Fitness Tips for Desk Job Employees

You: Office worker sitting behind a computer all day long. Do you feel like it is just taking its toll on you? Well, it could possibly be killing you.

According to a recent study published by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine “The public health burden of prolonged sitting is real. Accounting for 3.8% of all-cause mortality in this study, sitting is shortening the lives of people across the world. The present findings support the importance of promoting active lifestyles (more physical activity and less sitting) as an important aspect for premature mortality prevention worldwide, and therefore the need for global action to reduce this risk factor.”

What does that mean for you if you work 8 hours a day at a desk? You have to counteract all that desk time during the day and make sure you move around a stretch every few hours. Reducing sitting time by as much as possible every day should be priority #1. You may also feel the sudden jolt of energy that comes over you soon after you get that blood flowing through the body again post movement.

We have come up with a short list of tips to help you get up and get moving even in the tightest of places and times.*unless noted, perform all exercises for 5-8 reps and complete 2-3 sets. Add any 2-4 exercises for a session at minimum that can be completed in less than 5 minutes.

EXERCISES:

• Prisoner Squat -lock fingers behind head and squat until thighs parallel to floor and up.
• Body Weight Romanian Deadlift – run hands down shins in place of weights.
• Upper Body Twist – hold hands together out in front of you and turn to one side and go as far as you can. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat on the other side. Hold some weights to increase intensity.
• Lunge w/ Twist – make sure keep upper body as upright as possible

As far as stretching goes, hold each for 30 seconds, and repeat 1-2x before moving to next side or stretch. While at work, try to stretch mid morning and sometime during your afternoon lull for a quick pick me up.

STRETCHES:

• Warrior Pose – make sure to really get into the hip flexor and side body
• Chest Stretch on Chair – can be done right at your desk
• Simple Side Bend w/ Reach
• Wrist and Hand Stretch – a must do stretch for those on computers
• Ear to Shoulder Neck Stretch – can also perform chin to chest, as well as chin to sky to relieve tension

This is far from a complete list, but will hopefully give you enough info to at least get started and find what works best for you. The sooner you implement the better, so next work break, take a few minutes, move around a bit and notice the difference in how you feel.

If you are already moving and stretching around during work, what kind of things did we leave off that are useful?