The Sedentary Trap: 8 Smart Ways to Stay Active at Your Desk Job
More and more people are working for long periods of time at their desks these days which is resulting in little to no exercise during the day. This can leave people feeling sluggish, tired and not very productive, less than ideal for a working day. However, it does not have to be like that, even those working at desks can improve their activity levels and with it their mental health and productivity too. Here, H.C.Parker from HC Active Women Fitness explains why changes are needed and shares her top eight tips for escaping the sedentary trap with you.
Making sure we are active during the day is so important as it can help with our mental wellbeing, increase our productivity and help our bodies be able to move around which keeps away aches and stiffness. This in turn can also lead to less days off for staff so having a management team that encourages movement at or away from the desk is beneficial for the company as well as the employees.
But, how can we move around more at our desks and in the office? Here are my 8 top tips:
1. Basic movements
Even the basics of some shoulder or ankle rolls at your desk is enough to get the blood pumping around and the achiness to stop, its even better when you can stand up and sit down several times every so often at your desk or stay standing with some high knees, kickbacks or torso twists. This will all help the body get rid of stiffness and make you more focussed to go back into whatever task you were trying to accomplish.
2. Run your own errands
Do your own errands during the day when and if you need them. For example don’t leave it till the end of the day to retrieve your printing, pick it up every time you need it so you get moving. Instead of phoning or emailing a colleague to ask for some advice or feedback, walk around to their desk and speak to them or even take a quick office lap with them and walk and talk. You’ll burn calories on the walk and get the body moving which will help during a long day, whilst still officially working and getting the information you need to carry on with the task at hand.
3. Take the stairs
Take the stairs where possible instead of lifts or escalators. This will help with some cardio work during the day and get the body moving whilst also helping to tone those leg muscles. There’s nothing better than walking up four flights of stairs knowing you have done the hard work then sitting down feeling ready to concentrate on your job.
4. Standing meetings
Initiate a standing meeting, suddenly there are no chairs left and you become much more focused during the meeting and get the job done quicker. Standing also burns around 0.15 calories per minute which equates to roughly 100 to 200 calories per day.
Want to take it to the next level? You could also go all out and have a meeting where everyone has to hold an exercise move during the meeting, for example, plank (abs), V-sit (abs) or squat (legs), your meeting will become super speedy, to the point without any unnecessary chit chat and your muscles will get a workout as well.
Standing desks are also helpful if your office has them as you can get a mixture of sitting and standing which will help during the day.
5. Quick bursts of movement
Whilst boiling the kettle for a cup of tea do a few squats or press ups or sit ups, again you will get the body moving. Why not make the drinks for the whole office? That way you can add in a walk whilst you check orders and drop off drinks. All these walking minutes add up during the day, so little and often is key and you’ll probably notice that a task which has been hard prior to this suddenly becomes easier afterwards as you're able to focus easier, making you more productive overall.
6. Invest in a Swiss ball
Use a Swiss ball (big bouncy ball) at your desk instead of an office chair so you can keep moving around and be more aware of your posture. A Swiss ball will also help with core strength, balance and burn calories. All of this in turn will help with the tasks you are working on and keep you focused on the work you do.
7. Lunch time movement
Go for a walk at lunchtime instead of sitting at your desk, even a twenty-minute walk will yield some benefits such as better concentration in the afternoon, an answer to an issue that has been bugging you all morning and better creativity. Plus it will help with better mental wellbeing as well, especially if you are able to get out in the fresh air for your walk.
8. Office Olympics
Organise a monthly office competition, for example; who can walk the most steps during the workday? Who can hold the plank the longest in a meeting or even a mini office olympics with lots of little games. As well as increasing movement and improving productivity and mental wellbeing it can also bring the office together, keep morale high and encourage some fun.
If you would like to move away from the sedentary trap of the office then try and implement some of the above or better yet take them to your manager or HR department and encourage them to make them office wide activities, the benefits will help all involved.
