It is important to exercise every day in order to stay fit and healthy. This goes for everyone, especially for people who spend at least 8 hours of their day in a confined office space, with little to no movement and probably with significant exposure to stress.
What better way to blow steam off or overcome afternoon sleep cravings than introduce some physical activity into the daily routine and make your day at work healthier and more active.
I decided to talk to experts over at Fit Athletic who had some interesting ideas for ways to sneak some exercise into your office before you are able to hit the gym.
Stability Ball
This is perfect if you have to sit down and finish a lot of work. You can turn your passive, unhealthy, long session of sitting in a chair into simple, yet effective exercise.
The trick is in a stability ball. It is a great way to have your back muscles more active as they work harder in order to keep balance. You would also have to sit straight because the ball wouldn’t allow otherwise.
Know that there’s no need to sit longer than you feel comfortable because you want to avoid excessive stress on your lower back and prevent potential problems. You can spread it into periods of 15 minutes, a few times a day.
Leg Raises
Another useful exercise which requires very little effort in terms of moving away from your designated seat. You can do this simultaneously with your daily tasks and it’s like taking a little yoga class in silence. This exercise requires you to raise your leg and hold it in the air for 15 seconds, put it down, and raise your other leg for another 15 seconds. Repeat that in 15 series. After a while, you can start raising the time you hold your leg in the air or even add additional weight.
Elevate From Your Chair
You can also do this while sitting at your desk and no one would even notice. What you need to do is while sitting lift your body and hold with your hands for about 15 seconds, rest, and then repeat the same thing for another 6 times. This exercise is silent and you wouldn’t bother anyone, you just need to make sure your chair is stable and handles won’t break.
Wall Sits
A great opportunity to get up from your chair and again ‘’sit’’ against a wall. This form of exercise is good for your back, and it also strengthens your quad and core muscles. Lean your back against a wall, then slowly slide down to form a sitting position, stretch your legs to form a 90 angle in your knees and hold like that until you feel it’s enough.
You can take breaks between sessions and you can also increase the difficulty by spending more time holding than resting.
Take The Stairs
Whenever you can. Try to move around the building as much as you can and avoid using an elevator whenever possible. This is a great form of training which takes very little of your time, and if you do it every day, soon you’d be literally running across halls and floors. Avoid this exercise if you are wearing shoes that could make this difficult, like high heels for example.
Walk To Work
Especially if you live close by, there’s no better way to start your day than a nice cardio walk before work. You should even have a cup of coffee on an empty stomach and then walk. If you have to commute by a vehicle, maybe you can use a bicycle, or at least park your car a little farther so that you force yourself to walk. Do this every day and soon you’ll be able to increase the distance.