These days a lot of people spend the majority of their day in front of a screen on a keyboard. A Rockaholic named Garrett asked about how this affects your health for #ThursdayQandA. From a fitness standpoint, this presents two issues: first, you’re not burning many calories; and second, it’s probably messing with your posture.
I covered one of my favorite drills to undo “desk posture” earlier this week on #MobilityMonday. You can check that out here.
Throwing quick sets of bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, or push ups into your day is my favorite way to burn some extra calories, while keeping your muscles active and happy.
Here are some ways you can incorporate them into your day. And yes, this is 100% a direct rip-off of those drinking games the internet comes up with for TV shows (“one sip of beer every time Jim looks at the camera after Michael says something ridiculous!”)
- 5 lunges every time you get up to go to the bathroom.
- 3 push ups every time you send an email.
- Stand up tall every time you take a drink of water. That’s one squat. The more you hydrate, the stronger your legs get! (You do keep water at your desk, right??)
- 10 squats every time you think you need more coffee.
- 10 lunges after every worthless meeting that accomplishes nothing.
- 10 push ups every time you hear an annoying buzzword like “synergy”.
- 5 of each any time someone accidentally hits “reply all” on a company-wide email.
- 10 of each before you leave for the day.
Of course these are just suggestions. You can mix and match, adjust reps, swap exercises, or get creative and come up with your own list of “triggers” that you will use as a reminder to do a few reps of an exercise of your choosing, based on your job and office dynamics. Just have fun with it!
Exercise isn’t meant to be a punishment. Re-framing it as a game can make it (and your job) more enjoyable and stress-relieving. Doing it at work allows you to get paid for it, instead of going to the gym in your free time. Send this Wall Street Journal article to your boss if they’ve got an issue. (Bonus points if you get your coworkers in on it to “boost morale” and “team-building”. #Leadership)
Down With The Fitness is here to give you simple, actionable tips that will improve your health. If you found this helpful, feel free to check out the archives for more. I'm pretty proud of the rabbit hole this thing has become.
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Have fun and do your best,
Matt Koch
Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach (American Council on Exercise; Precision Nutrition)
