The human species was never designed to sit at office desk all day, glaring at computer or mobile screens. Exhaustive work hours and priorities at work are often responsible for preventing us from the priorities we need to place for our own bodies.
Recent studies show that prolonged sitting can lead to kidney disease. Some experts suggest that sitting may be the new smoking.
Let’s not be silly. It was obvious that sitting at a computer all day is a terrible idea. The new data should not cause a commotion. It is our hope that this will suffice to remind us of the importance movement and inspire us to take small steps towards a better and healthier destination.
Start your journey in deskercise with these 6 ways to exercise at work:
1. Start Moving That Body
Unless you work in slave labor conditions, you likely have fairly regular breaks and a lunch break where you can get up and move around. The worst thing you can do with your breaks at work is get up and go sit in a lunch room – you are still sitting down!
Ideally, you should get up at least once every 45 minutes to move and get your blood flowing again. This is one of the easiest possible ways to exercise at work to start moving in the right direction.
2. Always Take The Stairs
This is a predictable answer, but it should not be a problem if you spend most of your day sitting down. A two-minute climb up stairs five days per week will provide the same calories as a 36 minute walk. This is a great example of how small changes can have long-lasting benefits.
Read also: 10 Minute Exercise Routines For Busy People
3. Stand Whenever It Makes Sense
If you are wondering about the ways to exercise at work without standing out or looking silly, you are not alone. Although this really shouldn’t be a factor in your decision, unfortunately not every workplace is friendly and accommodating.
Take every opportunity to stand that makes sense such as talking on the phone or walking over to a co-worker’s desk rather than sending an email. A great way to stay alert during meetings is to have everyone stand instead of sit and get tired while half listening to the information being shared.
4. Taking The Furthest Parking Spot
The worst parking spot is now also the one that helps you get the most exercise. Fortunately, this is often the same parking spot that leaves your car at the lowest risk of getting dented or scratched by other cars parking too close by.
5. Jumping Jacks
There is nothing like a good burst of jumping jacks when you need some energy and the best part is you can do them anywhere. When you don’t feel like getting down on your hands and knees under your desk for some push ups, a few reps of some intense jumping jacks should do the trick nicely.
WARNING: Since jumping jacks result in normal looking human beings flailing limbs carelessly in repetition, it is recommended that you go outside or somewhere on the ground level because they can get rather distracting to other people in the office.
6. Squats
Squats can be a great exercise, and they are one of the best ways to exercise at work without looking too silly!. You can do 10 squats per hour to get rid of all the sitting and intense work you do.
If you really want to get a move on, bring some light weights to hold when doing your squats. Hide them under your desk and impress your coworkers with your stealth dedication to health.
Read also: Best Pedal Exercisers in UK
Whatever You Do…
Whatever you do, just make sure you do it regularly. With 1 in 10 adults getting kidney disease, the threat of health issues brought on by constant sitting is a very real one.
Find ways to make it fun and easy or you will just abandon it. If you have some great ideas to share about workplace wellness or clever ways to exercise at work, leave a message in the comments