How do you take care of your body at work (or school)?
tomatoey
Posts: 5,446 Member
And how does it affect your physical fitness?
If you work at an office, do you have an ergonomic computing setup?
If you do repetitive tasks, can you take breaks?
If you do a physical job, how do you pace yourself and recover?
If you don't work, what do you do that's not exercise to take care of yourself?
If you work at an office, do you have an ergonomic computing setup?
If you do repetitive tasks, can you take breaks?
If you do a physical job, how do you pace yourself and recover?
If you don't work, what do you do that's not exercise to take care of yourself?
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Replies
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I only work two days a week, so I'll fit myself into the "doesn't work" category and the "desk job" category.
At home: I try to do things the moment I think about them to avoid sitting too long. Need a load of laundry done? Pause. Go. Do. Dishes overflowing? Put book down. Go. Do. I also try to keep it bright and sunshiney in the house because when it gets dark, I get sad and feel like I live in a cave (office building style apartment with group hall entry so windows only on one wall.)
At work: I take my son with me to work, cause I work for my mother in law and she works from her home office. So he's cordoned off in about half the 1st floor, but I don't have visibility from my desk all the time, and he's two, so he's not unsupervised-ready. I make it a point for my health and his safety to get up and look in on him each and every time I have a moment. Sometimes I'll stretch too. I also like to make a point of NEVER sitting in the same position too long. I have no arms on my desk chair at work or at home, so I will sit with one leg up for a while, then the other, then cross-legged, then feet on the floor, then on the under bit of the desk. I don't have anything "ergonomic". Can't afford to change what I have, so I just focus on changing how I use it for good posture and the like.
Since I work for my mother in law (total kitchen witch, best cook on earth) there's always amazing-tasting high-calorie food around and I'm welcome to most of it. She has baked cookies like four times in the past 2 months. It's mind-numbing. So I make sure to pre-weigh and pre-log and bring all the food I intend to eat that day, which means at least two snacks and a lunch, cause we do health insurance/medicare and it's open enrollment (ends December 15th y'all, call your agent now and spare her some massive trouble) so 10-12 hour days are not at all out of the question. I couldn't possibly meet my goals if I didn't do this.
Whether I work or not on any given day, I just try to fit in some form of physical activity. Treadmill, chasing my kid around the house (he loves to be chased), cleaning, you name it. Any excuse I can think of to get up off my butt.0 -
I work in IT so most weeks I am sat at a desk for 5 hours or more. Until recently I did nothing about this but I have started the following:
- Stand, stretch and walk about the office once an hour
- Use my breaks and lunch hour to take a 10 to 20 minute walk around campus
- My desk is ergonomic but I want to try a standing desk setup
- Consistently bring my own lunch
As moving from working in a night club to an office environment contributed to me adding 13.5kg of fat to my frame, I hope modifying it as above will help me reduce that.0 -
And how does it affect your physical fitness?
If you work at an office, do you have an ergonomic computing setup?
If you do repetitive tasks, can you take breaks?
If you do a physical job, how do you pace yourself and recover?
If you don't work, what do you do that's not exercise to take care of yourself?
1) I work full-time in an office. Yes, of course, I have an ergonomic computing setup. My organisation (and actually all the organisations I've worked for in the past decade in two countries) have someone who sets all the new people up ergonomically.
2) Absolutely, I can take breaks. I am encouraged to take breaks at least once an hour. Same with the other organisations I've worked for in the past decade in two countries.0 -
I am a third grade teacher. I spend most of the day on my feet so I have to make sure I wear good shoes. My only real break is when I have about 20 min. to eat lunch/use restroom/make phone calls/take care of behavior issues. Other than that I am trying to fit it all in. I get about 11K steps when I am at work. If I do not remember or have time to use the restroom during my lunch I may not be able use the rest room from 8am until about 3:15pm.0
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I work at home but I still get up at the crack of dawn to exercise as I need it to be out of the way before my day begins. I cannot worry about needing to fit in exercise especially if I have a bad day ( I work in IT and computers and customers do not wait for you to exercise) or something emergency ( and it always does with computers and customers) creeps up that I cannot plan for.
