I tried picking up weights and moving them every time I left the room—what happened next surprised me

I’m always looking for ways to build more movement into my day, especially when I’m spending hours at my desk.

That’s why an idea shared by personal trainer Kate Rowe-Ham on Instagram struck a chord: simply leave a pair of weights at the bottom of the stairs and carry them up whenever you go upstairs, then bring them back down on your next trip.

She credits nutrition consultant Laurel Seabrook with the idea, who did the same thing with a 25lb kettlebell.

Without setting aside time for a workout, you’ve added several farmer’s carries to your day.

I rarely go upstairs when I’m working, so I adapted the idea and moved my weights between rooms.

For two weeks, I carried two 22lb (10kg) dumbbells between my desk in the kitchen and the living room.

Whenever I had a task that took me from one room to the other, I carted over the weights and took them back again.

Here’s what I noticed.

1. It eased my tech neck and I stood taller

I often find myself hunching over my phone or laptop for long periods, with a stiff neck to show for it.

Carrying the dumbbells from room to room gave me a reason to take a desk break, walk tall, and engage my core.

Doing that several times a day made me more aware of my poor posture and how I was holding myself—so I was more likely to adjust when I got back to my desk.

By the end of the two weeks, my neck felt less stiff and I felt taller and stronger.

I can’t say the carries alone were responsible, but the short breaks from sitting felt good and made me more conscious of my posture.

2. My grip felt stronger

Holding the dumbbells on every trip gave my hands and forearms more of a workout than I expected.

By the end of the first week, the weights felt easier to carry, and by week two, I noticed I could manage a couple more reps than usual in exercises where my grip usually tires first, like the wood chop.

It’s a small change, but one I could feel during my workouts.

I noticed the change outside my workouts, too. Heavy grocery bags felt easier to carry, and I seemed to be dropping things less often.

3. I could hold a side plank for longer

A farmer’s carry makes your obliques—the muscles along the sides of your torso—work to keep you steady as you walk, with a single-arm farmer's carry being the ultimate for oblique activation.

One way of testing for improvements is to see whether my side plank endurance changed during this two-week experiment. I timed a hold on day one and managed 1 minute 33 seconds.

At the end of the two weeks, I held the side plank for 1 minute 48 seconds. That’s 15 seconds longer, and I felt noticeably steadier, with less shaking than on my first attempt.

One test can’t tell me how much of that improvement came solely from carrying the dumbbells, but as I've enjoyed fitting these little bursts of movement into my day, I’m going to keep it up.

I might even add in some single-arm carries and see how I progress over time.