Workplace Excercise

Weight gain is incredibly common in those with job positions that require a great deal of desk work—the employee is mostly sedentary for their entire 8 hour work day. To help combat this, there are a number of small adjustments you can make to your day that will make a big difference.

Add extra activity

Even if your job does not require you to be active, there are still ways to work some exercise into your day. Look for extra opportunities to get up – walk to the printer, at breaks, whenever possible. Frequent, short walks down the hall or around the building are discreet and fast. Also, start taking the stairs and parking a little further away than normal. It won’t seem like much, but those few extra steps each day combine and can often add up to over a mile of extra walking each day.

Some workplaces offer exercise facilities, and almost all have gym access that is reasonably close. Look at your work plan, daily schedule, and begin adding a half hour or full hour on for some personal gym time. Adding the gym as part of your daily routine (immediately before/after/between work) results in a much more seamless addition. Once daily workouts are part of your routine, schedule around them. Exercise and personal care should come first—let those around you know that you will be unavailable from 7-5, or 8-6.

At the desk

Exercises can be done at the desk to increase strength, tone, and aid with weight loss. Begin with some stretches in the morning. Rotate the neck, straighten the legs and reach for your toes, stretch your arms. More comprehensive, illustrated lists of effective stretches are widely available on the web.

Effective desk exercises include:

Abs. Flex your abdominal muscles for 10 seconds. Release for 10 seconds. Repeat.

Legs.
Quads. Place one foot flat on the floor. Extend the other leg and lift a little off the chair. Hold, then release. Repeat, alternating legs.

Calves. Place both feet flat on the floor. While flexing, slowly raise up and down (individually or together) from the toes.
Arms. Place your hands next to your legs, flat on the chair. Lift your body weight off the chair and hold. Rotate the hands to exercise different muscles in the arm.

Back. Lift your arms to chest level, bending the elbows. Rotate the elbows forward and back, keeping the arms level. Shoulder blades should touch and release.


http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-at-your-desk

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/stretching-exercises-at-your-desk-12-simple-tips?page=2

http://tweakfit.com/stretching-desk