For the most part, I do have best of all the worlds out there for scheduling especially since the kids are out of the house now..0 -
Office job, old-fashioned, non-ergonmic set-up. I walk as much and as fast as possible, taking the longer way around for any errands. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. I also walk around during lunch hour - and can go at a pretty fast clip. And I walk the long way to the bus. Some evenings I have class or meetings after work, and I walk from the office to the theater or other location in question - yesterday I walked from Midtown to the West Village (NYC, about 2.25 miles) and then from my home bus station to my house (around 1.25 miles) and ended with a daily calorie burn of more than 500, which made me happy.0
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I have a combination desk job and standing in the lab with repetitive motion job. The key for me is to take breaks with both. If I have to be at my desk all morning I try to get up and wander around every 20 minutes or so. If I am in the lab I will walk around to stretch out my hips and stretch my arms to release the back tension. I also love going to yoga at the gym twice a week, it really helps me.0
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I have a desk job and since I've started working out, I find I don't like sitting for long stretches. I try to get up at least every hour and take a lap or two around my office, and do lots of stretching. I also always bring my lunch and do my best to stay away from candy bowls.0
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I have a desk job.
1. I do mini-workouts on my breaks (pushups, squats, wall sit, lunges and have a couple of 10-15 min workout DVDs)
2. I walk at lunch when weather permits or do a low/no impact DVD.
3. My job involves a lot of conference calls and web meetings and I never sit during those and move around as much as the meeting will allow (walk in place, squat, desk pushps, wall sit, resistance bands)
4. I use the kitchen and bathroom on the floor below me and always take the stairs
5. I stay active outside of work.
6. I eat a balanced diet.0 -
I have a desk job, I sit with horrible posture (even if I had an ergonomic setup) and often copy/paste so I don't have to type. I stuck two balls of aluminum foil (from previous lunches) under the front of my keyboard and it did wonders for my wrists. By far my best improvement to my work setup.
I also walk between buildings at work, rather than drive, and if I'm in the other building I'm probably standing as it is a lab, but sometimes I sit.0 -
I have a desk job, too. Working with software in a non-profit, so I'm pretty much stuck at my desk. I try to get up every hour or so and get in 500-1000 steps by running in place. (I have my own office, which helps). Bring my lunch nearly every day (and the days I eat out somewhere, I eat the same things and know the calories on them).
At home, I run in place as well. I have a hard time getting out to the gym in the evenings (and no, I can't go in the mornings. I don't sleep well to begin with, and I need my sleep more than I need to go to the gym.) because my husband works late hours and I've got a 9 year old son. We run errands after work (which helps me get more steps in!), home for homework, stuff around the house, dinner, some tv together, and bed. I try to get between 10,000 and 11,000 steps by 8 or 8:30 PM. When it's warmer outside and not getting dark at the crack of dawn, I take my son outside to ride his scooter and I walk/jog.0 -
I have a desk job. I try to get up as often as I can. When I print stuff, I print it to the printer on the floor below me and use the stairs. Same for when I fill my water bottle. If I'm going to meetings, I'll take the stairs if it is five floors or less. I also take a 18-30 minute walk each day during lunch.
The posture and ergonomic stuff is harder for me to focus on because I tend to get absorbed in tasks and lose focus.0 -
I, too, have a desk job but some of my work I actually have to get up and move to do. My desk is not ergonomic. I make up for sitting by parking in the furthest spot from the door. On breaks I walk around the parking lot or up and down the stairs if it is raining. At least once an hour I stand and stretch. If I don't my back aches all day. I bring my lunch most days and keep my water bottle close at all times. We have reps that bring delicious donuts and snacks in almost daily. I sometimes go and look at them but never indulge or I'll start a cycle I don't want to be in.0
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Office job, non-ergonmic set-up.
High floor, not permitted to take stairs. I get a decent amount of walking in on the way to and from work and try to use my commute as a time to exercise as often as possible -- biking to and from in nice weather, running home about once a week all year, and walking partway home on occasion when that's not possible. When I have meetings or a need to go to another office I always walk -- it's an advantage of working downtown.
