exercise for the "cubicle dweller"

quigonnjae
quigonnjae Posts: 399
in Health and Weight Loss
HI there to the MFP community .. I am a cubicle dweller as im sure quite a few other people here are.. I try and park as far out in the parking lot as I can , take the stairs when possible , walk a lap or 2 around the building on lunch ... Does anyone else out there have any good fat burning exercise suggestions I can do while at work ?

Replies

  • kdchick99
    kdchick99 Posts: 104 Member
    May sound weird and people may look at you weird, but when I talk on the phone I stand up and do squats or calf raises. I do alot of stretches too
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    don't they ever let you go home?
  • Mer4343
    Mer4343 Posts: 10
    One easy thing that's also great for your circulation is to do leg circles while seated at your desk. they really work your quads, and no one can tell you're doing them. Add a little ankle weight for more of a challenge.

    Another thing is to pick the restroom farthest from where you sit and only allow yourself to use that one. We have one restroom about twenty feet from my cube, and the only other one is on the next floor up. I make sure I drink my water all day, and get several trips up and down those stairs!
  • quigonnjae
    quigonnjae Posts: 399
    don't they ever let you go home?

    LOL yeah they let me off the leash at night... then I go home and hit the tread mill. This exercising thing is getting addictive
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    don't they ever let you go home?

    LOL yeah they let me off the leash at night... then I go home and hit the tread mill. This exercising thing is getting addictive

    Nice. FWIW, I don't do anything special while at work (I'm at a desk all day too). But I do work out 6-7 days a week and have gotten pretty fit. I generally alternate HIIT cardio and strength training.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
    Hello fellow cubie. One idea I've been kicking around but haven't tried yet is bringing in a simple pedal station that they sell in a lot of sporting goods stores and even walmart. It's just a pair of pedals attached to a simple frame that you can set on the floor and pedal away while you work at your desk.

    Something like this is what I'm talking about:
    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mabis-DMI-Pedal-Exerciser/12438082
  • quigonnjae
    quigonnjae Posts: 399
    Hello fellow cubie. One idea I've been kicking around but haven't tried yet is bringing in a simple pedal station that they sell in a lot of sporting goods stores and even walmart. It's just a pair of pedals attached to a simple frame that you can set on the floor and pedal away while you work at your desk.

    Something like this is what I'm talking about:
    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mabis-DMI-Pedal-Exerciser/12438082
    HEY thats a good idea... im just not sure how well I can do that and code at that the same time...
    <<<<<<Not the most coordinated person in the office. ( just ask that guy in the cafeteria!) :laugh:
  • Silvergamma
    Silvergamma Posts: 102 Member
    Here are the things I've been doing to offset the cube-ness:

    Park as far away as possible.
    Take the stairs.
    Sit on a balance ball instead of a regular desk chair.
    Do 10-20 jumping jacks every time I use the restroom.
    Do 10 inclined pushups using the counter in the restroom (not touching the floor ;)).
    Drink my 8-glasses of water -> forced to get up and go walk to the water cooler.
  • brockbier
    brockbier Posts: 2
    i have no idea if any of this will help you burn fat but one thing we've done in our office is set a recurring meeting time in our Outlook calendars for 2pm daily to meet at the stair well and walk the stairs in the building. after our walk, we'll try to do planks for a set period of time and also the push-up sets from hundredpushups.com. each week we try to add another flight of stairs and another 15 seconds to our planks. so far we've gotten about 10 people from the office to participate. good luck!
  • pattycupcake
    pattycupcake Posts: 7 Member
    a couple months ago i replaced my office chair with a yoga ball. some websites suggest it burns *up to* 350 calories a day... i don't know about that, but i do like that it makes me think about my posture. it can be pretty fun, too. when i'm doing data entry or some other boring task, i put in my earbuds and bounce along to the music!
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    I bike to work. If that's not an option, maybe sit on an exercise ball.
  • ilbcnuz
    ilbcnuz Posts: 48 Member
    I tried the pedal thingy under my desk and found out the hard way that I shouldn't have casters on my chair. The more I pedalled the father away from my desk i got. I had to keep pulling myself forward. People were laughing with me all day : )
  • quigonnjae
    quigonnjae Posts: 399
    I bike to work. If that's not an option, maybe sit on an exercise ball.
    im sure I would get QUITE the burn if i rode my bike... But who wouldnt after biking 65 miles one way LOL
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    The exercise ball burning more calories is hooey in my opinion. I sit on my exercise ball at home in front of the TV all the time, mostly cuz it's fun but partially for my crappy posture while on the couch. And my BodyMedia fit shows no burn difference between the times I'm sitting on that and the times I'm on the couch.

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