9 Tips to Stay Active at Work
9 Tips to Stay Active while Working
Tips for Staying Active at Work
For people who have the regular sit down office job it is easy to get used to the sedentary lifestyle, but getting up to move around every hour or two will improve productivity. Previous studies have shown that sitting for extended periods of time every day can increase the risk of a number of health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Getting up and walking for two minutes every hour could help reverse the negative health effects from prolonged sitting, new research suggests.
We have put together some tips to help stay active and move while at work to help negate those sedentary work problems.
First, take a second to decide how public or private your work environment is. Can you wear workout gear? Can you easily move around? Do you work at home and can wear anything? Will people see you at your desk?
What available space do you have to work with?
After you figure those out it’s time to get creative and committed to incorporating exercise and activity into every aspect of your work day.
Here are some tips:
Walk More: Walk or ride your bike to and from work. If it’s not possible to do that entirely, consider taking public transportation for a portion of your commute and walking for a portion. If a car is a requirement, park your car as far away from your office as possible to maximize the number of steps you will be taking during the day.
Take the Stairs: Find reasons to take the stairs, and often. Use the restroom 3 flights up or down. Use the break room or the printer across the building or across the campus. Burn calories instead of electricity!
Stand Up or Walk Around during phone calls. Wireless headsets for your office phone are reasonably priced and they make it possible to walk 50 to 75 feet from your phone. Use your cell phone and walk around the building during conference calls. Even standing up while on the phone will get you off your seat. You can also do those mini exercises like calf raises while on the phone as well.
Workouts you can do at work: Do some simple, easy exercises during your workday. While you are waiting on your computer to do an update, for your printer to do a few prints, or waiting for the bathroom you can do some small exercises like calf raises. Every time you can, do at least 10-50 calf raises throughout the day. That is something discrete and after you do a few you will definitely feel it and maybe even be sore tomorrow. To keep your mini exercises very discreet you can do some glute squeezes while sitting down, just squeeze the buttocks, hold for 5-10 seconds, and release. Repeat as many as you can. If you can bring some dung bells you could do a few arm curls during your lunch, get creative and get moving. 33 more possible exercises to do at work.
Move every hour: Set the alarm on your phone to remind you to move every hour for two to five minutes, don’t just sit there. You can take a walk around the office, instead of sending an email to a coworker go to their desk, get some water, go to the restroom, or just take a stroll outside to get some fresh air. Apps are available for your smart phone and your computer that remind you to stretch and move, and many of them show exercise, stretching, deep-knee bends, and isometric movements that can be done at your desk. A two minute walk every hour may help offset effects of sitting.
Get a Step Tracker: If it helps you stick to your new routine, buy a step tracker or use your smart phone to record the number of steps you take during the day and track your progress over time. I personally like the Fitbit but there are many options available today. Have competitions with others to try and get more steps. Studies show that a little competition will push you to work harder and push for more steps, or even weight loss competitions.
Sit up Straight and Have Good Posture: Good posture can help back pain and avoid problems in the future like arthritis. Keep your stomach engaged to keep your back straight and instead of straining your back you will be working out your stomach. Below is a picture to demonstrate good posture.
Get Products to Prevent Sitting: Buy a standing desk or create a “do it yourself” standing desk, but stand as much as possible while you work. There are excellent designs for standing desks available on Pinterest and other web locations. Once you have a standing desk, it’s easy to add an exercise bike designed for the office, or add a walking treadmill. You could also replace your office chair with a stability ball at work. Here are some benefits of using a Stability Ball at Work.
Weigh or Measure yourself regularly, preferably at the same time of the day (early is best), and log your weight. Your weight will fluctuate throughout the day and based on water weight. Become aware of your body weight and shape, and monitor your patterns over time. Being aware of your weight should lead you to make better decisions about the food you consume, the calories you burn, and the commitment you make to incorporating exercise and movement into your life. Also, realize that weight isn’t the end all if you are lifting weights and gaining muscle get out that tape measure. Losing inches is really what you are working towards, right?
When we decided to bring our exercise bikes and standing desks to market, we wanted to make it simple to incorporate exercise into the work lives of our clients. It’s really the combination of our products that makes that possible. Our exercise bikes aren’t very practical with a standard desk, the desk needs to be adjusted into a standing position and regular “sitting” desks don’t do that very well. Our standing desks are a great addition to an office because they enable the user to stand rather than sit while working, and you can lower the desk into a sitting position when you need to sit. If you’re interested in starting off with one product or the other, we suggest that you have a standing desk first and follow up with an exercise bike or treadmill soon thereafter.
We hope you’ve found this informative and helpful. Be creative in finding ways to incorporate exercise into your daily life and remember that a body in motion tends to stay in motion!
