OFFICE LIFE

jonnucke
jonnucke Posts: 62 Member
edited December 3 in Fitness and Exercise
How do you stay fit in an office?
I work from about 730-4 in an office. Most of it is computer work. its very time consuming. Allot of meetings back to back with only 10min breaks if that. I dont want to remain sitting all day, but i cant have a standing desk. what kind of short activities are there?

Replies

  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    take those 10 min and walk whenever you can, even if it's just going to a restroom on the other side of the building instead of the one near you...parking in the way back of the lot...taking the stairs...etc.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited September 2016
    Workout before and/or after work
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Some activity trackers can buzz you when you've been sitting too long. These are great for tracking goals.

    You might stand up while on the phone, take a bathroom break (the long way, up the stairs, what have you). Refill a water glass. Park further from your office. Do some bathroom squats or wall push ups. This won't make you "fit" but it's better than sitting all day.

    On your lunch break - put on some sneakers & take a walk.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited September 2016
    To stay fit I set aside time daily for deliberate moderate to high intensity exercise.

    As far as my general activity goes I make sure I get up every hour and do some stretching. I often will walk to a colleagues office or cubicle if I have a question rather than emailing or paging them on the phone. I take the stairs (I work on the third floor). I don't look for rock star parking at the office or when I'm out at the grocery store or whatever...a little extra walking is good. I throw in some body weight squats and/or push-ups every few hours or so to get the blood moving...

    Also, I try to avoid sitting around too much when I get home...I try to find something to do...my wife and I trade off cooking nights so cooking nights keep me up and busy...otherwise I find something to fix, clean, or mow/pick, etc...I don't really sit down when I get home until dinner is ready around 8:30/9:00 and we sit down to watch a show. My wife and I also watch very little television...about 30 minutes per night...sometimes an hour.
  • Rachel0778
    Rachel0778 Posts: 1,701 Member
    I get up every hour and do a loop around the office. I also use the restroom on a different floor so I get some stairs in. If I don't have a meeting over lunch I take a quick walking break outside to get some sun in too. It's not much but it's the little things that add up.

    I had a friend who worked at a call center for awhile and she used an under the desk bike (you can pick them up at Target pretty inexpensively) and she would pedal under her desk to get some movement in.
  • guinevere96
    guinevere96 Posts: 1,445 Member
    tcunbeliever wrote: »
    take those 10 min and walk whenever you can, even if it's just going to a restroom on the other side of the building instead of the one near you...parking in the way back of the lot...taking the stairs...etc.

    I also work 7:30-4pm :) I don't get a lot of exercise at work at all, so I tend to go for long walks in the evening once it cools down outside a little, like around 6pm-7pm. I also walk home from work sometimes.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    jonnucke wrote: »
    How do you stay fit in an office?
    I work from about 730-4 in an office. Most of it is computer work. its very time consuming. Allot of meetings back to back with only 10min breaks if that. I dont want to remain sitting all day, but i cant have a standing desk. what kind of short activities are there?

    Everytime I go to the bathroom I do 100 body weight squats. Helps to keep the circulation going in my legs. Run for 15-20 minutes in the morning or after work and lift. It will help!
  • kelhea
    kelhea Posts: 52 Member
    Every hour to hour and a half I try to get up and go for a walk. The water cooler for me is upstairs so that's a good excuse for me to go for a walk, climb some stairs and drink more water through out the day!
  • VioletRojo
    VioletRojo Posts: 597 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    You don't. You do your work, be presentable, etc, maybe go for a walk during your break, and find something to do in your off time.

    This. Though I do manage to squeeze in some walking during the work day: I take a 15 minute walk break in the morning, which works out to one mile. Then every time I get up to go to the bathroom, I walk around the building. That works out to 1/3 mile. So, if I go to the bathroom three times I've walked another mile. But all of my real exercise is before or after work.
  • zoritt
    zoritt Posts: 68 Member
    I am primarily inactive during my working hours. I do use the stairs instead of the elevator. If the weather is good, I walk for a couple of blocks during my lunch hour.

    I'm in office from 6.30am to 4pm most days. I workout on evenings or night doing endurance cardio or lifting.

  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    A lot of people at my work go for a short walk on their lunch break.
  • LillysMomma09
    LillysMomma09 Posts: 272 Member
    9 hours per day at a desk right here, so I understand!

    I get .60 of mile walked on my 10 minute breaks, twice per day. So that's 120 minutes of walking each week.

    Also, I live pretty close to home so I go home and indoor bike while watching tv :smile:
    I keep hard candy at my desk too, that really helps.
    Some of my co-workers are in this with me, so that really helps to keep me motivated.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    I found a gym very near my office and work out on my lunch most days. I have an hour, so I spend half of it in the gym and half of it getting to/from and making myself presentable again. It's not a perfect solution but I can at least get a short strength training session in or run 3-4 miles.

    I also don't drive to work. I used to walk when I lived 15 blocks from the office but now that I'm about 4 miles, I ride my bike when there's no snow and walk/public transit when the weather's bad. ~8 miles putzing along on my single-speed bike isn't really intense exercise either but it's a lot better than sitting, and the ~15 minute walk to and from the train station is also a little better than nothing IMO.

    I don't really do anything else with my workday but I do make exercise a priority when I'm not at my desk, both with the things I mentioned above and with 2x/week runs before work, a long run on the weekend, etc.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    You don't. You do your work, be presentable, etc, maybe go for a walk during your break, and find something to do in your off time.