I try to remember to get up and walk around a bit -- sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
I have my gym close to my office and usually go out around lunch to workout and if not go right after work (it's open reasonably late). If I'm staying late and can't leave I might do some mini workout stuff in my office (shut the door).0 -
Desk job, non-ergonomic.
I try to get up and walk around the building a couple of times a day. It doesn't always happen though. There are times when I move so little in my office that the motion sensor lights go off.
I work at one end of an L shaped building. At the far other end, down a flight of stairs, there is a water fountain with a water bottle refill thing. It's one of those things that keeps a little digital count of how many plastic water bottles you've conserved by refilling your cup. Whenever I can, I walk over there to refill my water cup instead of using the kitchenette next door. It gives me a chance to stretch my legs and the water is colder.0 -
I sit at a desk all day, responding to support tickets, and encoding videos.
I used to get up and walk around campus every day. Walk to get lunch, or just go outside to warm up (my office was in the 60's during the summer, way too cold). But I got moved from the library (basically in the middle of the campus), to an outlier that is about 15 minute walk from the main campus (and about 25 from my old location, and probably 30 from the student center, where all the goodies like Panda Express are). Sucks so hard. I miss having a coffee shop downstairs.
So, yeah. I pretty much just stay in my office all day. So no real effort to take care of myself. Not concerned about it, since I can get my exercise done after work.0 -
Im a nanny, so I try to stay active with the kids as much as possible. I have a new rule, and its "never say no to a game" so if they want to play hide and seek, chase + catch + tickle + repeat, or soccer I have to say yes. They keep me on my toes! In the morning I do spend more time sitting, we read books a lot in the early hours. We often go out and about, to their little classes or playgrounds, and that helps me get my steps in every work day. I try to use their nap time wisely more often than not, and will do simple stuff that wont make me sweaty and gross but will help me meet my goals. Usually things are already clean and tidy so I just walk up and down all the stairs or do a pilates video from youtube on my phone. The kids also love yoga (kid friendly poses) and they usually follow along with me when I stretch so I like how they're influenced by my activities
I only work 4 days though so weekends at home are tougher. I need to work harder to get my steps in because I tend to adhere to the couch with my partner.0 -
Desk job...
Actually I flatter it by calling it a desk. It's a table top propped up on two short filing cabinets.
There's no place to walk to indoors and way too hot and dangerous traffic outside (also no shower) so no real activity during the day.
I have arranged things in my office to promote getting up frequently. Such as, my printer is just out of reach so I have to stand up to retrieve anything. Also, those file cabinets are turned around so that I have to get up a walk around to the other side of my "desk" to get to them.0 -
This is what I think of as an ergonomic desk set up, although my monitor is a lot bigger, and there are two of them.
I have a keyboard tray and super comfortable Herman Miller chair that I inherited from my former manager, who kept tilting back too far and falling out of it. Before getting this, I used to get back pain when I sat for not very long. Herman Miller has great customer service - when the frame cracked they came out and replaced it, despite me not having the receipt (I emailed them a picture of the manufacturing tag attached to it.) The warranty was really long.
When I worked at the office, they were always good with breaks. We have a Wii and a foosball table, but sometimes management has to step in and say to stop playing so much.0 -
I've never considered it before but I think I probably have an ergonomic desk setup. Not that it does me any good since I can't sit in any position for long so I'm constantly sitting on one or the other of my legs or propping them up on something, crossing and uncrossing them.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »This is what I think of as an ergonomic desk set up, although my monitor is a lot bigger, and there are two of them.
I have a keyboard tray and super comfortable Herman Miller chair that I inherited from my former manager, who kept tilting back too far and falling out of it. Before getting this, I used to get back pain when I sat for not very long. Herman Miller has great customer service - when the frame cracked they came out and replaced it, despite me not having the receipt (I emailed them a picture of the manufacturing tag attached to it.) The warranty was really long.
