If you have an office job, you probably spend at least eight hours a day sitting at your desk. Prolonged sitting could affect your weight-loss efforts, as well as your flexibility, muscle tone and overall fitness level. If you need an excuse to leave your desk and stretch once in a while, walk to the next room to make a cup of coffee, use the restroom or deliver a message in person rather than sending an email. If you have no choice but to stay on your chair, you can still improve your calorie burn with a few moves.
Step 1
Fidget. Tap your foot on the ground or your fingers on the desk; shift your weight on the chair, flex your muscles off and on, and simply move as much as you can while sitting. Buy a rubber ball and squeeze it while reading emails or waiting for pages to print.
Step 2
Ask your office manager if you can bring a fitness ball to use as a chair. Do the same at home. Sitting on a ball instead of a chair puts your core muscles to work, which include your abdominals and your lower back muscles. Sit on the ball with your back straight and try to maintain balance.
Step 3
Buy a small desk stepper. This is basically a set of mechanical steps that you can place under your desk and use while you type or do your desk work. Although a mini-stepper probably does not enable you to burn as many calories as a regular, standing stepper, it is better than just sitting and doing nothing.
References
- That's Fit; 50 Ways to Burn 100 Calories; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Office Exercise: How to Burn Calories at Work; September 2009
- KCBY.com; A Few Unique Ways to Burn Extra Calories -- NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis); Charles Stuart Platkin; January 2008
- Gamercize: Gamercize PC-Sport for PC and Laptops
- "The Washington Post"; Fidgeting Helps Separate the Lean From the Obese, Study Finds; Rob Stein; January 2005
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