According to this infographic Sitting Is Killing You, “we’re sitting down more than ever before in history; 9.3 hours a day, even more time than we spend sleeping (7.7 hours).” These long periods of sitting are doing more damage to our health than some may like to believe, in fact you may want to sit down for this.
The previously mentioned infographic went on to explain that sitting 6 or more hours a day makes you up to 40% likelier to die within 15 years than someone who sits less than 3. And that people who have sitting jobs are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Now those with sedentary desk jobs, as many of us do, may feel like there is often very little that can be done to avoid this. And unfortunately for us, according to a HuffingtonPost.com article, “research shows that extra-curricular trips to the gym – running the mornings before work or hitting up a post-office spin class – can’t undo the effects of a day spend on one’s behind.”
So what are those of us to do who sit our bottoms at our office all day?! Well it looks like the only available option is to remake our office environments with a few slight adjustments to your normal work day. These hours behind the desk can also serve to double as your workout while you continue with your workload.
Stepfanie Romine, contributor to DailySpark.com, writes 13 Ways to Get Moving at Work that have helped her:
- Take Walking Meetings. Stepfanie explains a time when her a fellow coworker had some brainstorming to do, instead of sitting around a desk, they chose to take their meeting on the road and walk. The fresh air and movement of your circulation can help you to come up with more ideas as well as burn some extra calories. Next time your boss or coworker suggests a meeting, try taking it outdoors walking around the building or simply walking around the office, both are better options than sitting on that tush any longer.
- Drink More Water. You may be asking how sitting at your desk drinking more water helps you to get moving more?! Well because of the simple fact “more water=more trips to the bath=more reminders to get up from your desk”. Stepfanie also suggests using the bathroom that is farthest away as well, if your office has more than one bathroom that is.
- Every Time You Finish A Task, Take A Stretching Break. We all have our to-do lists for our work days, whether they be written down or simply stored in our head, we all know the roundabout tasks we have set for ourselves that work day. When you finish one stand up and take a little stretch. Whatever feels tights, take a quick stretch and get that blood flowing again.
Stand Up While You Chat. Next time a coworker comes to your office or desk to chat it up, stand up with them. Not only will this allow you the ability to not have them looking down on you (literally), but it’s another opportunity to get out of your seat and gets that blood flowing. You can also do the same thing when on phone calls.- Move Those Feet. While no this one doesn’t exactly get you out of your seat, it can still help you to burn a little extra calories according to FitWatch.com. Any movement besides sitting completely still is going to help up that calorie burning control center.
- Change Positions. Once again while you are not exactly getting off that bottom, you are continuing to keep your body moving is going to help burn more calories than sitting completely still. Stepfanie states she places “a yoga block on my chair and sit in lotus or half lotus, cross-legged, or with my calves underneath me in hero pose.” Because one cannot maintain these positions for very long, only a few minutes at a time, you have to readjust and keep yourself moving.
- Remind Yourself to Get Up. Many times we’ll be hard at work and hours will go by without us knowing we haven’t moved at all. Place a sticky note on the side of your computer reminding yourself to get up every hour, or set your phone alarm to go off every hour. You can simple stand up and take a 5-minute stretch, take a lap around the office, or walk up and down your office stairs a few times.
- Take A Breather. Sitting at a computer for hours on end, staring at nothing but a computer screen, can be mental exhausting for some of us. When are running a little low on creativity, needing something to spark some inspiration in you, take a breather and step away for a few minutes. You can simple stay in your office and just walk away from the computer doing some stretches or even just stare out the window. Getting your mind and body off that seat away from the desk for a few minutes can not only spark some ideas, but can also help to get you up and moving a little more.
Here are a five more “simple, quick ways to squeeze in fitness” at the office from the DailySpark article:
- Take the stairs not the elevator.
- Talk in person rather than using instant message or email, walk to your coworkers desk.
- Park farther away or add in a walk around the block before entering the office.
- Don’t roll your chair. Get up and walk instead.
- Use your lunch break for workouts.
Be sure to incorporate a few of these into your daily office routine to help get you off that bottom and burning a few extra calories, because when it comes to weight loss we all know it comes down to calories in vs calories out.