When I worked at the office, they were always good with breaks. We have a Wii and a foosball table, but sometimes management has to step in and say to stop playing so much.
I used to have the same chair at my old job. It was the standard chair we got almost everybody. So nice.0 -
@fitgirldrw81 I do the same thing... look at treats but don't touch them:-) too funny at least now I know someone else does this too. I do squats and lunges in my office at work. I also find reasons to go walk around.0
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I work a desk job. I have an ergonomic keyboard and a good chair...but I slouch a bit and cross my legs. It's comfy though!
I get up regularly to walk around. The bathroom is quite far from my desk, and I drink a lot of water, so that helps. And I work out everyday on my lunch break (we have a free gym here).0 -
And how does it affect your physical fitness?
If you work at an office, do you have an ergonomic computing setup?
If you do repetitive tasks, can you take breaks?
1 - I've worked in an office environment going on 12 years, I've always had an ergonomic set-up. I don't know if it's required, but it may as well be...a business that isn't setting their employees with proper ergonomic set-ups is just looking to have their *kitten* handed to them in a court room.
2 - yes
by and large I "take care of myself" outside of the office. I make sure I get regular exercise and when I'm not at the office I make sure I'm as generally active as possible. I also do things like take the stairs, get up and go talk to a colleague rather than emailing them or paging them, park further away from the office building, etc.0 -
And how does it affect your physical fitness?
If you work at an office, do you have an ergonomic computing setup?
If you do repetitive tasks, can you take breaks?
If you do a physical job, how do you pace yourself and recover?
If you don't work, what do you do that's not exercise to take care of yourself?
1) I work full-time in an office. Yes, of course, I have an ergonomic computing setup. My organisation (and actually all the organisations I've worked for in the past decade in two countries) have someone who sets all the new people up ergonomically.
2) Absolutely, I can take breaks. I am encouraged to take breaks at least once an hour. Same with the other organisations I've worked for in the past decade in two countries.
One of the things I, and a few others in my office, have started doing over the past few months is climbing stairs. We work on the 5th floor of our building, and so when we get up to use the toilet and top up the coffee, we walk down to the ground level and hike back up again.
I walk a minimum of the 5 flights 5 times a day (25 flights of stairs), and so far my maximum was 5 flights 9 times in a day (45 flights of stairs).
It has made a difference to my leg strength!
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I am fortunate to have a gym at work so I use it a few times a week..both cardio and weights. I also can go for a walk or jog time permitting.
I do amazingly well at work. I never eat crap from the cafeteria, always pack a healthy lunch and have ample emergency supplies in-case I forget my lunch, or didn't have time to prepare one. Plus I am usually pretty active and get about 6500 steps just walking the halls, and running back and forth to the office, photocopy machine etc.
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Desk job. Setup looks ergonomic enough. My lunch break is basically grabbing food and eating it while surfing the interwebs. I don't make any special effort to walk or stretch or anything. Around 3 PM on workout days, I ditch um Homer Simpson style to get to my gym classes. That's about twice during the work week. Other days I work a bit later0
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My job is mostly sedentary -- a few days a week I can work at home.
When I am at work, I am standing and walking but can do some sitting here and there.
I am on the first floor of a two story building with no elevator and "opting" out of
going up the stairs is an issue at the moment.
No lunch break and bathroom breaks take planning.0 -
I work 5 days a week at a computer. My coworker has got me doing a 10-20 minute power walk on our half hour lunch break. It keeps me from over eating our regularly catered lunches and gives me a break from sitting almost 8 hours. Now, she also has me standing part of the day and doing side leg lifts, donkey kicks, and sumo squats while I am doing some of my computer work. This is great for me because I also have a 30 min drive to and from work.0
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I have an electronic standing desk which is nice. Before the change in lifestyle i would sit most of the day. Now i stand for most of the day. Also, we get catered lunch everyday - and I'm not talking deli sandwiches lol. We will have items from restaurants such as bbq, tacos, burgers, pastas, etc. It is hard not to fill my plate up with those foods. If i have them i will have a very small portion and load up on healthy foods at the salad bar with little salad dressing.0
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