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Mayo Clinic came up with a solution that can help people squeeze in some exercise throughout their day without having to leave their desk.

"We wanted to design five really simple exercises that you can do with a desk and a chair in a very small space so that you can work movement into your day," says Johnson.

She calls them the "5 Fabulous Exercises." They are chair pushups, desk pushups, chair squats, toe raises and sidekicks. Johnson says doing this series of five exercises only takes a few minutes, and it's designed to be done periodically throughout your day.

"If you do that four or five times throughout the day, you've really gathered a great deal of resistance training and body weight exercises in a very short period of time spread out throughout your day. So it makes it a little more doable if you're not able to get to the gym," says Johnson.

Johnson says moving like this during your workday also can make you more productive.

For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.

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In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dani Johnson, a wellness physical therapist with the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, demonstrates how to integrate more movement into your daily life.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Whether you're working in an office or from home, Johnson suggests taking breaks every 30–45  minutes throughout your day to perform some simple stretches.

"Our bodies can get stiff. You know, we're always kind of in this hunched-over position when we're at our desks and working, so we really want to open up our chest," says Johnson.

"One way to do that is just by doing some simple shoulder rolls, so just bringing the shoulders back and down."

"Another really great activity you can do using a wall is just coming to the wall, putting the back of your hands up on the wall, and just sliding your hands up and down nice and slow," says Johnson.

Don't worry if you don't have access to gym equipment. Johnson says your desk can be a great exercise tool.

"Simply by putting your hands on the desk and stretching out, so you're moving your bottom back, bringing your arms forward," says Johnson.

Whether you try these stretches or take a break to go for a walk, all movement counts.

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In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dani Johnson, a wellness physical therapist with the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, demonstrates how to integrate more movement into the new year.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (0:59) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please "Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

Whether you're working in an office or from home, Johnson suggests taking breaks every 30–45  minutes throughout your day to perform some simple stretches.

"Our bodies can get stiff. You know, we're always kind of in this hunched-over position when we're at our desks and working, so we really want to open up our chest," says Johnson.

"One way to do that is just by doing some simple shoulder rolls, so just bringing the shoulders back and down."

"Another really great activity you can do using a wall is just coming to the wall, putting the back of your hands up on the wall, and just sliding your hands up and down nice and slow," says Johnson.

Don't worry if you don't have access to gym equipment. Johnson says your desk can be a great exercise tool.

"Simply by putting your hands on the desk and stretching out, so you're moving your bottom back, bringing your arms forward," says Johnson.

Whether you try these stretches or take a break to go for a walk, all movement counts.

For everyone's safety, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.

For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.

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Mother-daughter duo Dani and Aleia Johnson originally created their unique head scarves for their mom/grandma, Barb Fisher. The scarves now are part of a care kit for others battling ovarian cancer.

To friends and family, Barb Fisher is affectionately known as Full Blast Barb. "That’s just how she lives," Barb’s daughter, Dani Johnson, tells us. "Everything she does is full-on. As kids, we used to be in awe of her strength and athleticism."

In March 2019, Barb’s blast would come to a screeching halt when she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. Johnson, a wellness physical therapist in Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living Program in Rochester, tells us the diagnosis came out of nowhere. "My mom had absolutely no warning signs and no symptoms, which is unfortunately common with ovarian cancer," she says. "She was out playing tennis twice a day up until the day she went in to see her primary care provider" after she'd experienced "some swelling in her abdomen."

Read the rest of the story.

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This story originally appeared on the In the Loop blog.

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In this Mayo Clinic Minute,  physical therapist Dani Johnson has some practical ways to move more at work.

To listen, click the link below.

Move More at Work

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Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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For many people, no matter how great the idea of working out on a regular basis sounds, a hectic life always seems to get in the way.

"The one thing I always like to really tell my busy executives, busy moms, busy dads ... that every little bit counts," Johnson says. "So don't ever tell yourself, well, I only have 10 minutes. Ten minutes is great."

