Working Out While Working

Options
CanadianMissy
CanadianMissy Posts: 39 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone do this? I don't mean lifting barbells or anything like that. I mean getting in short exercises while at work that add up in the long run.

I'm thinking of doing butt squeezes at my desk. Maybe get up every now and then and do a lap around the office or a couple lunges.

I am open to at-work suggestions.

I am self-employed so I have some leniency. I do sit at a desk and interact with the public in an office. But I also have a fair bit of time when no one is looking at me and wondering what the hell I'm doing.

Replies

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Options
    i used to do hangs and 'engagement' exercises for my shoulderblades off the cubicle walls in the bathrooms :tongue:

    i was working for government at the time, so i defy anyone to tell me i was any more weird than the rest of that bunch.
  • mrramsey1969
    mrramsey1969 Posts: 46 Member
    Options
    I work from home but I did lose the sit down desk and work standing up. I also walk whist on the phone. I have a treadmill in the next room and will jump on that when listening to conference calls etc.
  • AmandaDanceMore
    AmandaDanceMore Posts: 298 Member
    Options
    I have been known to do yoga poses at work and will practice my ballroom steps. Does that count?
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
    Options
    Replace your office chair with a stability ball. I did this for a while and it was great for my core. In fact, I think it's time I dig my stability ball out of storage.
  • katrinawalker
    katrinawalker Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    my boss and I used to take 3pm breaks to do a short online workout video (normally blogilates) just to get the blood pumping, although everyone else in the office thought we were mad! makes a difference though!
  • owieprone
    owieprone Posts: 217 Member
    Options
    AmandaDanceMore wrote: »
    I have been known to do yoga poses at work and will practice my ballroom steps. Does that count?

    Lol Amanda, mental image of you doing scorpion in the kitchen while waiting for kettle to boil.

    Missy, i go for a 30 to 45 mins walk at lunch time, or run with some of my colleagues or alone if it's raining or 'too cold' (bloody fair-weather runners). I don't walk when it's peeing down cos i don't have a change of clothes but running no worries, i need a shower anyway.

    I do squats/lunges, countertop push ups in the kitchen.
    At home when waiting for kettle to boil i do push ups, reverse planks, sliding planks, ballet barre leg stuff, Fencing lunge or point control practice, a karate kata etc. I also have a pull up bar in one of the doorways (i can't do pull ups) and do a few leg lifts whenever i pass it. I should get my dip bars out...

    Take the stairs if there any. If you don't drive to work, get off a stop early if possible or a stop late and walk to the office.

    Stability ball at work, careful with that cos staples and other pointy hidden things stuck in the carpet. A girl i know had hers burst on her while she was sitting on it, bruised her coccyx. oof!
  • AmberSpamber
    AmberSpamber Posts: 391 Member
    Options
    Yup! I actually will jog in place for 2 minutes when I use the bathroom (they are private rooms) and then I will alternate daily between 25 squats and 25 push ups against the sink. If I do that every time I enter the bathroom it adds up quickly. I also will take the long way around the office and walk around the break room when my food heats up. To put this into perspective on how this really can affect your activity, before I got my fitbit, in 9 hours I was taking 1300 steps. In an entire workday, I was barely moving. Now I average 4500-5000 as long as I am leaving my desk. Every little bit helps!
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    Options
    Along with another girl in the office, we walk outside during our morning and afternoon 10 minute break. We also do a 1 mile loop at lunchtime. The only thing that typically stops us is heavy rain. Today it's 17 degrees and slippery!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    Options
    Other than going for a walk at lunch, not really. I do things to try to increase my general movement...ie take the stairs, use the first floor break room, parking further away from the building, getting up to talk to a colleague vs emailing or paging them on the phone, etc. I set aside deliberate time outside of work for purposeful training.
  • mjbehrendt
    mjbehrendt Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    I was doing 15 push ups at the top of the hour and 15 sit ups at the bottom of the hour, each hour while I was working...Every week I would add a rep or two on to it and continue. It seemed to get me ready for my workouts when I started again.
  • maybe1pe
    maybe1pe Posts: 529 Member
    Options
    I walk on my 15 minute breaks - I can usually do about 1 mile each time.

    I have standing desk so I stand for half the day. I'll do calf raises, lunges, and stretching while standing. Sometimes a couple of squats.

    I honestly just googled exercises you can do at work and found some options that work for me.
  • Susanrmoriarty
    Susanrmoriarty Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    I keep a pair of 3 lb weights in a drawer and try to get in some arm reps every day. I like the stability ball idea. Might get one.
  • RWayne48
    RWayne48 Posts: 68 Member
    Options
    stability balls are great! 2 points - they are made of plastic so you can get a sweaty bottom if you are in a warm room and you sweat alot. Also, too much caffeine and I tend to bounce on the ball - not bad when the door is closed and nobody can see me but... :blush:
  • Spencerport
    Spencerport Posts: 270 Member
    Options
    I work in a manufacturing / engineering building and can get a couple of mile+ long walks in during the day. It also helps that I am a printer technician, so am responsible for moving production printers, that can be a good workout.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Options
    i'm about to start something with an unavoidable three-stop commute two or three days of the week. i can already see myself doing body-weight squats at the bus stop. i like buses, but i loathe waiting for them so things are probably going to get weird.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,944 Member
    Options
    I climb stairs.

    I work in a 10-story building, so I hike up and down those stairs on my breaks ... and of course when I arrive at work in the morning and when I return from lunch.

    I also walk as part of my commute and at lunch. And I'll do things like take the long way around to the toilet from time to time.
  • sweetage123
    sweetage123 Posts: 100 Member
    Options
    I'm a pharmacist. Walking to/from work plus putzing around the pharmacy for 12 hours usually gets me to around 9k steps. Plus if I get some downtime (which isn't often), I'll hide behind the door and do squats B)

Categories