Exerciseing at my desk

Posts: 149 Member
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone know any exercises one can do while sitting at a desk? I sti for 8+ hours a day!

Thanks

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Replies

  • Tricep dips :)
  • Posts: 251 Member
    Bump! I'd like some ideas too!
  • Posts: 597 Member
    squats!
  • Posts: 575 Member
    squats
  • Posts: 357 Member
    You can use an exercise ball rather than a chair for balance and core work.
  • Posts: 2,979 Member
    Luckily, I have a private office with a door I can close. So with that said, here are my go to's (I also sit at a desk 8+ hours a day):

    Wall Pushups
    Tricep Dips
    Jumping Jacks
    Stretches

    I also have an app on my iPod called Office Fitness. It was free and it sounds an alarm every so often and tells different exercises to do.

    Best of luck and can't wait to see other great ideas here! :flowerforyou:
  • Posts: 25 Member
    I have a little machine with bike pedals that fits under my desk! On amazon if you search "desk bike" a ton will come up.
  • Posts: 560 Member
    Kegels. Trust me, they pay off.
  • Posts: 49,305 Member
    How does one do a squat sitting at a desk? You actually have to get up to do them.

    There are actually "pedal machines" that you can place under your desk if you have to sit for work.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
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    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • I will sometimes do chair dips, but unless you are literally glued to your chair I would say stand up, do some squats, get on the floor and do some push ups or sit ups... If you are in an office area and don't want people to "judge you", then get some colleagues to do it too!
  • Posts: 176 Member
    Do you have your own private office or just a cubicle in an open area?
  • Frequent stretches seem to work best. I also make an effort to walk over to someone to speak with them rather than sending and e-mail. I've seen small bike pedal type units that fit under the desk and have wondered how effective they are. During the warmer months, I actually keep a simple cheap bike in a storage closet and I go out for a half hour ride at lunch. Making choices to do active things during work turned out to be an easier task than actually cleaning up afterwards. Going for a run or a bike ride can get a little sweaty, especially in July and August!
  • Posts: 9 Member
    I'm sat at my desk right now alternating between tightening/releasing my buttock muscles & also doing the same with my abs/stomach muscles (the stomach ones help me to envisage & feel what it would be like to be free of my bulging belly!!)
  • Posts: 878 Member
    Get an exercise ball to sit on instead of the chair; it will help you build some core strength as well as your "posture" muscles if you don't slouch.
  • Posts: 511 Member
    I tried some leg exercises yesterday at my desk. Just kinda acted like I was running in place but while sitting down. Picking up one leg at a time faster and faster and trying to get my knees up higher and higher and let me just say it about killed my legs after a while and was great cardio! lol
  • Posts: 101 Member
    bump
  • Posts: 92 Member
    * Just making sure I get up and do a lap around the building periodically helps.
    * At the copier I'll do leg lifts (hamstring, lift foot to butt while leaning forwared) or "up and over" (left arm up & over right side of head, switch arms, back & forth).
    * Alternating knee ups or leg lifts while lifting arms over head.
    * Basically any standing exercise or standing yoga pose I can think of when I have a second and a little privacy.
  • chair dips, body weight squats, lunges, push-ups (on the floor)
  • Posts: 212 Member
    I just got a reminder widget (BreakTaker) to remind me every 30 minutes to get up and take a short brisk walk. I'm wondering if something can be done with resistance bands and an office chair... biceps and triceps work, maybe.
  • Posts: 3,038 Member
    One of my rehab exercises when I tore my ACL was to sit on an office chair with my back straight and pull myself around the room with one leg. Great hamstring/butt workout.

    You can always (on occasion) drop and do 10 pushups too. Or vary it by the day of the week.

    Or, given that most of us work eight hour days you can do what we do and go to the gym before or afterwards! :)
  • Posts: 7,010 Member
    kegels
  • Posts: 3,569 Member
    I bought one of those pedal machines and gave it away. I didn't care for it much.
  • Posts: 2,284 Member
    Kegels!!!
  • Posts: 251 Member
    Or, given that most of us work eight hour days you can do what we do and go to the gym before or afterwards! :)

    This is not fair! Most may work 8 hours a day....but not ALL have to sit for their jobs! A nurse is on her feet for 8-12 hours a day....but a desk job leaves little time for walking that much. We're just trying to add exercise to our workday in addition to what we do outside of work.
  • Posts: 2,665 Member
    Kegels. Trust me, they pay off.

    Beat me to it.
  • Posts: 237
    Take a min and do a plank every once in a while.
  • chair dips, body weight squats, lunges, push-ups (on the floor)

    ^^^ this and some chair bicycles:flowerforyou:
  • Posts: 9,026 Member

    This is not fair! Most may work 8 hours a day....but not ALL have to sit for their jobs! A nurse is on her feet for 8-12 hours a day....but a desk job leaves little time for walking that much. We're just trying to add exercise to our workday in addition to what we do outside of work.

    I have met skinny office workers and over weight nurses.

    A few exercises at the desk to defeat boredom and get the blood flowing are great, but should not be substituted for a regular work out routine.
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