Idle times at work, sitting in front of the desk with bum glued for hours, pepper a sedentary lifestyle. According to the experts, even if you compensate those long hours of being deskbound to being a gym rat at Anytime Fitness by night, you cannot completely reverse its health hazards. So, what to do?
Commit to some activities in between your work duties to pump up your fitness and make it easier to achieve your goals.
CONQUER THE STAIRS
One of the easiest means of getting a cardio workout while at work is snubbing the elevator and embracing the climbing stairs habit. Even if you will have to do this in the morning before work begins and after work, when you have to climb twenty plus floors at a time, it is definitely enough. In case your office is at the fifth floor, you may opt to come to office a few minutes earlier and go up and down a few times to keep your heart pumped up.
JOG IN PLACE
For a few minutes in between, lift your butt from your chair, stretch a little, and jog a couple of counts in place. A minute or two jogs when repeated a few times daily could mean a lot. If you are too shy to do this in front of your desk, with colleagues peeking, you can do this inside a restroom cubicle during your wee wee breaks.
WANDER AROUND
Technology allowed people to connect in a wired network. Every once in a while, shatter the habit and go send the message you are meaning to, face-to-face. Walking around the cubicles, preferably in a brisk manner, is a good exercise.
SEATED BUTT SQUEEZE
Who said you cannot manage a workout when you are deskbound? Squeezing the buttocks, holding it for up to 10 seconds, is a great way to tone without everyone knowing you are up to something.
RAISE LEGS UNDER
Another deskcercise that you can do discreetly is the leg raise. Lift one leg up and hold in for 10 seconds, then slowly put it down without the feet touching the floor. Repeat the exercise with the other leg and do 15 reps or more if you can manage.
There are lots more exercises – activities you can do at work – to help keep you all pumped up and resist the office’s lure to staying inactive for the entire duration of your 9-5 duty. What you really need is some creativity and the willingness to move your body.