5 to 10 minutes of exercise at your desk can help you get your blood flowing, help you avoid stiffness and injury, and even help you gain strength.
Being stuck at a desk all day, regardless of as ergonomic as your chair or desk may be, can be hazardous to your health. Besides increasing your belly fat, desk jobs also lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, strains on the eyes, headaches, back pains, and other health issues. But, while your 9-to-5 routine impedes you from doing any rigorous exercises, you can still do stretching, muscle-strengthening, or even short stints of physical activities in your office.
So, here are some office exercises you can do by taking advantage of the few minutes between your work and pending meetings.
Desk Exercises for Office Workers:
To keep your muscles toned and ease stress, do the following stretching exercises while sitting in an office chair:
1. To reduce fat from your hips and legs, lift one leg off the ground, extend it out straight, hold for 2-3 seconds; then place your foot down. Do 10 lifts with each leg. Repeat this exercise every 2 hours.
2. To work your shoulders and chest, shrug your shoulders up toward your ears. Keep them as high as you can. Hold the stretch for 4-5 seconds and then pull them back.
3. Roll your shoulders forward and backward in a circular motion. Repeat this process 10 times.
4. To flatten the stomach and get a small waistline, sprain your waist slowly while sitting on your office desk.
5. To strengthen your arm muscles, sit upright, place your both hands on your chair arms and lift your butts off the chair for at least 3 seconds, and return to the initial position.
6. Stretch your arm out and keep it straight with the palm facing upward. With another hand, pull fingers of the stretched arm pointing inward. Hold for 3-4 seconds and release. Do this stretching exercise on both arms.
7. To strengthen your wrists, roll them regularly for 10 times clockwise and anticlockwise. This exercise can help prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from often striking those who spend a lot of time typing and paperwork.
8. Sit in an upright position in your chair, stretch both arms over your head and reach your arms up and over as far as it comfortably can, and stay in this position for 10 seconds, and then come to the original position.
Other Exercises for Office:
Besides the desk exercises, there are some exercises you can do during your busy work schedules.
1. If you have a conference room or a vacant room, step into it and just walk around it as fast as you can for some time. If you don’t have a conference room for a walk, you can move up and down the stairs 5-6 times a day.
2. You can do some exercise on your lunch break. Go out for a 15-minute brisk walk after having your lunch.
3. If you commute office by car, park your car a little away from your office building. Also, walk as fast as you can while walking your way towards the office and then back to your car.
4. Stand up from your seat after every hour and walk around even if for a few minutes. Sitting for prolonged periods of time can cause pain in your lower back or exacerbate an existing back problem.
5. Don’t use the office intercom for every conversation. Rather go to your co-worker’s seat directly.
6. Don’t forget to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water while you are working to increase your weight loss metabolism.
Incorporate these exercises into your daily routine office job. These exercises allow you to lose fat from the belly, waist, hips, and arms, and get a nicer shape and improved health while working long hours in the office.