    As an employer I approve of this message.

    I run a business and I work out on my own time (and I probably spend more time in the office than most employees ever would...)
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited September 2016
    I have a desk job, mostly at my desk...walking is just going to lunch, going to a meeting (where I sit), going to the bathroom etc. The way I get around that is that I walk to and from work even though i don't live very close at all (I live about 6 miles away). I'd agree though that your hours at work aren't really your hours to do whatever you want to do in so if your job is to work at a desk then you are going to be working at a desk, can't really avoid that. Workout time is going to be on your own time.
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
    When I work in the office, I work out at the gym on campus on my lunch. When I work from home, I work out at the gym across the street on my lunch, or before/after work. When the weather cools down (which, for me in AZ is around 90 degrees) I go for a 5k-ish walk a couple nights a week as well. 7:30-4 work schedule leaves you with a lot of free time, honestly. It's just a matter of making the time for it.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    jonnucke wrote: »
    How do you stay fit in an office?
    I work from about 730-4 in an office. Most of it is computer work. its very time consuming. Allot of meetings back to back with only 10min breaks if that. I dont want to remain sitting all day, but i cant have a standing desk. what kind of short activities are there?

    Walk or cycle as part of your commute.
    If you've got stairs, climb them on your breaks.
    Walk at lunch.
    Take the long way around the photocopier.
    Stand during the meetings.
  • WanderingRivers
    WanderingRivers Posts: 612 Member
    I walk on both my 15 min breaks and the entirety of my 45 minute lunch. That is helping to burn several calories.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    You don't. You do your work, be presentable, etc, maybe go for a walk during your break, and find something to do in your off time.

    ^^^

    I go for short walks and do a little stretching at my desk when I can, but aside from that I plan my workout schedule for after work and on weekends.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
    I purchased a $50 folding laptop riser that lets me stand while I work. This was mostly due to a lot of back problems I developed from sitting with poor posture at a desk all day every day. I also get up and walk around the long way to the kitchen (for water) and bathroom. Stretch out a little as often as possible. And we thankfully get to take a 10-15 minute walk per day if we are keeping up with our work. So I do that as much as possible weather permitting.
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
    I tend to eat at my desk while I work and then use my lunch break to take a walk. Luckily I run a data center so there are days that I am on my feet for hours doing light construction. Then there are weeks where it is nothing but being a desk jockey. No matter what the work day brings, I still try to walk a mile for no reason but to escape the confines of the office.
  • MoonKat7
    MoonKat7 Posts: 358 Member
    Resistance band and do upper body exercises to open up the chest and squeeze the shoulder blades. Body weight push ups on the floor or wall.

    You prob have a round back and internal shoulder rotation from sitting in front of the computer/desk for hours.

    Maybe hire a personal trainer for one hour to check your posture and show you exercises that is best for you.
  • TRosen19335
    TRosen19335 Posts: 12 Member
    I wake up 4am gym from 5-630am
    Work 7am-7pm
    I take the stairs instead of the elevator and I eat a portioned out meal every 2.5-3 hours
    I attend/conduct about 8 meetings per day so sometimes I have to view my schedule and plan meals around that
    If you need snacks to hold you until the next meal
    - almonds
    - Rice cakes
    - Low or no sugar protein bar

    It's not easy but ou can make it work if you figure out your schedule
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Workout in your off time. You don't have to be on your feet all day long or have an active job to stay in shape. Control your diet and get in a decent workout in the evening.
  • powercycle
    powercycle Posts: 22 Member
    I've also got a 9-5 desk job. No gym in my current office building either. My office is 12km from home so I cycle to work. (It's actually faster than the bus in rush hour!) Easy to extend the ride when I have extra time. Can burn about 1000 calories a day that way.
  • pescetarian_love
    pescetarian_love Posts: 64 Member
    I go for a walk during my lunch and around 2:30 when I have a cup of green tea, its a pretty good boost!
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
    squeeze a ball, have a resistance band, stretch, pace, fidget, move a little. Be less efficient in other ways, park further from work and stores. I work 10 hour days, have been getting 3000-4000 steps in a lot of times. Not every day, but at least half of the time. Little things add up.
  • cnh1104
    cnh1104 Posts: 2 Member
    guinevere96 wrote: »
    tcunbeliever wrote: »
    take those 10 min and walk whenever you can, even if it's just going to a restroom on the other side of the building instead of the one near you...parking in the way back of the lot...taking the stairs...etc.

    I also work 7:30-4pm :) I don't get a lot of exercise at work at all, so I tend to go for long walks in the evening once it cools down outside a little, like around 6pm-7pm. I also walk home from work sometimes.

    This! I always carve out time in the evening to get some exercise in. At work, I also try to take the first half of my lunch hour to actually eat lunch and use the second half hour to go for a walk. The building I work in is on a larger corporate campus and there are sidewalks everywhere- I've mapped out a 1 mile route using the Map My Walk app (I don't run it because I don't want to get too sweaty in the middle of a workday) and I try to walk it during the last portion of my lunch break. If I'm feeling extra dedicated, I'll get to work 20 minutes or so early and walk it then, or walk it right before I leave to go home for the day (it's a 45 minute drive home). I park farther away and get up every hour to walk to the bathroom, refill my water bottle, etc. You can find ways!
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