Desk jobs and exercise

bearxfoo

Does your job offer anything to stay more "active" at work? I know our office will raise our desks if we want to stand all day, or will provide us with a stability ball to sit on instead of a chair (nearly everyone in my department, including me, uses this!), and power outlets and trays on our cardio equipment in our gym so you can plug up your work laptop while you walk/bike/etc. I'd contact HR to see if anything like that is offered...it helps a lot!

Sadly no I work for a smaller company and we don't even have regular desks.. we have cubicles, which are all connected together, so no raising for standing. We don't have a gym or anything like that. My company is so cheap that when we have BBQ's or potlucks, they buy that cheap meat where you can't even LOOK at it before buying it... the "greatest value" meat from Walmart. Yeah. That's where I work, lmao.

I've been thinking about trying to get a job in retail but the hours I work and the money is just too good It kind of sucks when you have to think "do I want a more active job for my health, or keep this one for the bills."

Also, it's good to see I'm not the only one with thinks this way! If only we could all work and be active! lol

aj_31

Does your job offer anything to stay more "active" at work? I know our office will raise our desks if we want to stand all day, or will provide us with a stability ball to sit on instead of a chair (nearly everyone in my department, including me, uses this!), and power outlets and trays on our cardio equipment in our gym so you can plug up your work laptop while you walk/bike/etc. I'd contact HR to see if anything like that is offered...it helps a lot!

That's nice that your work will give you a ball to sit on. I've thought about doing that for some time now. A few ladies used to do that here but they've all gone back to their chairs. Also - we can't really raise our desk so standing wouldn't work.

elis_mama

I sit on an exercise ball. My co-workers think I'm a riot but I'm keeping my core strong.

Dwight? Is that you????

^^Hahaha!

natvanessa

I could have written your post!! For many years I was in retail (grocery and department stores). Always moving around, going up stairs, walking here and there, etc. I never had an issue with weight and didn't feel I needed to exercise either.

However, as of a year ago I have a strict desk job where I sit for 8 hours a day. It's driving me crazy! I get very restless and feel so tied down.
I also did gain about 10 pounds but could be from other factors as well (medication, quit smoking). What I do, however, is I walk to work (for me it's about a 40 minute walk), take walks on my lunch break, walk home, AND work out in the evening.

Just try to fit in activity wherever you can. At least it's not just you :ohwell:

tashaa1992

I work in childcare and you would think I would be run off my feet all day but I'm not, hardly ever am in fact. When it's raining outside we're indoors all day, so there's alot of sitting down and playing with the children as opposed to running around with them outside in the garden when the sun's out.
I walk every lunch break, I get an hour for lunch but I was only walking for twenty minutes of that hour, I've done this since I started the job but to be honest I don't see any improvement in my fitness levels and my body doesn't seem to be toning up either which is really fraustrating so I may just start walking for the whole hour hopefully I will see some change:/
Just one extra step goes a long way, in the long run:)

tashaa1992

I work in childcare and you would think I would be run off my feet all day but I'm not, hardly ever am in fact. When it's raining outside we're indoors all day, so there's alot of sitting down and playing with the children as opposed to running around with them outside in the garden when the sun's out.
I walk every lunch break, I get an hour for lunch but I was only walking for twenty minutes of that hour, I've done this since I started the job but to be honest I don't see any improvement in my fitness levels and my body doesn't seem to be toning up either which is really fraustrating so I may just start walking for the whole hour hopefully I will see some change:/
Just one extra step goes a long way, in the long run:)

IslandGirl072906

I do crunches while I'm seated,

How do you do crunches while you're seated?

Toxictwist

I am also working a desk job. I have to go to the gym in the morning or over my lunch hr to get a work out in.

poustotah

I sit on an exercise ball. My co-workers think I'm a riot but I'm keeping my core strong.

Dwight? Is that you????

LMAO!!! That's great. I actually got the idea from an old boss of mine. He sat on an exercise ball for the same reason and I thought it was a good idea.

Emancipated_Tai

I do crunches while I'm seated,

How do you do crunches while you're seated?

Check these moves out, this is basically what I've been doing:

Drawing-In Maneuver
• The drawing-in maneuver is the best exercise to learn to contract your abdominal muscles. Other exercises can be dangerous for the back if the ab muscles are not activated. Sit in a chair with your spine straight and your back off the seat rest. Place your hands on your stomach under your belly button. This will help you identify the muscles you need to contract. Draw in your ab muscles. Imagine that you are pulling your stomach muscles all the way back to your spine. Hold them in for three seconds as you exhale, and then release your ab muscles and inhale. Do this 10 times. Keep performing this move until you can easily hold in your abs. Every time you exercise, try drawing in your abs throughout the movements.
Pelvic Tilts
• The pelvic tilt is another basic seated abdominal exercise that will strengthen and train your ab muscles. Sit up straight against a seat rest allowing your low back to maintain its natural curve. Put your feet flat on the floor and look forward. Your hands can rest gently on your legs. Draw in your abs. Tilt your pelvis under your hips and push your lower back against the seat rest. Hold it pressed against the chair for three seconds and then relax your pelvis forward again. Do this 10 times. This exercise can also be done standing against a wall or lying on the floor. The pelvic tilt will assist you with other exercises like reverse crunches and bicycle crunches, where keeping the back flat is important to properly perform the exercise.
•
Seated Crunches
• The popular crunch can be done while seated. Sit in a chair with your back off the back rest. Sit up straight and look straight ahead with your chin level. Place your hands behind your head. Draw in your abs. Crunch your shoulders down as you bend at the ribs and exhale. Keep your chin lifted away from your chest as you crunch. Sit back up straight to complete the crunch. Start with two sets of 10 reps. Work up to two sets of 20 or more crunches.
Abdominal exercises can be done three to five days a week to strengthen the abs.

