For most of us, work takes up a pretty significant part of our day, week, month, and year. In fact, most of us spend about %55 of our waking hours at the office. This doesn’t leave us a whole lot of time to get active during the average day. But being stuck in an office doesn’t mean you have to let your fitness fall by the wayside and revert to the old ways of bad posture and sedentary activity. So here are 5 ways to rejuvenate the work day and keep that fitness on track while on the grind!
- Stand Up for Work:
- If you work in an office or from home, a standing desk can be a great tool to engage your core and keep your posture on point. If you’ve been to any start-up or tech offices, you’ll see a whole lot of these upright desks because it engages workflow by keeping your body and mind active. Sitting for too long can make your brain sluggish and tired, whereas being able to move around, stretch, and maintain good posture keeps the energy flowing and your mind on track. So nail in a wide shelf or put some stilts on that traditional desk to literally raise your game!
- Take the Stairs:
This is by far the easiest one but amazingly the most overlooked and avoided of them all. How many times has “taking the stairs” been in your New Year’s Resolution? The reason why is because it is such an obvious way to be active, we all know it. If you work on the 25th floor, it may be a bit much so I suggest taking the stairs to the 3rd or 4th floor then get in the elevator. As you leave work, walk down a few flights first. We’re not asking you to suddenly try to tackle 50 flights of stairs but starting small may lead to something big! - Snack Time!:
- Instead of the traditional big lunch break, try bringing in 2-3 snack in addition to a smaller lunch. Periodically throughout the day, as you feel yourself starting to slip in and out of focus, grab a handful of almonds or some carrots and hummus to kickstart that metabolism and brain function. This will also help to keep you from overeating when lunch finally does roll around because you won’t feel as desperately starved.
- Meet & Greet:
- With technology and communication making everyone closer and more accessible than ever before, we often forget that we can always walk right up to someone and chat. Instead of reaching for that phone, or emailing out a memo, try walking to the person you need to speak with in the office. By physically going to meet the person, you can engage more fully because you won’t be distracted by the computer or the person in the cubicle next to you, and you’ll get a chance to stretch those legs, keeping your body active and engaged.
- Stretch Out Stress:
- Half-way through your morning and again in the afternoon, take 5 minutes to stretch. It is remarkable how we can cut off the blood flow within our body by being seated and sedentary. By stretching your legs, arms, and back you can truly wake up your body and brain. Increasing the blood flow to your appendages and head will allow you to increase your own productivity as well as reactivate your muscles from the office atrophy that is so common… Just ignore the funny looks as you do cat-and-cow!
- Half-way through your morning and again in the afternoon, take 5 minutes to stretch. It is remarkable how we can cut off the blood flow within our body by being seated and sedentary. By stretching your legs, arms, and back you can truly wake up your body and brain. Increasing the blood flow to your appendages and head will allow you to increase your own productivity as well as reactivate your muscles from the office atrophy that is so common… Just ignore the funny looks as you do cat-and-cow!
