It’s a struggle to stay active at your desk job, we know.
Especially when you sit at your desk for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. When you get home from work you just want to crash in front of the TV. But that’s the old narrative. You don’t have to be cooped up at your desk all day! Even if you work in a cubicle, there are ways to stay active at your desk job!
Invest in a standing desk.
Sitting down all day has lots of health risks like obesity, unhealthy blood sugar levels and risk for heart disease. But standing increases your productivity and your activity. You move around more, you’re more stimulated and motivated to get your work done. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to create a standing desk. Get some boxes and elevate your computer monitor. Get a laptop stand on Amazon for as little as $40. Or invest in a standing desk for less than $500. There are countless DIY tutorials online that make it cheap and easy to do. Even just elevating your computer, so that you aren’t looking down, increases your posture, reducing risk for neck and back pain. It is arguably the simplest way to stay active at your desk job.
Fix Bad Posture
One of the risks of sitting at a desk all day, hunched over a computer, is bad posture. You don’t want to be one of those elderly people that can’t stand up straight, do you? So buy a lumbar pillow that straightens your back when you sit. It will align your back and neck, as well as take pressure off your lower back and hips.
Get up and move!
Set 20 min goals for yourself and after those 20 mins, stand up, walk around your office for a couple mins, do a jumping jack or two, walk to the water cooler. Having incremental goals makes you feel more and more productive as you accomplish the small things. And moving around after each one is accomplished gets your mind regenerated and ready to start something new.
Take any chance you can get to be out of your chair.
Walk to a co-workers office to ask a question instead of emailing. Not only are you moving more, but you’re improving your relationship with your coworkers through face to face interaction. Park in the back of the lot and get that extra couple of yards to the front door. Take the long route to your desk. Do the smallest things to keep moving, they’ll add up.
It may seem minuscule and unimportant, but when you work a desk job, you have to be proactive about being active throughout the day. It will only be beneficial, not only to your productivity and mental health, but your physical health as well.
Try Desk Yoga.
If you have the type of job that isn’t terribly conducive to jumping up and taking a walk every 30 mins, desk yoga may be the perfect way to stay active at your desk job. Not only is it quiet and low impact, but you won’t be a sweaty mess when you’re done. These yoga sequences can relieve stress and tension, clear you mind, and help fight against the many dangers of being sedentary. Visit our Pinterest Board for some awesome desk yoga flows and start being more active at your desk job today.
Want to do more to stay healthy at your desk job? Check out our post on meal prepping.
