The math

Let us do it with an example. Say you open Instagram 30 times a day (count your own opens for a day; the number is often a surprise). If each open costs 10 squats:

  • Per day: 30 opens × 10 squats = 300 squats.
  • Per week: 300 × 7 = 2,100 squats.
  • Per month: about 9,000 squats.

Each set of 10 squats takes about 20 seconds, so 30 sets add up to around 10 minutes of movement spread through the day, without ever "going to work out". That is the idea behind exercise snacks: short bursts of movement instead of one long session. Our guide to exercise snacks has 20 more ideas.

For context, the NHS suggests adults do strengthening activities that work the major muscle groups on at least two days a week, and reduce time spent sitting. Squats are one of the simplest ways to do both. This is a wellbeing habit, not a sports programme: listen to your body and scale down on tired days.

Set it up in two minutes

  1. Install MiniMove and allow Screen Time access. The permission is individual: you manage your own phone, and Apple only gives MiniMove opaque tokens for your apps.
  2. Pick Instagram in Apple's app picker. Add TikTok or YouTube too if you like; the free version guards three apps.
  3. Pick squats as your Move, or let Smart Mix vary it.
  4. Choose a window: 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes of real use after each set. Fifteen is the default.
  5. Tap Instagram. The shield appears, you do your 10 squats, and the app opens.

When the window ends, the shield comes back on its own. You never have to remember to close the app. For the full picture of the mechanism, see how MiniMove works.

Doing squats right, in 20 seconds

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out.
  • Sit back and down as if reaching for a chair, chest up.
  • Stand tall again, pushing through your whole foot.
  • Repeat until you reach 10.

Going only halfway down is fine. So is holding onto a counter. The best squat is the one you will do 30 times today.

When squats are not an option

You will not always be standing in your kitchen. A few swaps keep the habit going:

  • At your desk: the seated version is 10 sit-to-stands from your chair, no hands.
  • Late at night: a 30-second wall sit is silent, and 10 glute bridges are a calm floor-based option for the evening.
  • Want more variety? 10 lunges work your legs and balance together.
  • On the bus or in a meeting: discreet mode swaps in an invisible Move, such as calf raises or a breathing exercise.

If a Move is not right for you today, tap "I can't do this": MiniMove swaps in another Move and stops suggesting that one.

Want more per set? Earn more

With MiniMove+, "Earn more" lets you double a Move for a double window, up to 60 minutes: 20 squats for a 30-minute window instead of 10 squats for 15. It is optional and off by default.

What happens to the urge

Here is the part people do not expect. After 10 squats, the craving to open Instagram is often weaker, and sometimes it has disappeared. You stood up, your heart rate went up a little, and the moment passed. In MiniMove, choosing not to open the app after your Move counts as a skipped scroll, which goes into your Bank like the squats themselves.

That is why the squats-to-unlock idea works as a habit: it does not fight the urge, it uses it. Each open becomes a small win. This is habit stacking in its purest form, and our guide to habit stacking for exercise shows how to apply the same formula elsewhere.

Your first week, step by step

A few habits make the difference between a fun experiment and a routine that lasts:

  1. Start with one app. Guard the app you open most, usually Instagram or TikTok. Add others once the first one feels normal.
  2. Keep the default window. Fifteen minutes of real use is generous enough that the habit never feels like a punishment.
  3. Count your opens on day one. Not to judge them, just to know your number. The Bank will show how many squats that turns into.
  4. Celebrate the skipped scrolls. Every time you do the squats and then decide you do not need the app, that is a win too.
  5. Expect an off day. If you skip the squats one evening, nothing is lost. MiniMove's streak counts any day with a Move, and it forgives the occasional miss.

Camera-counted squats, or not?

Some apps count squats with the camera. Pushscroll, for example, counts reps on camera and gives you one minute per rep. It is precise when it works, but you need space and privacy, which is awkward in an office or on the bus. MiniMove checks squats with taps or motion instead and never needs the camera. We compare both approaches fairly in MiniMove vs Pushscroll, and the wider category in how exercise-to-unlock apps work.

Sources

  • NHS, "Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64". nhs.uk