Fitness Ideas for Work

Can you incorporate fitness at work?

Fitness at Work – If your job requires you to be in an office environment full-time, you can be forgiven for not having fitness at the top of your priority list. Putting in those hours largely means being sat at a desk. You might get up for a coffee, but that’s about it.

We know it’s important to keep your fitness up so we’ve come up with suggestions to fit exercise into your work life.

Office-based workers have been known to sit at their desk for the full 9 hours of their workday, for weeks at a time. This might be good for your work productivity (although, it’s unlikely), but it’s linked to some serious problems like diabetes and obesity. 

How can you add more fitness into your working day?

Taking just a few minutes a day, ideally up to an hour, will improve your fitness and overall health. It might detract from your workload, but actually you might be surprised to learn that taking this time for an activity will boost your efficiency.

You’ll be a better worker if you’re healthier, and will ultimately take less sick days. Not only will your physical health benefit, but your mental wellbeing too.

If you’re reading this thinking you’ll never be able to fit a workout into your daily routine, don’t stress. The average American adult, for example, needs around 2 and a half hours of cardio exercise a week plus 2 sessions of strength training.

This works out as 30 minutes a day over your 5 day working week.

If you space these into everything else you have going on, you’ll find you have more time than you think. You might fit one session in before you get to your desk, or maybe split your lunch hour up a little between a workout and resting. 

There are so many types of workouts you can pick from. Don’t feel intimidated if you’re not into fitness yet. You can follow these tips to get your heart pumping.

Fitness ideas en route to the office

When you’re trying to maintain your fitness, you want to get your workouts into your routine at the earliest time of day you can. If you’re an office worker, this could mean doing something on the way to work.

Perhaps you work somewhere within a mile or two of your home? Have you thought about taking the environmentally-friendly choice of walking or jogging to work? If you live 2-5 miles from the office, why not cycle?

You can use a TomTom powered GPS wearable like The Nike+ sportwatch to keep an eye on how many miles you’ve done for the week.

At your desk

Even if you can get that early morning cardio in, there’s nothing to say you can’t keep moving throughout the day. There are a few things you can do at your desk, even whilst you’re working. Glute squeezes and leg raises can be done in your chair. 

Use a standing desk

No one said you have to sit down at your desk all day. Invest in, or ask if your company will pay for you to have a standing desk.

If that seems too much, meet in the middle with a height-adjustable desk. You can have the best of both worlds with this device. Swap between sitting and standing every half an hour.

Sneak some squats in as you change over. This will keep you active and focused on your work at the same time.

Use a treadmill desk or under desk cycle

If you’re really open to the idea, look into a treadmill desk. They’re raised like standing desks, but they have a treadmill that means you can walk as you work.

Don’t expect to sprint at any point. Most users go at a slow pace to get their steps in during the day. 

If this is too much equipment and change, you can get desk cycles. The premise is the same; you sit upright and peddle under your desk. These devices are cost-effective and can help you to burn an extra 300 – 600 calories in a day.

Make sure you wear comfortable shoes if you opt for either!

Fit workouts in between your meetings

If you don’t like the idea of walking at your desk you can step away for your activity. Every time you get up, think about the most active way you can do whatever task it is you got up to do.

Say you need a glass of water. Why not take the longest route? Can you go get one on another floor and take the stairs? A few flights will get your heart pumping nicely and you’ve only used a few minutes to do it. 

You can use your fitness tracker to monitor your stair climbs and heart rate. The Garmin Vivomove HR is a perfect candidate for helping you keep track.

Use your break wisely

Using your breaks to improve your fitness is much better than staying at your desk to shop online. Get moving!

Map a route that will maximise your time. Run, walk, jog, or get back on your bike. This is a great time to step away from the spreadsheets and clear your head, too.

Work and walk

Some meetings can’t be done without a screen. You’d be surprised at how many don’t actually need to be in a meeting room, though. If you’re planning a meeting, why not suggest to your colleague that you walk and talk?

A walking meeting can be productive as you’re moving around, taking in some fresh air and motivated by the novelty of it all. If you need to take notes, why not record them? You could use your Samsung Galaxy Watch to do this.

Summary

Now you’ve been enlightened to some of the possibilities of adding a few minutes fitness into your working day. Those minutes add up quickly and you’ll be feeling the benefits in no time!

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