Exercise in office?

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dwulet130
dwulet130 Posts: 108 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I spend 8 hours a day in a sitting on my butt at work. I was wondering is anyone has any tips to get a little more exercise in? It's a REALLY small office so I don't have privacy, which means I can't walk laps or do standing crunches without looking insane.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,953 Member
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    Do you have flights of stairs?

    I'm on the 5th floor of my office building, and I hike up and down those stairs several times a day. Today I did it 7 times (so, 35 flights of stairs in total).

    Can you include walking or cycling as all or part of your commute?

    I have to walk a total of 1 km every day as part of my commute ... getting to the bus, getting from the bus to my office, and back. Sometimes I get off the bus a stop or two early so I have a longer walk on the way to work.

    Can you walk at lunch?

    That's one of my favourite times of the day ... getting up and going for anywhere from a short 2 km shopping stroll to a 5 km exercise walk at lunch time in the sunshine and warmth.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    Stand up when you talk on the phone.
  • whooRAWRowlbear
    whooRAWRowlbear Posts: 47 Member
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    I took up walking laps around my floor when I get up every hour and pace around my office when I'm working on things. The VP and director on my floor are aware and don't have a problem with it.

    I also have started using the ladies room on other floors to add stairs in at short amounts (five floors currently has me dying on the floor).
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
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    There are lots of good reasons other than weight loss to break up a 8 hours of sitting with some activity. I save any ambition to exercise for when I'm not at work. That being said:

    -Don't bother trying to find the closest parking space to be building.
    -Leave your lunch/snack in your car, or some place other than right next to your chair.
    -Clear a space on top of a filing cabinet to use a laptop or to use while reading/reviewing paperwork or making phone calls. Alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day.
    -Invite people who come into your office to go for a "walking meeting".
    -Schedule meetings in rooms other than your own office.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    I walk at lunch. I either go outside, or if the weather is bad/too cold, I do laps around the building. A lot of other people do the same thing.
  • NatalieThomas90
    NatalieThomas90 Posts: 61 Member
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    I struggle with this also... tiny office and no room to walk...the toilet is a stones throw away...one small flight of stairs which I would have to spend all day walking up and down to make a difference.....carpark right outside....my only option in a wander around town in my hours lunch break (if I get away from the office to have one)

  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
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    I drink loads of water and only use the restroom the farthest from my work space...and I do squat sets in the bathroom. ;) If you want to work it in: you will figure it out. Today my mini-goal is 150 pushups before I leave work!
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
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    kathryndwulet wrote: »
    I spend 8 hours a day in a sitting on my butt at work. I was wondering is anyone has any tips to get a little more exercise in? It's a REALLY small office so I don't have privacy, which means I can't walk laps or do standing crunches without looking insane.

    Thanks!

    I often take conference calls on my mobile while walking around outside. Maybe that's an option?
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
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    I offer to make tea for everyone and then do press ups or jog on the spot in the kitchen while I wait for the kettle to boil :D
    I also get of the bus a few stops early so I can walk in, and go for a walk on my lunch break if I can.
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
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    Every time I leave my chair or come back to it, I do 10 squats. I am a teacher. My students know what I'm doing, and they think it's cool.
  • repertoire
    repertoire Posts: 53 Member
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    I just got back from doing a 30 minutes walk around a few parking lots. LOL. Not exciting...but at least I got something in. I lapped and zigzagged between three buildings...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    I have the flexibility to take long walks at lunch and work later, but if I did not have this option I would take shorter walks at lunch and also exercise before or after work.

    Is there a bathroom farther away from you that you can use, maybe one on a different floor?

    I am far more productive in the afternoon having exercised at lunch.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    SingRunTing wrote: »
    I walk at lunch. I either go outside, or if the weather is bad/too cold, I do laps around the building. A lot of other people do the same thing.

    This^

    My office is in an industrial park - great walking for spring & fall. During the summer (too hot) and winter, I walk laps at a nearby Menard's.
  • SeanNJ
    SeanNJ Posts: 153 Member
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    You could buy a "Jump to Conclusions Mat".
  • sherbear702
    sherbear702 Posts: 649 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I'm going to assume that since you work full time you get 2 breaks and a lunch hour. Walk on your 15 minute breaks and again on your lunch hour. If that doesn't work for you, exercise before work or after work.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
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    I have a folding cycle and I use it when email is slow or I'm checking my texts. Very portable and around $30 US. It's not going to replace regular exercise and it's not strenuous, but it gets a little movement going and burns a calorie here and there.
  • pstegman888
    pstegman888 Posts: 286 Member
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    Isometrics. I did a lot of these while recovering from surgery, and was surprised at how just small muscle contractions can add up to make a difference. You can do these while sitting in your chair and they are almost undetectable to a casual observer. Butt clenches, small leg lifts (legs bent or extended), adductions, teeny tiny ab crunches, bicep curls using dynamic resistance (basically pretending you are carrying a weight, using your own muscles to counteract the motion). Standing exercises would include calf raises, small leg extensions to front, back & side, knee lifts, standing on one leg, partial squats. You can literally do hundreds of moves in a day without ever leaving your desk or missing a phone call, and no one will be the wiser ;)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I don't exercise in my office but I do make efforts day to day to improve my NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)...I work on the third floor of my building so I take the stairs, I utilize the restroom facilities and break room on the 1st floor more than I do my own floor, when I need to talk to a colleague I get up and go to them rather than emailing them or calling them on the phone, I park further away from my office building, when I'm out and about, I park further away from store entrances, etc...

    Beyond that, I make time in my daily life for deliberate exercise outside of my office and I usually make evenings and weekends as generally active as possible rather than sitting around watching t.v., etc.

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