This is exactly what you should do if you work at a desk all day and have less than 10 minutes to exercise, according to Peloton trainers

Woman sits at work desk and looks at watch .

Not all workouts need to be an hour long.

If you work from home and only have 10 minutes to move, you can do a few exercises back-to-back to boost your strength, cardio and mobility.

I asked two of Peloton’s top coaches for their go-to exercises for mini workouts.

Ben Alldis—a strength and cycle coach with Peloton—recommends doing a compound move like a dumbbell thruster, along with a plank variation, to target multiple muscle groups.

“You could literally do that back to back, and you would be quite tired!” he says.

Run and cycle instructor Hannah Frankson takes a gentler approach, saying that she would opt for a hands-behind-the-back stretch with a towel, which should feel great after hunching over a desk all day.

Combine all the suggestions for a quick three-move routine you can try between meetings, with just a set of dumbbells and a towel or yoga strap.

Before jumping into this, perform a few bodyweight squats to warm up, and make sure you’re confident performing the dumbbell thrusters with correct form before attempting to do them at speed.

1. Dumbbell thruster

Sets: 3 Time: 30sec Rest: 30sec

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing.
• Bend your knees and push your hips back to lower until your thighs are parallel with the floor, or as low as your mobility allows.
• Push through your feet to stand up explosively and extend your arms to press the dumbbells directly overhead.
• Lower the dumbbells to your shoulders with control, then go straight into the next rep without pause.

Benefits: Performing this move at speed will test your cardio, along with your leg and shoulder strength.

2. Plank

Peloton instructor Joslyn Thompson-Rule performing a high plank, taken from her Peloton core workout (Image credit: Peloton / Joslyn Thompson)

Sets: 2-3 Time: 30sec Rest: 30sec

• Get on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders.
• Step your legs back so your body is in a straight line from head to heels, then lower onto your forearms with your elbows directly under your shoulders.
• Engage your core and hold this position for time, making sure not to let your hips drop.

Benefits: This will strengthen both your core and shoulder muscles.

3. Hands-behind-the-back stretch with a towel

Sets: 1 Time: 40sec each side

• Stand holding one end of a towel or yoga strap in your right hand.
• Lift your right hand to your right shoulder and drape the towel over your shoulder, taking hold of the lower end behind your back in your left hand.
• Carefully extend your right arm to lift your right hand, creating tension in the towel and lifting your left hand, resulting in a gentle stretch in your left shoulder.
• Hold this position for 20 seconds.
• Maintaining tension in the towel, pull it down so that your left arm is straight and your right arm bent, resulting in a gentle stretch in your right shoulder.
• Hold this position for 20 seconds, then switch the position of your hands and repeat.

Benefits: This will improve shoulder mobility and it should feel pretty satisfying if you’ve been stationary for a while.