Heavy work activities to try at home

“Heavy work” is the informal term occupational therapists use for activities that push, pull, or compress the muscles and joints — the kind of input that often has a calming, organizing effect described in the companion article on proprioception. The appeal of heavy work is that it doesn’t require equipment or a clinical setting: most of it can happen with things already in the house.

Around the house

• Carrying a laundry basket, a stack of books, or grocery bags
• Pushing a loaded cart or a heavy chair across the room
• Wiping down a table or wall with real pressure behind it
• Kneading dough, or squeezing a stress ball repeatedly
• Vacuuming or raking — genuinely useful heavy work in disguise

Using the body directly

• Wall or floor push-ups
• Crawling games, wheelbarrow walks, or animal walks (bear crawl, crab walk)
• Jumping on the spot, or onto a cushion or mattress
• A firm bear hug, or being wrapped snugly in a blanket

Timing matters as much as the activity

Heavy work tends to be most useful before a demanding moment rather than during or after one — a few minutes before homework, before a car ride, or before entering a loud environment, rather than only as damage control once things have already gone sideways. Some people also do better with heavy work spaced through the day in short bursts than with one long session.

What to watch for

More isn’t automatically better. If an activity seems to rev someone up rather than settle them, that’s useful information, not a failure — it usually means a different kind of input, or a shorter dose, is worth trying instead. An occupational therapist can help figure out that balance for a specific person.