Desk jobs and exercise

Elevate your desk two feet and stand up all day instead of sit down.

Elevate your desk two feet and stand up all day instead of sit down.

Wow, I think that is the best Idea I ever heard! Gotta find me some big Bricks!!!

I sit all day. It sucks. I try and do at least 30-40 min of cardio on my lunch break at the little gym down in our building. Then I usually go to the gym at night with my husband 4-5x a week as well. I gained a lot of weight form sitting here.

I feel you! I managed a pet store and it kept my weight in check despite me eating not so good. Then I moved for my boyfriend and got a job as a nanny. Here you are thinking I'd be running around all the time eh? Not so much with winter. I sat around and my employers constantly buy snacks and garbage for me to eat during the day should I want it. Which is SUPER nice of them but not so nice for me when I watch my clothes stop fitting.


I make a point now to use their home gym everyday for cardio for about 40 minutes. When I get home I have two pups so I make sure I don't get lazy (like I was where I was just letting them out in the backyard and giving them a five minute walk every so often like a bad dog mum) and take them for a good 30 - 60 minute walk.


On a side note - just opened the pantry to grab the kids a snack today and noticed my employers have stocked up again on cookies, chocolate and chips. AHHHH.

I work a desk job, but I walk on all my breaks. I keep my headphones on as well & always dancing around. Some people think I'm crazy, but a lot of people here know I've lost a lot of weight & always looking for ways to lose more.

I suggest doing mini-challenges each day. Some days I will do a set of squats each time I go to the bathroom, I do crunches while I'm seated, see if I can walk for at least 20mins of my hour lunch.. things like that.

Anything to sneak in excerise and burn more calories! I also wear my HRM at work so I know how much I'm burning when I'm doing extra workouts, but usually do not log them unless i'm doing a long walk at lunch time.

I sit on an exercise ball. My co-workers think I'm a riot but I'm keeping my core strong.

I was thinking about that, but I'm a little worried one of the girls here would deflate or pop it

Does your job offer anything to stay more "active" at work? I know our office will raise our desks if we want to stand all day, or will provide us with a stability ball to sit on instead of a chair (nearly everyone in my department, including me, uses this!), and power outlets and trays on our cardio equipment in our gym so you can plug up your work laptop while you walk/bike/etc. I'd contact HR to see if anything like that is offered...it helps a lot!

I've gained 30 pounds in the last year from having a desk job (we also have a serious office snacks problem around here, so that's part of it). I have been trying to make up for it by commuting on foot (a 30-minute walk) and I've just started working with a trainer and going to the gym 5x/week or so. I also have a box on the corner of my desk to elevate my laptop so I can work standing up for part of the day. I don't know if that helps me burn calories, but it saves my back from sitting in an office chair all day.

It's definitely more challenging to stay fit with a desk job. I work out as soon as I get home, and I walk fast for 20 minutes before lunch each day. If it applies, take the stairs to another floor to use the bathroom, walk to co-worker's desks instead of emailing sometimes, and get up and stretch often. When I used to teach it was much easier to stay in shape since I was on my feet all day long.

I have a desk job working in real estate. It can be boring a lot and have nothing to do but luckily it's part time, 5 hours a day 5 days a week. I recently applied for a job with Macys and got it. I not only needed a little more money to help pay down my school tuition so I can graduate next year but I desperately wanted a job that would get me off my butt!

Probably increased my income by $500-1,000/month and will be increasing my health at the same time...no downsides!

Does your job offer anything to stay more "active" at work? I know our office will raise our desks if we want to stand all day, or will provide us with a stability ball to sit on instead of a chair (nearly everyone in my department, including me, uses this!), and power outlets and trays on our cardio equipment in our gym so you can plug up your work laptop while you walk/bike/etc. I'd contact HR to see if anything like that is offered...it helps a lot!

That's nice that your work will give you a ball to sit on. I've thought about doing that for some time now. A few ladies used to do that here but they've all gone back to their chairs. Also - we can't really raise our desk so standing wouldn't work.

I could have written your post!! For many years I was in retail (grocery and department stores). Always moving around, going up stairs, walking here and there, etc. I never had an issue with weight and didn't feel I needed to exercise either.

However, as of a year ago I have a strict desk job where I sit for 8 hours a day. It's driving me crazy! I get very restless and feel so tied down.
I also did gain about 10 pounds but could be from other factors as well (medication, quit smoking). What I do, however, is I walk to work (for me it's about a 40 minute walk), take walks on my lunch break, walk home, AND work out in the evening.

Just try to fit in activity wherever you can. At least it's not just you :ohwell:

I work in childcare and you would think I would be run off my feet all day but I'm not, hardly ever am in fact. When it's raining outside we're indoors all day, so there's alot of sitting down and playing with the children as opposed to running around with them outside in the garden when the sun's out.
I walk every lunch break, I get an hour for lunch but I was only walking for twenty minutes of that hour, I've done this since I started the job but to be honest I don't see any improvement in my fitness levels and my body doesn't seem to be toning up either which is really fraustrating so I may just start walking for the whole hour hopefully I will see some change:/
Just one extra step goes a long way, in the long run:)

I am also working a desk job. I have to go to the gym in the morning or over my lunch hr to get a work out in.

I do crunches while I'm seated,

How do you do crunches while you're seated?

Check these moves out, this is basically what I've been doing:

Drawing-In Maneuver
• The drawing-in maneuver is the best exercise to learn to contract your abdominal muscles. Other exercises can be dangerous for the back if the ab muscles are not activated. Sit in a chair with your spine straight and your back off the seat rest. Place your hands on your stomach under your belly button. This will help you identify the muscles you need to contract. Draw in your ab muscles. Imagine that you are pulling your stomach muscles all the way back to your spine. Hold them in for three seconds as you exhale, and then release your ab muscles and inhale. Do this 10 times. Keep performing this move until you can easily hold in your abs. Every time you exercise, try drawing in your abs throughout the movements.
Pelvic Tilts
• The pelvic tilt is another basic seated abdominal exercise that will strengthen and train your ab muscles. Sit up straight against a seat rest allowing your low back to maintain its natural curve. Put your feet flat on the floor and look forward. Your hands can rest gently on your legs. Draw in your abs. Tilt your pelvis under your hips and push your lower back against the seat rest. Hold it pressed against the chair for three seconds and then relax your pelvis forward again. Do this 10 times. This exercise can also be done standing against a wall or lying on the floor. The pelvic tilt will assist you with other exercises like reverse crunches and bicycle crunches, where keeping the back flat is important to properly perform the exercise.
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Seated Crunches
• The popular crunch can be done while seated. Sit in a chair with your back off the back rest. Sit up straight and look straight ahead with your chin level. Place your hands behind your head. Draw in your abs. Crunch your shoulders down as you bend at the ribs and exhale. Keep your chin lifted away from your chest as you crunch. Sit back up straight to complete the crunch. Start with two sets of 10 reps. Work up to two sets of 20 or more crunches.
Abdominal exercises can be done three to five days a week to strengthen the abs.