Working Out While You Are At Your Desk

Nowadays we tend to spend most of our time either behind a desk for eight hours a day or staring at our computer screens. You might need to be on the phone with customers, reading email, typing reports or evaluating a project. Being a great multi-tasker at work doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take a few moments each day to take care of yourself.

There are various simple exercises that you can do, either sitting at your desk or standing near to your desk. These exercises will help to keep the blood moving through your body, which keeps your mind alert while increasing both your productivity and self-esteem.

This particular exercise is a modification of a Pilates exercise, it improves the strength of your abdomen and waist. Sit straight and tall while relaxing your shoulders. Then focus on your belly button, take in a breath and as you exhale imagine that you are pushing your belly button down to the chair. Hold it there as you breathe lightly, work up to holding it for a count of 10. If you do this just 3 times a day you will see a difference in about a week.

Kegel exercises can be done without any of your work colleagues realizing what you are doing, they will just assume that it’s only work. You can do kegel exercises by pulling your pelvic floor muscles up while holding your stomach muscles in. It should feel like you are stopping urine mid-stream. Work up to holding this for a count of 10 and try to do them at least three times a day.

Work your hands and arms, this will improve strength, move your blood through your body and increase your alertness. Squeeze balls are excellent for both stress relief and strengthening your hands. Use one while you are on the phone, talking with clients, dictating or brainstorming. Department stores also sell light hand weights that you can use at your desk to strengthen your biceps. Do these exercises only once (10 reps, 2 sets) three times each week. As this is considered as weight training it should only be done three times a week.

Ankle weights can be used as another modification of exercise for your biceps. You can use them while sitting down to exercise your quadriceps, hamstrings and gastroc’s. Strap on light weight ankle weights only three times each week. Raise one leg while sitting, lift it straight up and then down for 3 sets of 10 reps each. In another exercise, raise your leg up and squeeze it back as strongly as possible. Release and then replace your leg to the ground.

Most importantly, don’t forget to stretch! It might make your colleagues look at you strangely. But when your productivity goes up and you don’t want the same 2PM nap that everyone else does, then you will soon find them copying you. Stretches will ease both muscle tension and promote healthy blood flow.

Do a ‘runners’ stretch while you are standing near your desk against the wall. You can do this by placing your hands against the wall and moving your feet approximately three feet away. While keeping your back straight, lean into the wall and support your weight on your hands. While sitting, stretch your fingers by grasping each finger at the base and pulling very gently in the opposite direction, then hold for a count of 5. This is great if you spend time typing all day.

Stretch your neck by sitting tall in your chair with relaxed shoulders. Gently tilt your neck in all four directions, first going forward, then backward, then to the left and to the right. Hold each position for approximately 10 seconds.

Stretch your shoulders and hands by lifting one hand straight above your head, and then make a fist with your thumb outside. Release the fist and make it again, repeat this five times and then do it with the opposite arm.

An ergonomic chair is another important item when it comes to fitness at your desk! It will keep you seated in a balanced position using all of the correct muscles and without causing you any back or neck pain while you work.