How to Keep Fit If Your Job Requires You to Sit Down All Day

Good morning! If you’re reading this from your office…this article is for you!

How to Keep Fit If Your Job Requires You to Sit Down All Day

 Although more evidence is showing the danger posed to our health by inactivity, the unfortunate reality is that over 80% of jobs in our workforce require workers to sit down all day. This doesn’t have to get in the way of keeping fit however, with our tips for you to stay active, no matter what your work schedule.

Make sure you take a walk at lunchtime

 Taking a walk in your lunch hour is the perfect way to start including some activity and movement in your day, especially, if you have a busy schedule and don’t have time to exercise outside of work hours. Walking is a fantastic form of exercise which improves cardiovascular health, tones muscle, builds fitness skills and can even help you lose weight. By walking at a good pace so that your heart rate and breathing rate increase a little (about 6km/h), you can burn up to 150 calories in just ½ an hour.

Research has shown that taking a walk during your lunch hour not only improves your fitness and health, but also greatly improves your focus and productivity so you get through the afternoon slump with more energy than you did before. Even a gentle lunchtime stroll uplifts mood and improves your ability to handle stress, providing you with all the benefits once you step back into the office.

Taking a lunchtime walk is a great way to get the blood pumping and body moving, even if you have to sit down the rest of the day.

 Fidget at your desk

 This may seem to be a strange recommendation, current research is showing that fidgeting in your workday can help to burn calories and maintain fitness even if you can’t do as much planned exercise as you would like. A recent scientific study has shown that people who fidget or even have random sporadic bursts of movement, like running to catch the bus, have overall better aerobic fitness and a lower risk for diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke, than those who are completely sedentary. Other incidental activity seems to help as well, such as walking from one place to another and taking the stairs instead of lifts and escalators.

Another study from 2008 found that women who fidgeted throughout the day burned up to 300 calories more than other women who didn’t fidget, and they were also slimmer and leaner. So while it’s great to include a formal workout of some sort in your daily schedule, the next best thing is including plenty of incidental activity and a bit of fidgeting to keep fitness levels up.

 Walk or cycle to work

 Walking or cycling to work is not only a great way to help the environment and save money on gas bills, it’s also an easy and convenient way to keep fit if you have to sit down all day at work. Not to mention getting to skip the frustrating time spent sitting in traffic. This is one of the best ways to keep fit, as it can easily fit into your day and give you a really excellent workout without having to make extra time to go to the gym or for a run.

Starting and ending your work day with exercise also helps to relieve stress and improve your mood, so you can arrive to the office, or back home feeling happier and more energised. You can even walk or cycle to work if you have a long distance to travel, by incorporating public transport – taking the bus or train for one leg of the journey, and cycling or walking for the other leg.

 Get a treadmill desk

Did you know that there is a treadmill available in which the upper half is a desk, so you can have the best of both worlds? A functional workspace and a way to keep fit while you work! There are both purpose made and designed treadmills that are integrated with a quality workstation, or you can buy your own attachment to fix to a compatible treadmill of your choice. A treadmill desk is a valuable investment for your work. Recent research has shown that people who sit more than 6 hours per day have an 18% higher risk of dying from all causes when compared to those who sit less than 3 hours per day.

Users of treadmill desks report being able to improve their fitness, lose weight and reduce sitting time from an initial 8 hours a day to just 2 or 3 hours a day. The advantage of a treadmill desk is that if you get tired of walking, you can always use it as a standing desk, preventing excess sitting time. A treadmill desk is one of the best ways to keep fit without having to lose any work time.

I WISH I had a treadmill desk! In the meantime, I’ll just take a walk around the block every so often.