"Sedentary" office job on 7th floor. What can I do!?

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  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
    I have a sedentary job and I don't have any exercise goals for work. I just try to reduce any potential damage by getting up from my desk and walking around the office once every hour or so. I also switch between a sitting desk and a standing workstation. I make no attempt to find the closest parking spot to the office. Other than that, I save any expectations for activity and exercise for non-work hours.
  • edean331
    edean331 Posts: 60 Member
    MsJulesRenee wrote: »
    edean331 wrote: »
    Ever day going down 7 flights 2-4 times a day, now 3 flights up too. Gotta set the reminder to get up from my desk more!
    @MsJulesRenee did you try the Sun Salutation for your back???

    not yet :blush: been waking up for work late, too cold to get out of bed! Lol I will be trying it tomorrow when I'm off work.

    I know what you mean about being too cold in the morning, torture! I moved from N.Y. to Florida a few years ago, no longer a problem B)
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    edean331 wrote: »
    Ever day going down 7 flights 2-4 times a day, now 3 flights up too. Gotta set the reminder to get up from my desk more!
    @MsJulesRenee did you try the Sun Salutation for your back???

    Drink more water and use the restrooms on the first floor only.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edean331 wrote: »
    @MsJulesRenee : I had a very hard time with neck/shoulder/back pain no matter how I sat too. Then started doing a very simple yoga stretch Sun Salute, and it almost immediately improved, I just need to remember to do it every day after my morning shower! Try it and see if it helps:

    http://wildernessdave.com/files/2012/01/sunsalutationfinal.jpg

    I'm a yoga teacher and am very glad to hear that yoga helped your back :)

    Comfortable chairs are important, too. People who have to sit 8 + hours per day should do it in a decent chair.
  • edean331
    edean331 Posts: 60 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    edean331 wrote: »
    @MsJulesRenee : I had a very hard time with neck/shoulder/back pain no matter how I sat too. Then started doing a very simple yoga stretch Sun Salute, and it almost immediately improved, I just need to remember to do it every day after my morning shower! Try it and see if it helps:

    http://wildernessdave.com/files/2012/01/sunsalutationfinal.jpg

    I'm a yoga teacher and am very glad to hear that yoga helped your back :)

    Comfortable chairs are important, too. People who have to sit 8 + hours per day should do it in a decent chair.
    Absolutely! Better than any pain reliever
  • JustaJoe00
    JustaJoe00 Posts: 777 Member
    like this thread....i'm a desk jockey also...i started doing the stair thing...couple times a day....
  • edean331
    edean331 Posts: 60 Member
    I've been consistently doing 7 down, 2-3 up at least twice a day....not much easier, but getting monotonous :D
  • stuart959
    stuart959 Posts: 33 Member
    I used to work at a call center and a coworker had an exercise ball and dumbbells and used them for a few moments here and there throughout the day. That may help you be more balanced than just the stairs.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    I am getting great tips from this thread. I got a fitbit two days ago and was horrified as to just how inactive I am. I also have a desk job and I am going to try to lean into improving by getting just a bit better each day.

    From Jan I am ditching my car and starting to take the train to work (new job in the city), which will involve walks to the bus and up and down from the train. That should also help. Not having a car at lunch time also means that if I need to go to the store I have to walk there.

    All of this is good news for my butt!
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    Having all those stairs does get monotonous but it is an opportunity as well! Think of how many people spend however long on a stairmaster that goes nowhere! At least you are going up and down! DO as many as you can and walk loops on each floor! Free walking track and stairmaster!
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    You don't need to use the disabled stall to do a few exercises, a regular stall is big enough for a couple of forward lunges - I just tried it! Great tip! With all the extra water I have been drinking I will get plenty of lunges in if I just do ten every time I visit the bathroom.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    If you take a 5 minute break to walk around the office every hour, you'll have done over 30 minutes for the day, which at the end of the week, will put you out of the sedentary class. Plus research shows people are more productive if they take breaks and move during the day
  • edean331
    edean331 Posts: 60 Member
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    If you take a 5 minute break to walk around the office every hour, you'll have done over 30 minutes for the day, which at the end of the week, will put you out of the sedentary class. Plus research shows people are more productive if they take breaks and move during the day
    @47Jacqueline, I hear this a lot! But I am still so worried about being away from my desk and breaking focus (complex nurse requiring detailed medical updates) that I really think this has, in part, kept me smoking!!! Having "a reason" to leave my desk, take the 7 flights down to step outside and complain about corporate America and have a cigarette. I wonder if office jobs, as notorious for weight gain, also foster smoking. Any tips on this?? I've cut down periodically, smoking nothing to a quarter/third of a cigarette a few times, then always back up to full smoke breaks, then (aside from getting lunch AND a smoke) the only reason I get up!!


  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    edited December 2015
    Do you all worry about being away from your desk or what you are supposed to be doing for work in order to get your steps in? I'd be worried that my boss would notice.
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
    susan100df wrote: »
    Do you all worry about being away from your desk or what you are supposed to be doing for work in order to get your steps in? I'd be worried that my boss would notice.

    A good manager should be able to measure productivity based on something more sophisticated than whether you happen to be sitting at your desk when they happen to look. That is, unless sitting in a chair is the job.
  • headofphat
    headofphat Posts: 1,597 Member
    To be honest I think you can climb more that two-three flights of stairs.
  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    edean331 wrote: »
    I have gained 25 pounds in 3.5 years, I'm only 5 feet tall! I can take all 7 flights down ythe stairs, but only 2 up. What can I do without looking too corny in a cubicle surrounded by about 50 more people to keep myself moving???

    Take things slow... walk up 2 then take the lift. Then a few weeks later take 3, then 4 until you reach 7.
    Then move the goal posts by jogging up. Then do it once or twice a day.

    It will soon add up :-)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I love all the tall building tips. My daughter has progressed so she walks up to the top, takes the elevator back down, then goes up again.

    For cubicle workouts, how about stretches? You could post this in the cubicle to help ease the weirdness factor.
    Desk+Stretches.jpg

    I caught our accounts payable girl doing pushups in her cubicle; I was delighted with her enterprising spirit.

    Put a timer on your phone to get up for a walk around the office once an hour.

    13 habits of super fitness trackers

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