rachaela06

I worked retail for years, now I have a desk job, plus an hour commute one way to work. I never had an issue with anything, until I took a desk job. I try to workout in the morning and later in the evening after the kids are in bed. I've really changed how I eat also. This is the one thing I miss about a retail job, at least I always felt like I worked by the end of the day.

IslandGirl072906

Thanks Tai!

kfle018

Oh man, story of my life. Before my current job as a lending consultant I was a teller in the bank. SO different even though they are both relatively lazy jobs. At least as a teller I was running out to the safes/consultants all the time. But now I have my own office I rarely leave. I have started walking to work, which is great, but because we are looking to buy our first home, I find I dordle a lot and what should take me 15mins to walk takes me 30. When I get home i'm lazy, hardly getting out, just sit and watch TV. In 4 months my work uniform is already ridicuously tight. So now I'm having to cut my favourite foods for the sake of my uniform. I think I need a change in job- considering I am university qualified as a surveyor and environmental consultant- so i should be out in the field all day measuring and running around *SIGH*

KatrinaG2012

Bump from a two desk job girl whose waist got bigger than her boobs since she sat down to work 20 years ago.:sad:

RmYWarrioR

I am active duty military and have been stuck in a staff position for a little more than a year. I cope by walking everywhere I can when moving printed documents and going to and from meetings outside of my building. I go to Unit Physical Training in the mornings and in addition I go to the gym and strength train at lunch. I also, do cardio at home with my wife. We do a combination, rotation of Insanity, Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and 6 Week 6 pack and invterval running. It works really well for me. I have dropped from 214 to 193 pounds since Christmas.

Xiaolongbao

I'm not in a strictly desk job (teaching) but since getting my fitbit I've realised just how sedentary it actually is. That's one great thing about the fitbit, it shows you how much/how little you are moving around in your every day life.

I've added in all sorts of little extra bits to try and get my count up. Being less efficient basically. So I don't do all my photocopying at one time. I walk to other offices more. I take a longer route to get to and from the photocopier. I take weird routes that involve stairs when I need to get to other places in the building. I visit the toilets that aren't the closest to where I am.

I walk to and from work but not by the shortest route.

It all sounds a little silly but it does add up and of course with the fitbit I can see the difference it makes.

LemonSnap

I sit at a computer all day and have been doing these 5 minute desk-side walks five or six times throughout the day. Makes a huge difference to how I feel - less stiff shoulders and numb bum, etc. - and I seem to be losing weight more rapidly since I started doing them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=PnsfbneFQ_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bot9ma_sIh0

eta: Oh, yeah (@Xiaolongbao) apparently they are about 500 paces.

rachmass1

I am tied to a computer 8-10 hours a day. A couple months ago I bought a desk that sits over my treadmill and now walk while I am working between 2-4 hours a day. It is a life saver and has virtually eliminated my back problems. I am fortunate I work from home though instead of an office.

In your situation you could try drinking a lot of water so you have an excuse to get up and move around every hour.

lacroyx

I work a desk job. My shift is Graveyard 11pm-7am. I have periods of downtime I take advantage by going outside for 15-20 min walk breaks. I also work on the weekends and it's even less busy then. I'll sometimes head out for up to 45 mins on the weekends. Other than that I hit my YMCA in the morning after work. It's nice because at 8am during the week, it's not crowded at all.

rockette7

I feel your pain. I was a waitress for a while, and used to wear a pedometer to work. My average mileage per shift? About 8 miles? I was at my slimmest then, despite the weird way shift work makes you eat!

Now I have a desk-job and have gained nearly half a stone and can't fit in my clothes anymore. I'm finding little ways to up my activity level at work.
I walk to and from work, which takes about ten minutes each way. Could you park a little further from work, or get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest?
Don't email your colleagues, get off your butt and go visit their desks. Forget the lift, use the stairs.
I go out of the building for lunch a few times a week, and make sure to walk at a brisk pace to wherever I'm eating. It all adds up. Does anyone in your building get heavy deliveries? We get regular deliveries of boxes of leaflets, and I always help out with the getting them in and putting them away. That's some strength work with the lifting, and cardio with walking to and from the delivery van!