Between parenting her two children, acting and directing, Olivia Wilde has cemented a foolproof way to stay fit that costs nothing, requires zero equipment and can be done anywhere. Known as NEAT exercise, it stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, and it refers to any movement you do that isn’t planned exercise.
As Olivia previously told CNBC: ‘There’s often a way to be active. Rather than sitting at home and taking a call and doing a phone meeting, walk around. You could often incorporate activity into your life.’
She added that while she doesn’t follow a strict workout routine, she walks wherever possible – and those walks always slot naturally into her day. ‘We already walk more than people in a lot of other cities,’ she said, of living in NYC. ‘But when you have an option to walk or take a car, walk if it’s an option. I’ll take the stairs.’
Hollywood To You/Star Max//Getty ImagesWhy is NEAT exercise so effective?
This type of non-intentional exercise makes up significantly more of your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure – how many calories you burn across each day), compared to the time you spend doing planned workouts. To be precise, NEAT makes up around 50%, while planned gym sessions typically count for around 10%.
It’s particularly effective for busy women that struggle to find the time to work out, because the whole point is to fit movement into your day. That might mean taking the stairs instead of the lift, like Olivia, getting off the tube or bus a couple of stops early and walking the rest of the route, gardening, using a standing desk instead of sitting down, or carrying your shopping instead of using a trolley.
The core benefit is consistency. NEAT exercise removes the barriers to entry that stop so many of us from sticking with movement, like not having the time to get to the gym, not having the money to pay for classes, or simply not knowing what to do, and research consistently shows that regular, moderate exercise delivers meaningful health and fitness benefits – sometimes the equivalent of fewer but more intense workout sessions.
Hollywood To You/Star Max//Getty Images
NEAT exercise examples
Walking like Olivia is the most obvious option, but there are plenty more forms of NEAT you could try to reap the rewards:
- Washing the car
- Taking walking meetings
- Fidgeting
- Walking upstairs
- Walking the dog
- Carry grocery shopping
- Gardening
- Playing with children or pets
- Using a walking pad under a standing desk
- Walking to the gym, shops, office instead of taking public or private transport
Olivia Wilde’s other workouts
When she does find the time to train, Olivia told Vogue she enjoys ‘hiking and swimming’, describing exercise as a ‘me-time ritual’. And much like how she exercises, she reiterated the importance of slotting those rituals into her day as and when she finds the time. ‘I aim to incorporate them into my day,’ she said.
Olivia Wilde’s nutrition
She’s not strict about how she eats, either. She told CNBC ‘it’s all about balance’. ‘I think anyone who’s ever had even a small period of their life where they clean up their act – first begin to eat healthy food and exercise and use natural products – they’ll always say … I feel my best,’ Wilde said. ‘But sometimes it’s hard to sustain that lifestyle. You know it’s tricky for anybody to stay totally clean.’ Now, she tries to avoid processed food, but the odd Coke is a non-negotiable. ‘I really love it,’ she said.
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.