Workday movement planner
Plan a commute, a lunch walk and a few breaks and see the week.
Your details
Movement on a working day
47 min
3 hr 55 min over 5 days
- Share of the 150 minute guideline157% (if brisk)
- Per day to reach 150 on its own30 min
- Sitting over 8 hours a dayEkelund 2016: about 60 to 75 active minutes a day offsets it; you have 47, 13 short
- Breaking up sittingone break every 30 to 60 minutes is 8 or more in a working day; you plan 4
Your working days cover the guideline. Weekends can be for fun.
The working
A typical office week
20 + 15 + 4 × 3 = 47 minutes a day, nearly 4 hours over 5 days: well over the guideline if the walking is brisk.
Easy wins
At work
- Walking one to ones
- The far kettle or the stairs to another floor
- A 10 minute loop before you eat lunch
- Get off a stop early on the way home
Working from home
No commute?
Make a fake commute: a 10 minute walk before you start and after you finish closes the day and adds 20 minutes.
Long sitting days
How much movement offsets them
A Lancet analysis of over a million adults (Ekelund 2016) found that people who sat for more than 8 hours a day but were active for about 60 to 75 minutes a day had no higher death rate than people who sat little. The typical week above gives 47 minutes a day, 13 short of 60, so on long sitting days a longer lunch walk closes the gap. The UK Chief Medical Officers also advise breaking up long periods of sitting.
Read with care
What this cannot tell you
- Shift workUse the minutes you can, whenever they fall.
- PaceSlow ambling counts for health but not towards the 150.
- Busy daysSome days will be zero; that is fine.
Questions
Common questions
How can I be more active at work?
Walk on the commute and at lunch, and break up sitting every 30 minutes.
Do short walks count?
Yes, any brisk minutes add up.
Is 30 minutes a day enough?
Five days of 30 minutes meets the 150 minute guideline.
Sources
- UK Chief Medical Officers: physical activity guidelines 2019
- NHS: why we should sit less
- Buckley JP et al. The sedentary office: an international expert statement. Br J Sports Med 2015
- Ekelund U et al. Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? Lancet 2016
Last checked 21 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.
Before you push on
New to exercise, or got a heart, lung or joint condition? Have a word with your GP or practice nurse first. Stop and get help if you feel chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness, and call 999 if it is severe.
Related
Related calculators
- Lunch break walk plannerDistance and steps in your lunch break.Open
- Active commute CO2 and energy calculatorCO2 saved and energy used, leaving the car.Open
- Sitting breaks calculatorHow often to get up, and what it adds.Open
- Standing desk time calculatorStanding minutes and the next step.Open
- Desk stretch timerStretch times for your working day.Open
- Active minutes goal calculatorYour week against the 150 minute guideline.Open