Squats and calf raises strengthen the lower body that supports explosive first steps. Shoulder gators and arm circles promote shoulder rotational mobility after extended time at the keyboard. The snap-downs at the end reinforce athletic posture and controlled landing mechanics, something I plan to discuss in greater detail next Tuesday.
One of the reasons I like this routine is that I don’t need to change clothes or commute to a gym. Five minutes is easy to slide into the workday without interrupting flow. It is short, but research indicates that a series of intervals like this is long enough to produce a meaningful health benefit when aggregated over the course of the day.
The more I experiment with these micro-training sessions, the more convinced I become that they are an effective complement to traditional workouts. A five-minute routine will never replace time on the tennis court or longer training sessions in the gym. However, when repeated several times throughout the day, these small blocks of movement add up surprisingly quickly. Sometimes the most effective training isn’t about finding another hour in the day. It’s about making better use of the five minutes you already have.
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