Micro Exercises and Office Environments

Slackpacker

Like many people, I sit in an office in front of a computer all day. I know it's unhealthy and last week, I discovered exactly how unhealthy that was. It was gloomy and rainy all week; not ideal for going for a walk outside. By Friday, I ached all over from sitting all week.

So I've decided to incorporate some micro-exercises into my day. My goal with this post is to jot down my ideas and hopefully gain some tips from others.

1. Neck rolls - 5-10 each direction
2. Arm rotations - big or small to limber up the shoulders
3. Calf stretches - not quite full lunges
4. Resistance walk - I have small resistance bands that I put around my ankles; and then I go for a walk to the end of the hall and back.

Anyway, these are a few ideas. Every little bit helps. If you have some ideas, I'd love to hear them.

ElizabethKalmbach

Chair dips, forward folds, body weight squats, some twisting at the waist...

serindipte

Squats during bathroom breaks, pushups against the counter in the break/bathroom.

Theoldguy1

ElizabethKalmbach wrote: »

Chair dips, forward folds, body weight squats, some twisting at the waist...

Be careful with the dips. Tend to pit shoulder in bad position if not careful. Especially bad for someone sitting with shoulders hunched together all day.

Machka9

Can you leave your desk and move around the office?
Does your building have stairs?
Do you get a lunch hour?
Can you exercise as part of your commute?

ElizabethKalmbach

Theoldguy1 wrote: »

Be careful with the dips. Tend to pit shoulder in bad position if not careful. Especially bad for someone sitting with shoulders hunched together all day.

Depends on how many chairs you use. I have a conference room off my office and 12 non-rolly chairs available. I DO NOT recommend chair dips off a rolly chair.

Hollis100

I have a great co-worker. We spontaneously do 10 to 20 squats at a time during the day, just quietly do them together when it won't cause a disruption and then go on with our work. A couple of times other people have accidentally walked by and joined in. Once we had four people doing them and then we all went back to work.

mullanphylane

Push-aways (half push ups) against the desktop or a counter top in a break room. Hands on the desk/counter surface, rest of body at about a 45 degree angle to the floor (or any comfortable angle) and push away. Especially useful for anyone who can no longer do a real push up.

Theoldguy1

mullanphylane wrote: »

Push-aways (half push ups) against the desktop or a counter top in a break room. Hands on the desk/counter surface, rest of body at about a 45 degree angle to the floor (or any comfortable angle) and push away. Especially useful for anyone who can no longer do a real push up.

To be perfectly honest, the best exercise one can do in an office to lose/maintain weight are pushaways, TABLE pushaways. Push away from treats brought in by coworkers, provide by the workplace, etc.

cwolfman13

Slackpacker wrote: »

Like many people, I sit in an office in front of a computer all day. I know it's unhealthy and last week, I discovered exactly how unhealthy that was. It was gloomy and rainy all week; not ideal for going for a walk outside. By Friday, I ached all over from sitting all week.

So I've decided to incorporate some micro-exercises into my day. My goal with this post is to jot down my ideas and hopefully gain some tips from others.

1. Neck rolls - 5-10 each direction
2. Arm rotations - big or small to limber up the shoulders
3. Calf stretches - not quite full lunges
4. Resistance walk - I have small resistance bands that I put around my ankles; and then I go for a walk to the end of the hall and back.

Anyway, these are a few ideas. Every little bit helps. If you have some ideas, I'd love to hear them.

I get up and just move every hour or so. I usually need to use the restroom or fill my water bottle so I take the scenic route to the bathroom and break room. I work in two different office buildings...3 days per week I work at a building with three floors and I work on the third floor and usually use the first floor bathroom and break room.

Two day per week I work in a two story building but work on the first floor...I use the restroom and break room on the 2nd floor and then take the long route back to my office.

I also do some kind of deliberate exercise most days...usually either weight lifting, road cycling, mountain biking, or spin class in the winter.