Very busy? You can exercise at work!

Back in the day, work probably involved a lot of moving around and hard labour. In the days of farming, fishing, metal works and the likes. However, in recent times, work involves very long hours sitting at a desk, and then sitting in a vehicle for more hours trying to get home. In summary our level of physical activity has significantly dwindled, increasing the likelihood of developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease and some cancers.

Since we tend to spend so much time at the office, I feel it only appropriate to work in some exercise while we are there.

You should try to do cardio exercises at lest 30 minutes 5 times a week, and then strength exercises at least twice a week. It's advisable to stretch after exercising, to reduce sorenss in your muscles. Below are some suggestions for you.

Happy Deskercisng!

Cardio (exercises to get your heart racing)

• Take the stairs: ditch the elevator for some heart racing run up or down the stairs. Get better results, by not just climbing it at normal pace, do it quickly!
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• Pace while on the phone: Invest in ahead set, so when you have phone calls you can easily walk around the office while receiving the phone call.

• Jog on a spot: Sat for about 2 hours straight? Get up and jog on the spot beside your desk for about 5 minutes. You’d be glad you did! You can also fix this routine for your lunch time. If you can afford a threadmill in your office, awesome!

• Jumping jacks: this is an alternative to jogging on a spot, but I welcome you to do both, may be at different times of the day or back to back if you can afford to. About a 100 jumping jacks will definitely get that heart pumping!

Muscle strengthening exercises

Paper push-ups (work your arms and abdomen)

With both arms on your desk, walk your fit back to a 45 degree angle. Do twelve push-ups.

Book press (works your triceps)

Grab the heaviest book you have. Hold it behind your head, extend your arms up. Drip it back down by your neck and repeat. Do 15 times.

Shoulder blade squeezes (help improve a hunched back posture)

Pretending to hold a pencil between your shoulder blades, squeeze them together for 10 seconds. Release and repeat 15 times.

Chair squats (works your butt and thighs)

Standing 6” in front of your chair, lower your butt till it hits the edge of your chair, then pop back upwards. Repeat 15 times.

Wall sits (works your thighs and abdomen)

Stand against a blank wall space, then squat down to a 90 degree angle, hold or 15-30 seconds, then slide back up. Repeat 4-6 times.

Standing calf raises (works your calf)

Starting with feet together. Rise up to raise your calves, standing on your toes. Hold for 10 seconds, repeat 8 times.

Leg raise (work your abdomen)

While sitting, raise your leg and hold for 10 seconds. Lower it to the floor and repeat on the other side. Repeat 8 times on both sides.

Stretching exercise

Shrug your shoulders – to release the neck and shoulders

• Inhale deeply and shrug your shoulders, lifting them high up to your ears. Hold. Release and drop. Repeat three times.

Shake your head slowly, yes and no.

• You might as well amuse yourself while you do it to relax even further. Ask yourself silly questions, and answering by moving your head up and down, "Yes, yes, yes." Side to side: "No. No. No." (Shedding tension is as much mental as physical.)

Loosen the hands with air circles

• Clench both fists, stretching both hands out in front of you.
• Make circles in the air, first in one direction, to the count of ten.
• Then reverse the circles.
• Shake out the hands.

Look up to release upper body

• Sit up tall in your chair, or stand up. Stretch your arms overhead and interlock your fingers.
• Turn the palms to the ceiling as you lift your chin up, tilt your head back, and gaze up at the ceiling, too.
• Inhale, exhale, release.

I hope reading this helps you actually start getting some exercise done at the office. Remember that it's okay to start small, just stay consistent and challenge yourself.

Good luck!

If you would like a personal consultation to help you structure an exercise and meal plan, contact us here. We'll be happy to get you sorted out.

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