Johnson says the key is changing the way people think of a workout and finding ways to work exercises into a normal day.

"You don't necessarily have to always get to the gym," Johnson says. "Taking a walk with a friend for a meeting can be a wonderful thing."

She also suggests parking farther away from a destination, rather than in the closest spot to get a few extra steps in.

"If you're in the office and you have 10 minutes before your next meeting, you can do some air squats," she says. "You can do some lunges. You can do some chair pushups, where you're working your triceps and your back. You know, you can walk up the stairs."

The main thing, she says, is not to make workouts an all or nothing activity if you don't have an hour to go to the gym.

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Johnson says she hears all the time from people who say they simply don't have enough time to get a workout in during the week because of their busy work schedule. She says people have to remember that every bit of physical activity counts, and not having a lot of time should not be seen as an obstacle.

"You don't necessarily have to always get to the gym," she says.

Johnson has developed an exercise program she says not only helps people get their exercise in during a busy day, but can also make them more productive at work.

She calls it the "fab 5."

"It's kind of five simple exercises that you can do in the office to really help reinvigorate yourself," Johnson says. "You know a lot of studies have shown us that once we get up and move and we're active, we're more productive."

She says it can take as few as five minutes to do chair squats, lunges, desk pushups, chair pushups and toe raises. She says not only does it count as a muscle-toning workout, but it can also be the key to getting the blood flowing to overcome the midday lull at work.

"It's very simple," Johnson says. "You don't have to get on the floor even. So very simple to do in a very small area. And those things can be really a wonderful thing in just re-energizing you."

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"Exercise should not be drudgery," Johnson says.

That is the heart of the problem for a lot of people who can't seem to follow through on their resolution she says. It's hard to consistently do something you hate – even if you know it's good for you.

That's why Johnson says people need to start thinking of exercise with a wider lens than just activities like running or lifting weights.

"If you hate running, don't run," Johnson says. "You don't have to do things that you don't enjoy."

She says there are countless ways for a person to get his or her body moving.

"Working on mobility, flexibility is very, very important and should be part of a well-rounded program," she says. "So [start] thinking about how do we make that happen? Have you tried yoga class? Have you tried tai chi?"

She says people are always more likely to stick to a physical activity they enjoy.

If you like playing a sport like tennis or basketball, you should make time to go play. Or you can take your dog for a long walk every day.

Johnson says the bottom line is that working out doesn't have to be a choice between running and doing nothing at all.

"Like I said, it doesn't have to be drudgery," she says. "You don't have to hate it."

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Most people have done it at least once. They make a New Year's resolution to get in better shape, but give up after a few days or weeks.

Johnson says there are a few things you can do to increase your odds of making good on that resolution.

"Making sure that you start with a really realistic goal," Johnson says, is the first step, "then really thinking about what do you enjoy."

Johnson says one of the first hurdles that trips a lot of people up is forcing themselves to do exercises they hate.

"[Start] looking at some new goals that you can be excited about," she says. "Exercise should not be drudgery. Exercise should be fun."

Johnson says it's also important to be realistic about your time commitment.

"Maybe you only have 20, 30 minutes three days a week," she says. "Start from a place where we can build success. You can always add more."

But above all else, she says, be honest with yourself about what you can stick to. If it's not a feasible goal, your chances of achieving it drop drastically.

"So having realistic, healthy expectations can be a really good way to move forward in a very successful physical activity plan."

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Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, as it typically spreads rapidly to nearby organs, and it is seldom detected in its early stages. Historically, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only about 7 percent, but new treatment options are improving those numbers.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Mark Truty, a general surgeon at Mayo Clinic, will discuss pancreatic cancer and explain the new treatment protocol that is offering hope. Also on the program, Dani Johnson, a physical therapist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, will have tips to get you moving in the new year. And, Dr. Anne Wheaton, an epidemiologist and sleep program lead in the Division of Population Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, joins the program to discuss why Americans aren’t getting enough sleep.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

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