Regardless of whether you exercise regularly when away from work, your physical health can suffer from prolonged periods spent parked in a chair. Sitting for hours on end lowers the rate of metabolism for fat and cholesterol and can stimulate physical processes that produce disease, according to the University of Missouri. Adopt changes in your work routine and environment to burn calories and maintain fitness while working.
Desk Exercises
Standing on your feet rather than sitting can double your metabolic rate, as your muscles must expend energy to hold your body upright. Stand while completing ordinary work tasks such as typing and talking on the phone. If your boss will allow it, keep a set of hand-held weights or resistance bands on your desk to use during short breaks or while taking calls on speakerphone. By replacing your office chair with a fitness ball, as suggested by MayoClinic.com, you can also tone your core and improve your balance while sitting. Use the ball during breaks to practice wall squats.
Walking Opportunities
Instead of using email or telephones to communicate with co-workers, walk to their desks to deliver messages or discuss tasks. Forget about the elevator; walk briskly around the building and take the stairs. Short breaks throughout the day provide an opportunity to walk, too, and you may find more incentive to do so if you create a buddy system with co-workers. Organize a lunchtime walk, and encourage other staff to have on-the-go meetings, in which everyone walks and talks rather than sitting around a conference table.
Travel and Commute
Walking or biking to and from work can reduce the amount of time you spend sitting in the car, and it can save you gas money too. Carry lightweight exercise equipment, such as a jump rope or resistance bands, to use when traveling long distances for work. The time you spend waiting for your train or plane to arrive is time that you can exercise, as is downtime in your hotel room. When booking a hotel, try to find one that provides a gym or swimming pool for guests.
Exercise Station
Perhaps the ultimate strategy for staying fit at work is to create a work station that has built-in exercise equipment. Ernesto Ramirez, a researcher from University of California, created the Active Desk, which is a work station built around a treadmill. MayoClinic.com notes that walking 2 to 3 hours a day while using the computer can help an overweight person lose up to 66 lbs. in one year. Although you burn more calories by walking briskly and sweating, you need not exert yourself for the health benefits of walking while working.
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