An office cubicle has no room for your rowing machine, elliptical stepper and treadmill. But cramped space does not have to turn you into a desk potato. Sitting most of the day in close quarters with only a keyboard and a phone for company can cause weight gain and loss of muscle tone. Weight training without the weights -- and with your imagination -- can keep you fit.
Body Weight
Your body weight provides a lifting program for your cubicle. Build your thighs and calves with quarter squats. Bend your knees to about 30 degrees and fold your arms to challenge your balancing muscles. Step up to forward lunges if you have room for one long stride. Take a long step forward with one leg and lower yourself so your front leg is bent about 45 degrees with your back knee almost touching the floor. Alternate right and left lunges. Try desk pushups with both hands on the edge of your desk and your feet one long step backward.
Yoga
Try yoga stress relief exercises if cubicle life is cramping your muscles and your mind. Cyndi Lee, founder of the OM Yoga Center in New York City and author of "OM Yoga: A Guide to Daily Practice," says you can do nearly your entire yoga routine at your desk. Begin seated on the edge of your chair, feet flat, head and heart balanced over your hips with your spine straight. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply to a count of five. Close your eyes and repeat as often as you like. Another exercise begins in the seated position. Raise your arms straight up while you inhale, then, clasping your hands lean right and exhale, remaining in that position for three slow breaths, then repeat this sequence, leaning left. A variation on this pattern includes turning your head in the direction of your lean and moving your eyes in that direction, up and down at the same time. Repeat these over a five-minute yoga exercise period.
Exercise Ball
Dutch researchers at the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences of VU University, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, reported in a 2009 issue of the journal "Applied Ergonomics" that musculoskeletal disorders associated with sitting still at a desk too long can be relieved by eliminating your chair. Replace it with an exercise ball big enough to support you at the right height for desk work. This gently exercises back, trunk and leg muscles, to maintain upright balance. However, the researchers found this benefit was not consistent. Alternating chair and ball may be the best practice.
Simple Stretches
Try exercise routines to limber up your whole body. Cubicle stretches may be the simplest office exercise to help prevent the kind of muscle soreness that can come from hours slouched in your chair or hunched over your desk. Simply raise your shoulders and circle your arms in the air while breathing slowly and deeply. Stand up while you do these and concentrate on straightening your back. If you want to intensify these moves a bit, keep a set of elastic resistance bands or hand-held, 1- or 2-lb weights in your cubicle.
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