Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is based on a recent reader question:

Do you know a good workout routine for people who may be stuck in an office all day with little opportunity to get up from their chair and move around?

What a great question! Here is FitBritt's suggestions for fitting in a workout while stuck at the office.

When you are stuck in an office all day long you can start to feel very sedentary and what is worse is that you sometimes don’t feel like you have any energy after work to workout. The best thing to do is to try and burn as many extra calories you can in a day even while you are at the office. Remember, to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume. Here are a few tips:

1.) Start the day off right by walking or biking to work. If it is feasible and you live close enough, you can walk or bike to work. No need to go at full intensity if you are unable to shower afterwards, a leisurely walk or ride will be sufficient. If you are really motivated, walk or ride home as well.

2.) Not everyone lives close enough to walk or ride to work so if you don’t, try to take the stairs instead of the elevator in your building.

3.) Keep moving once you get to work. Instead of calling or emailing a colleague, walk to their desk to speak with them (this may also be helpful in building a better rapport with your colleagues). If you can take breaks during the day, do so away from your computer. Walk outside and take a quick stroll around the block.

4.) Try to get some exercise at lunch. If you work close by to your gym this is an excellent time to go for a workout. You will feel energized for the remainder of the day if you can get in a midday workout. If you don’t work close to your gym or you don’t have a gym membership, try to go out for a run in a local park. If your building does not provide showers and change rooms then skip the run and try a walk instead. Even just 20-30 minutes of walking at a moderate pace will up your calorie burn and help keep you metabolism going. Plus, it may help you clear you heard for the remainder of the day.

5.) Bring a jump rope to workout and hit the playground at lunch. A jump rope is cheap and portable. See our previous blog on jump rope workouts by clicking here.

6.) If you buy your lunch, don’t get delivery, get up from your desk and go get it.

7.) Workout while sitting down. No, this is not a crazy infomercial. Replace your desk chair with a stability ball. Sitting on a stability ball forces you to engage your core muscles and requires you to maintain good posture in order to stay balanced on the ball. Sitting on a stability ball instead of a desk chair will help you whittle your middle!

8.) If you have an office in which you can close the door or a cubicle that is secluded, try to get in a short workout. Do it at lunch or work through lunch and take some time in the afternoon. Just do it when you have a block of time to spare. You can easily fit in a free yoga workout using yogatoday.com (see yesterday’s blog). You can also bring in your own dvd, such as a pilates or weights dvd and play it on your computer with the sound on low (or just use the visual cues). Otherwise, bring in some dumbbells and keep them at your desk. When you get the time, try doing these exercises: bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, squats and lunges holding the weights, row (bend forward at the wait and allow arms to be straight in front of you with palms facing your body, bend your elbows and draw the weights in towards your chest, lower and repeat), deadlifts (standing and holding weights in front of you with hands at thighs and palms facing in, dip forward at the waist keep legs straight with only a slight bend in the knee, keep the back straight and lower down until palms are at about knee level, squeeze glutes to lift back up and repeat), overhead raises (arms out to the side with elbows bent creating a goal post shape, lift weights overhead and straighten arms, bend elbows to lower back down, repeat), weighted ab curls (place one weight in the center of your chest and perform curls). If you have swapped your chair for a stability ball, don’t be afraid to do some exercises on the stability ball as well.

9.) If you don’t want to try a full workout using dumbbells, try using the equipment you have. If you have not swapped your desk chair, do some squats with the chair. Stand up from you chair and bend your knees to lower down as if you were going to sit back down but about an inch away from the seat, squeeze your glutes and rise back up. Repeat. Try some tricep dips (this works well if you don’t have wheels on your chair, if you do consider anchoring the chair by placing some books against the wheel to act as a stopper). Sit on the chair and place hands down on either side of your hips. Move you butt off the chair but keep your hands where they are. Your feet should be flat on the floor and your knees should be bent. Bend elbows to lower your body closer to the floor. Straighten your arums and repeat. Also do some exercises that do not require equipment like crunches and pushups.

10.) If you can’t get a workout done during the day, don’t rush off at the end of the day. Take advantage of your building’s staircase and do a stair workout. Click here to see our previous blog on stair workouts. Just bring some clothes with you to change into and hit the stairs after work. The best part? There is no need to worry about showering and changing since you are just heading home.

Finally, a good way to get fit at the office is to get others involved. Find a buddy who wants to workout with you at lunch or talk to your boss and see if you can organize an office-wide fitness regime. For example, set up a competition or a race that will motivate everyone to train. Or see if you can get a fitness instructor to come in one day a week to the office at lunch or immediately following work. If enough people are interested and willing to chip in a few bucks, you may be able to get a local personal trainer to come in and lead the group through some exercises. Since employers are now required to provide healthcare to employees, they are interested in keeping costs down by having healthy employees. Therefore, they should be willing to listen to your suggestions and assist you in setting up healthy activities that will benefit everyone.

Readers, do you have any comments or suggestions on staying fit at work or getting your employer to assist you in creating a more fit office?