The office workout; be healthy and productive

Thisentryis part 3 of 5 in the series SERIES - How to be healthy at work

This post is part of a series

Healthy at work, taking the stairs
The inflatable chair; working out while sitting at your desk.
The office workout; be healthy and productive
Lunch; your chance to be healthy
Snacking at work; good or bad?

We’ve been talking about ways to stay healthy at work. We’ve covered little things like taking the stairs and how you sit. Now we’re going to talk about your workout. Yes, you can in fact workout while you’re working. And no, it’s not the kind of work out that will get you sweating. Here’s my simple workout routine for work.

Exercise 1 - Walking

Yep, walking is a workout. It’s not a very demanding one, but it’s a great way to get out of your chair for a few minutes. I try to take two 15 minute walks every day. Walking is low stress and can be done in your work clothes. Best of all, it can be combined with your work to make you more productive.

I learned this lesson from a previous boss. Each time he wanted to talk to me we would go outside and walk around the building. It’s such a simple little thing but most people don’t think about it. You can have just as good of a conversation while walking as you can while sitting in an office. It’s also a great way to network and get to know people at work. Ask them to take a walk with you. It’s good for them, good for you and good for your body. Walking alone can also be productive since it’s a great way to focus on your goals and daily tasks. Whenever I get stuck while working on a project I take a walk to consider possible alternatives and solutions.

To get the best benefit from walking, try to take one of your walk breaks immediately after lunch. That’s when you would usually go into a “food coma” as your body tries to digest food. Rather than letting your metabolism wind down, rev it up with a 15 minute walk. And yes, you can walk in the rain. Use an umbrella or just walk indoors. Most office buildings have enough space in them to give you some walking room, and in the worst case scenario, you can find an unoccupied conference room and pace a little.

Exercise 2 - 30 minutes stretches

You really shouldn’t spend more than 30 minutes being inactive. That means that every 30 minutes you should do something that gets your body moving. It doesn’t have to be strenuous, it could be as simple as stretching. You just need to get out of that chair and move. I set up a timer in my Outlook that goes off every 30 minutes. It reminds me to get off my butt and do something. Each time it goes off I spend about 30 seconds on some kind of activity and then get right back to work. I find that I have a lot more energy this way and I can stay focused and be more productive.

Here are some examples of things you can do in under 30 seconds to get your body moving.

Squats - http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBSquat.html. No, you don’t need to bring weights to work. You can easily do these without weights. Do 10 of them and then get right back to work.
Shoulder Press - http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/DBShoulderPress.html. Again, the link shows someone doing this exercise with weights but that’s really not necessary. Just raise your arms up 10 times and you’re done.
Shrugs - http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/TrapeziusUpper/DBShrug.html. Yep, just like it sounds, you need to shrug 10 times.
Curls - http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Biceps/DBCurl.html. Just curl your arm and you’re done. Well, you should do 10 with each arm but that’s still easy.

You can look through the exrx site for more suggestions but the bottom line is, do a quick set of 10. No weights necessary.

Summary

That’s it, that’s the whole office workout right there. Get up and stretch with some kind of exercise every 30 minutes and take two 15 minute walks every day. Assuming you work a total of about 9 hours like me, that’s a total of 39 minutes out of your work day. These aren’t 39 minutes of additional break time, they’re 39 minutes of productivity. Those 30 second stretches every half hour will keep you better focused on your work. Those 15 minute walks are time to work out specific issues, think out solutions or to have a conversation with your boss, coworker or employee. So this is one office workout that can make you healthier AND more productive.

Series Navigation«The inflatable chair; working out while sitting at your desk.Lunch; your chance to be healthy»

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.