Workin' Out at Work

If you work in an office job like I do, you probably find that you spend a lot of time sitting down.  Okay, a ton of time sitting down.

I spend the better part of my day on my tuchus, which I find strangely taxing: although being up and moving around takes more energy, I find that I'm a lot less tired when I'm on my feet.  I have no idea why, but sitting on my rear and having, like, virtually no energy output during the day makes me sooooooooo sleeeeeeeeeeepyyyyy.  (*Yawn*)

I can't get a standing desk in my office, and it'll be a while before I can install a treadmill desk in our study at home (although, can we please talk about how awesome these things look?) -- so in the meantime, I need to find ways to get up and get moving during the day.

For a long time, the question was: how am I going to do this?  Then I started brainstorming some possibilities, and lo and behold, they actually work.  This has become my "give that heinie a break" routine during my 9-5 gig:

1)  Set an Outlook reminder to get up and walk around.  I can get totally sucked into whatever I'm doing, which can lead to me sitting on my derriere for hours on end -- but an Outlook reminder helps me remember that when I come to a convenient stopping point in my work, I should get up, stretch the ol' sea legs, and take a quick stroll.

2)  Use a bathroom on a different floor.  Whenever I need to get up and use the ladies room, if my schedule permits I try to go to bathrooms that are a few floors away from my office.  Going up a few flights of stairs gets my blood pumping, and it does wonders for my brain and muscles.

 

3)  If my calendar and the weather permit, I love getting outside for a quick 5-10 minute walk in the afternoon.  It allows me to get some fresh air and sunlight, get a bit of distance from whatever's going on in the office, and it helps me focus better once I'm back at my desk.  If the weather is gross, I'll take the stairs to the top floor of my building, walk back down, and do it a second time.

4)  In jobs where I've had a private office and a door, I've tried to take time each day to close my door and do some body weight exercises like lunges, squats, and push-ups against my desk.  Although it might seem awkward to exercise in work clothes, I promise that it's definitely doable!  Just ditch the work shoes (high heels are no bueno when it comes to exercise, no matter how cute they are), and get to lungin'.  Here's proof that works clothes aren't a big hinderance to a handful of bodyweight exercises: