It is quite interesting how our busy and chaotic lives are composed of long periods of just sitting with little to no physical activity. It is either that or we skillfully validate excuses to avoid the gym.
Even though the gym is the right place, you are not restricted from finding a different way to work out, luckily there are ways to combat your passiveness at work by following some simple rules which don’t really take up much of your time or interfere with your schedule.
The personal trainers provide some fine tips on how to stay as active as possible at work.
Get up earlier and change your morning habits
It’s hard I know, but getting up 30 minutes earlier and dedicating 15 minutes to workout will help you start your day full of energy and enthusiasm. It might sound irrelevant, but that exercise would help your circulation and thus give you more strength throughout the entire day.
You can do push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, yoga or just about any exercise suited for home, or you can opt for morning cardio in the form of jogging or walking. Use ankle weights while you walking during the meetings to burn more calories.
If time is not on your side in the morning or you really don’t like sports activities, hop off earlier if you are using public transport or just park your car a bit further and treat yourself with a nice morning walk.
Use the stairs
Keep in mind that an elevator is just a convenience to help you reach different floors faster, but you should try to avoid them just so to give yourself an opportunity to walk and be active. Sure it might take you longer to reach certain places but as the time goes by you will start noticing progress and walking through the building might become one of your favorite activities.
Hold meetings while walking
Do this every time you can, if the weather allows it. There are no rules saying strictly how a meeting should be held. You can go out with your colleagues and just have a simple walk and a meeting at the same time.
This is useful after lunch when your energy gets pretty low and it is much better to just walk around the building rather than go back to your seat and effortlessly try to stay awake. Same rules apply if you are on a phone. If the office’s policy states that you can’t answer your phone inside, that’s the perfect opportunity for you to go out and walk while talking.
Many people like to do these little side activities while they are on a call and it would be great to put that extra energy into walking.
Use stability ball
It may look a bit silly but the benefits of sitting on a stability ball instead of a regular chair are numerous. You are actually exercising while sitting because your spine and abdominal muscles are actively trying to prevent you from falling. Just imagine sitting like that for a few hours and passively working out without even noticing it.
Take short breaks whenever you can
There’s no need to sit for 5 or 6 hours in one session unless it is absolutely necessary. You should make a habit of getting up and just stretching your legs and arms a bit and maybe walk to the water machine and have a glass, you can do this every hour or so thus combining both exercise and hydration, which is also very important in an office space.
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