Do you spend way too much time stuck behind your desk and buried in emails to find the time to head down to your gym and work out? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. But spoiler, you can break out of that cycle and get fit at work! Yes, you did read that correctly, you really can get fit while you work!
The biggest downside to our busy modern lives is the amount of time we spend sitting down - either working, commuting, studying or simply just catching up with our friends and followers on social media keeps us firmly sat down and stationary for a large part of the day (and sometimes the
whole day). Sadly, this means that we are more inactive than ever before and this contributes to a whole host of physical and mental ailments. With that in mind, it’s important to find the time to get some exercise in during the day, even during working hours...
Deskercise (exercising at your desk) is a great way of burning calories, getting your heart rate up and giving your muscles a workout with just a few at-your-desk crunches, lunges and squats while you’re on a break or even a conference call (although maybe skip it for the Skype calls!)
Sound tempting? If you’re someone who’s looking to move more during the day, want to reach your FitBit goal and feel better, you could benefit from a daily dose of deskercise! Here are a few easy workouts you can do from the comfort of your own desk:
Chair squats – use the back of your chair to support yourself as you squat down as low as you can. It’s important to not let your knees lean in, keep your knees directly over your feet and push your bottom backwards as you squat – look straight ahead to keep your back straight
Push ups – use your desk to perform a push up – just be really careful and use a desk that is sturdy and, ideally, positioned against a wall. Place your hands on the desk, shoulder width apart, with your legs straight out behind you as if you were in a plank position. Bend your elbows and lower your chest to your hands and push back up
Chair dips – place your chair against a wall to keep it in place and make sure you use a chair that doesn’t have wheels. Rest your hands on the edge of the chair, slide your bottom off the chair and slowly lower yourself down until your arms are at 90-degree angles, drive yourself back up into your starting position
Knee-ups – get your heart rate up by performing as many knee-ups as you can in one-minute intervals. Lean on your stable desk and bring your knee as high up to your chest as possible – alternate between each side. It’s a great way to get some HIIT cardio in!
Stretch – having a good stretch can help to relieve the tension and stiffness built up in your body from sitting at your desk all day. Plus, it will help to cool down your muscles after your office workout!
Feeling achy? Here’s how you can recover quicker.
If you have a job that requires you to travel for work, check out these
5 hotel workouts that will keep you fit! (You can also do them at home too!)
There are plenty of good reasons to be active, not just for your body and physical appearance, but also for your mental health, concentration levels, memory retention and productivity at work – meaning you can work harder and smarter (hello promotion!)
Regular exercise also increases the immune system and greatly reduces the risk of developing many illnesses and health issues, which means you won’t need to take any time off work sick.
Exercise also improves sleep quality, reduces stress and anxiety, and releases mood-boosting chemicals to your brain; what are you waiting for? It’s time to start your desk workout!
If, like many other people, you’ve fallen in love with the fitness lifestyle, enjoyed your time in the gym and maybe even looked at the personal trainers and thought about how cool their job is – why not consider re-training and becoming a personal trainer yourself? With our course you could become a qualified personal trainer in as little as 5 weeks! Once qualified you could fit your new personal trainer clients around your current job and family commitments to earn a little extra money, especially in the run up to Christmas, or make a full-time job out of personal training!
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