Office Workouts

Me and a few of my other colleagues started doing workout dvds a few days a week during our lunch hour. Leslie Sansone's "Walk away the pounds" is mild enough where you won't sweat your butt off and feel like you need a shower afterwards but it gets the heart going. We would do the 2 mile session (approximately 20 mins long), and then the other 40 minutes we'd use that to have our lunch.

I also make it a point to get up and walk around as much as possible.

I recently brought in an old yoga mat to my office. Once a day I close my door for a few minutes and stretch out. As you know sitting at the desk for a prolonged period of time can put strain on shoulders, back, neck, etc...Stretching out really helps kind of reset my posture and gives me a little extra boost of energy to make it through the day w/out the aid of caffeine.

I like to get up every hour and go up and down our eight levels of stairs here at the office! I'll do different variations of going up the stairs each time to work out different muscle groups and keep it interesting.

Does your office building have stairs? If so, take advantage! I work on the 11th floor so I try to take the stairs as much as I can. I just hope I don't see anyone until I stop huffing and puffing

Taking a walk at lunch is a good idea too. It gets the blood pumping and wakes you up a bit. I work in a cube so I can't do anything crazy but I need to stretch during the day so I do that in the bathroom.

Other than that, just do circles around your office if you feel like you've been sitting for too long.

Here's my Koverhaul Cubicle Workout:

15 Glute Squeezes – Sitting straight in your chair with your feet flat on the floor, contract your glutes and hold for 2-3 seconds so that you raise up a bit in your chair before relaxing muscles.

15 Arm Circles in each direction – Extend arms and make small clockwise circles with your fingertips. Switch directions to repeat circles counterclockwise.

15 Shoulder Clenches - Show off your traps by rolling back the shoulders until the shoulder blades are pinched together. Pretend you’re holding a pencil between the scapulas (or try it for real!). Hold for 5-10 seconds, release, and repeat.

15 Abdominal Contractions – Sit in your chair with a straight back and pull your belly button in towards your spine. Hold for 5 seconds for each repetition.

15 Seated Leg Raises - While seated, straighten one or both legs and hold in place for five or more seconds. Then lower the leg(s) back to the ground without letting the feet touch the floor. Repeat (alternating legs if raising them separately).

15 Shoulder Raises - Simply raise both shoulders up toward the ears, hold for 5 seconds, then relax.

15 Squats – This is an easy way to bump up your calorie burn and tone glutes and thighs in an office workout when you are limited on space.

15 Wall Push Ups – To tone your chest with an office exercise routine, do push ups against the wall (you can do regular push ups if you’re not in a dress and/or have enough space).

15 Neck Stretches - For the first isometric neck strengthening trick, put your head in your hands and press your palms into your forehead as if trying to push the head backward. Resist the motion by engaging the neck muscles. Next, clasp the hands behind the back of the head and try to push the head backward, resisting the motion with your hands. Hold each deskercise for 5 seconds. Slowly release, rest, and repeat.

15 Foot Rocks – While sitting tall in your chair, position your legs to 90 degrees and place your feet flat on the floor. Press the balls of your feet into the floor to lift your heels as high as possible. Squeeze your calves at the top of the movement. Lower your heels back to the floor and immediately lift your toes 1 to 2 inches off the floor so that the muscle on the front of your shin is fully contracted. Lower your toes back to the floor.

so many things you can do but the biggest one is to get up every hour and move around. sitting for long periods of time is now being considered the same as going out for a smoke break. make it a point to take all calls standing up, walk around, you can also do :

wall sits
alternating lunges
tricep dips in your office chair
pushups on your desk standing up
sit up and tighten abs for 5 minutes at a time.

missADS1981 wrote: »

tricep dips in your office chair

hehe
add chair with wheels and this could be hilarious for colleagues!



Thanks @Samuraiko - those are great!
And everyone else! I am going to print some of these!

Even small changes can make a difference. The floor I work on is pretty big. I make it a point to go to the restroom that is on the other end of the building. Also, any time I get up for water, copier, or to talk to a colleague I take a lap around the floor. I sweat like crazy so walking outside, in the summer, in Alabama is NOT an option. If it's a cooler day or overcast I try to sneak in a walk outside around the courtyard. I've tried to do some exercises in my cubicle, but I'm self conscious someone will walk by and see me. I have no idea why I care. Maybe one day I'll get over it.