If you want to expend more energy when you don’t have the time or the inclination to devote yourself to a sporting activity, here are a few ideas to make sport easy without looking like you are exercising: make the most of the time you spend at home, at the office or outside to get back into shape and let off some steam.

Do sport at home with no one noticing it

Even if you are not athletic at heart or you have a busy schedule, it is possible to incorporate more exercise into your daily life at home. There are many times that you can exercise a little more than you usually would without realising it. Try these easy and fun sports exercises:

• Work on your abs while preparing meals: stand up, lean on the edge of the worktop and stand on your tiptoes. Lean forward several times for a period of 30 seconds each.

• Work your thighs while brushing your teeth: sit against a wall or perform a series of squats.

• Stay in hovering position instead of sitting when you are on the toilet in order to make use of your thigh muscles.

• Walk in the street or in your garden when you are on a phone call. 

• Make the most of the time spent watching your favourite series by doing fitness exercises or yoga.

• Before taking a bath, do some stretches on the edge of your tub: bend one leg and place your foot on the edge of the tub with the other leg held back. Perform a few movements of the pelvis and then change legs.

• Prepare yourself a catchy playlist made up of your favourite tunes and dance while vacuum cleaning, dusting, mopping, washing the windows or doing the dishes to combine these tasks with some pleasurable.

Exercise in the office with complete discretion

Work takes up a significant amount of time during the week. Use hours spent at the office to exercise without seeming as though you are.

Take the stairs by foot: give yourself a cardio work out at the office

To work on your cardio exercises at your workplace or during your commutes, move up and down the stairs several times dynamically. For example, climb the stairs two at a time and perform more athletic exercises during your breaks when your colleagues are absent, such as jump squats, side lunges and so on…

Time spent on the phone is also a great opportunity to give yourself exercise by going for a walk. If you walk at a brisk pace, you can cover between 2.5 km and 3 km in a 30-minute conference call. Who says doing sporting activities is tough even with a busy schedule?

Meetings or office work: discreet and effective exercises

Even sitting at your desk, some easy exercise routines are almost imperceptible to your colleagues and they can quickly become part of your daily routine:

• Place a small ball between your knees under the desk and apply gentle pressure to work your thigh muscles.

• Sitting with your back straight and your elbows resting on the desk, raise your knees for 10 seconds: repeat this routine several times during the day for greater fitness.

• Take advantage of each break to stretch and walk around a little.

Optimise your outings: outdoor sport is within everyone’s reach

By tube, car, bike or on foot, a simple walk outside can become as effective as a real fitness session:

• Find any excuse to go for a walk or bike ride and leave the car in the garage: take the dog out, take the children to school, go and get bread at the bakery, post a letter and so on…

• Are you waiting in a queue? Make the most of the time spent by contracting your glutes or work your abdominals by holding your belly button in for as long as possible during the wait.

• Stand in the tube train or bus and hold your balance.

• In the car, do sit-ups during red lights: squeeze your abs, raise your knees, and hold the position until the light turns green.

• Take advantage of the time spent in traffic jams to do breathing exercises: there is nothing better to stay calm behind the wheel and to improve your ability to cope with stress.

Check out our Health & Fitness page for more advice.