Meaning of up to
"Up to 5 times" in this context means, as you suggested, to repeat any number of times leading up to five. If the direction was to repeat [the activity] exactly 5 times, the correct way to express this would be "Repeat 5 times."
"Repeat up to 5 times" could also be expressed as: "Repeat 1-5 times", as earlier in the context, when the direction was given: "Perform this for 1-2 minutes."