Saturday, June 29, 2013

Do you sit all day in the office?

If you need to spend all day in the office, that is no reason or excuse to sit all the time. Do exercises in the office. Spare 10 minutes from your daily work schedule to stand up and do some fitness.

Prolonged sitting is a common problem in human history, and today it has become a global problem, because the development of technology has reduced the need for movement. Many health problems we know today stem from inactive or sedentary lifestyle. We know that exercise was not considered an important factor in solving many health in the past with problems like arthritis and back pain (are recommending to rest and to "stay in bed"), as well as osteoporosis and types of cancer. However, exercise can reduce the risk of stiffness of certain parts of the body due to sedentary life. 



If you want to change that, try to include some changes in the daily habits, and you will improve the quality of your life, despite the inevitable stress in the workplace:

  • Try walking to work, or use public transport and get off 2 stops away from your workplace, and walk there;
  • Find more excuses to be standing up. This will give you some more calorie burn and it will activate the muscles;
  • While standing, do some basic exercise for 10 minutes in the office;
  • Try to make this a regular thing among your coworkers, and make a daily practice for everyone;
  • This of you job as the place where you can improve your health, instead of the stressful environment it is;
  • Reinvent meetings and tasks – go outside, take a walk, move around;
  • If you must wait long time in some waiting room or an airport, walk around and move as much as possible;


There is a growing trend in a lot of companies, where coworkers in a common office spare some time in the work day and do exercise together. The exercises cannot be replaced with classical gym training but they offer the opportunity to boost the blood circulation, without even being away from the office chair. Most of these exercise include stretching and flexibility, and some basic cardiovascular activity like:
  • stretching your neck, shoulders, arms, back, legs, knees and calves with basic exercises you like or know;
  • using the chair and the desk as a support for some exercises which require a bit more effort;
  • using a exercise ball to sit on and work your abs;
  • standing up and down to speed up your heart beat and improvise squats,;
  • using a water bottle as a weight, to do some muscle exercise;
  • and lots of more exercises which are not complicated at all, and you all know them very well by now.


Good things in life are always simple, just look for them with open eyes :) 

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