Arm Circles
48
/100
Best when...
- You need something you can do near your desk without much setup.
- Your energy is dipping and you want a more activating break.
- You only have about a minute between tasks or meetings.
Not ideal when...
- You need something substantially more intense or more workout-like.
Pairs well with...
a short walk or lower-body movement after a long typing block
Better than X when...
Longer break routines when you only have 60 seconds and need immediate value.
Office-clothes alternative
Sit-to-Stand or Wall Push-Up are easy alternatives when you want something even more office-friendly.
Targets deltoids, trapezius
MET 2.5 (modeled), 0.7x walking
Joint ROM: 70%, posture benefit: 45%
Can be performed at or near a desk
deltoids
trapezius
for 20 reps · roughly 0.2 min of brisk walking for a 70 kg person
48
5 reps
48
10 reps
48
15 reps
48
20 reps
48
30 reps
“Arm Circles scores 48/100, strongest in desk practicality. Suitable for a desk break.”
- Metabolic cost varies with body weight and fitness level
- mobility value, desk practicality, muscular demand are estimated, not directly measured
- Limited research data for this exercise
- Study populations may not represent sedentary desk workers
Measured (0)
Derived (1)
- caloric expenditure
Modeled (6)
- MET value
- deltoids activation
- trapezius activation
- joint ROM
- posture correction
- desk practicality
2011 Compendium of Physical Activities
Barbara E. Ainsworth, William L. Haskell, ... et al.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2011) · Vol. 43(8) · pp. 1575–1581
Established MET reference values for common activities