In the morning, chances are you’re feeling rushed. You have to get yourself ready, take care of the kids, and then hurry and get to work before your day begins.
By the time your work is done for the day, you’re often too tired, you have to feed the family, help with homework, and try to get to bed on time to do it all again the next day.
That kind of hectic schedule leaves little time for squeezing in some exercise, and in fact most people use lack of time as their primary excuse for not working out.
More and more people are using their office to get fit! You can be bold and blunt about it, or hide the fact that you’re secretly burning calories beneath your desk where no one can see.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are a great way to build strength and muscle and fight fat in the workplace. You can get these sets with or without a door attachment, depending on your needs.
Anytime you need to brainstorm or have a call on speaker, you can utilize your resistance bands and no one will be any wiser that you’re in the middle of a nice workout routine!
Store the resistance bands easily in your desk drawer – they take up very little space. These will help you release tension and stress throughout your day so that you don’t drag it home with you after work.
The resistance bands can be used for a nice total body workout. You can use it for your arms by gripping the bands with your hands and stretching it as far as possible, holding the position, and slowly releasing it.
You can also use them for back stretches, leg stretches, and for making your hands feel better if you suffer from pain due to excessive keyboard usage. You’ll be toning and firming up on a regular basis and becoming stronger along the way.
Office Chair Exercise System
An office chair can get cumbersome after awhile of sitting in it each day. Your back can begin to ache, your legs hurt – all because you’re forced to sit at a desk all day instead of get any sort of movement.
There are resistance chairs that have bands built into the actual chair. You don’t even need to get up. So if you’re stuck reading or researching, you can use the bands as you work.
This is a low impact workout you can do every day, and these chairs are compact and fold up easily in case you need to use it occasionally and use a regular office chair at other times.
These chairs offer you a great posture setting, and arm (and sometimes leg) bands that help you stretch and tone throughout the day. Make sure you get one with a good cushion for seating and one with non-skid legs.
Balance Ball
Back pain is a result of having to sit in uncomfortable office chairs – and it affects many workplace employees. Lower back pain can be crippling, so you want to enjoy a seating method that not only prevents injuries like this, but that delivers fitness benefits as well.
A balance ball, sometimes commonly called a Yoga ball, can help you strengthen your core and build your abdominal muscles. Many people find that they have increased mental abilities when they’re sitting on a balance since they’re not splitting their focus on discomfort.
You can get a ball that’s just on its own, or one of the newer balance ball chairs where it’s a steady chair with the ball built in as the seat cushion. If you’re on the ball that’s not in a chair, you’ll have more flexibility to sneak in exercise throughout your day.
Sit properly on the ball by finding the spot where you feel most balanced. Sit up straight and sit with your feet apart to keep you steady. Pull your abs inward and see how long you can maintain your balance.
This is a skill that improves over time. It’s not just a comfy seat like a bean bag chair – it’s an exercise, so expect it to take some work at first before you master it.
BOSU Balance Trainer
The BOSU balance trainer almost looks like someone took a balance ball, cut it in half, and glued it to a flat board. But in reality, it’s a piece of equipment that could nicely fit in your office and help you get some much-needed exercise!
You can sit and do ab workouts, do lunges on it, and much more using a BOSU ball. This is another piece of equipment to help strengthen your core muscles. It’s another one that many users report as having improved their mental clarity.
Dumbbells
Dumbbells in a gym setting are convenient ways to conduct a strength training routine. But usually, there’s a rack with sets of dumbbells on them. This isn’t as inviting when you’re talking about having it in your office space.
You can remedy this by investing in some that don’t take up much space – or those that are adjustable in nature. Dumbbells help you gain muscle and lose fat. You can do these exercises while you’re on the phone or doing almost any work in the office.
If you have to type a lot, then you might consider getting a tool like Dragon Naturally Speaking so that you can speak while using dumbbells and let the tool transcribe what you say into a word processor.
You could get a pair of Bowflex SelectTech Adjustable Dumbbells where you have one single pair of dumbbells that can be adjusted (dialed up) anywhere from 5 pounds all the way to 52.5 pounds.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are another popular piece of weight training equipment that you can take to the office. Kettlebells have you swinging the equipment for some exercises, so this is best if you have plenty of workspace in your office.
You can get an individual kettlebell for the amount you’re able to lift – or you can invest in a complete set that starts out at about 10 pounds and goes all the way up to 25 or more.
Just like the dumbbells where you dial up the amount of weight you want to lift, they have kettlebells that do the same thing. Take the Stamina 36-pound Adjustable Kettle Versa-Bell, for example.
This cast-iron tool with steel plates has six total weights starting at 16 pounds and increasing in increments of four pounds up to 36 pounds total. So as your fitness level grows at work, you can adjust your equipment to grow with you!
The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported a study where workers participated in a kettlebell workout and not only did their physical abilities improve, but so did their job satisfaction! So it’s an exercise that feeds your mind, not just your body.
Mini Trampoline
A mini trampoline folds up and easily fits in any space – including a cubicle or office space! Jumping on a mini trampoline is a fun, low impact activity that helps you rev up your heartbeat and burn calories.
That can run anywhere from $40 to $400 and up. You want one that can accommodate your size and weight, as well as the space you have. Make sure you read the dimensions and capabilities.
You might want a mini trampoline that has a stabilizing bar. This is a bar that helps you keep your balance while jumping, if you worry about that. Get one that you can remove so that once your core is capable, you can jump without holding on.
There are some rebounders (another name for mini trampoline) that have built in resistance bands to help you tone your arms while you jump. Some people just jump while working with small hand weights.
Treadmill Desk
More and more people are seeking out manufactured treadmill desks. Before they were on the market, some people made their own – a way to work and use a desk while on the treadmill.
Now this type of contraption isn’t for people who are running at a 5 or higher speed. In fact, most people using a product like the TrekDesk Treadmill Desk are only going 1 mph.
The benefit comes in the fact that they’re walking all day – or for many hours, without breaking a sweat. They can speak on the phone without being out of breath, drink coffee or water, and type and work without any problems.
These kinds of desks fit right over your treadmill, but there are also stationary bike desks if you prefer that to a treadmill. The FitDesk v2.0 Desk Exercise Bike with Massage Bar is a good example of this.
This isn’t as big as a TrekDesk, but it does have enough room for you to place a laptop on the desk and work while you get your exercise. With the TrekDesk, you’re responsible for buying your own treadmill, since this is the desk only – but with the FitDesk, the bike and desk come as a pair, so there’s no extra cost to you.
Pedaling System
If you want the benefits of biking, without the large space hog that a recumbent bike can be, then you might want to consider a pedaling exerciser. These are the pedals only – and they fit discreetly right under your desk so that you can get a good workout while you work!
You can get them where you have adjustable resistance so that as your legs become more fit, and your strength grows, you can keep pushing yourself to the next level of health and endurance.
Chin Up Bar
A chin up bar is something some people may want to own in the office. Others wouldn’t be caught dead doing it. This is a gadget that fits right on the door and allows you to work o your upper body strength all day long.
One good example is the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar. Using this piece of equipment, you can do chin ups, but you can also do pull ups, push ups, dips and crunches.
This isn’t something that you have to install, either. You just put it up in the doorway and it holds in place. You can grip is differently, according to your preferences during your workout, too.
Put it on the floor in order to do your push ups or dips. It’s a multi-tool for you that lets you get a good deal of exercise You can use it on a whim and it’s so small that it stores nicely in any cubicle or office.
Going to work each day and coming home too exhausted to add movement to your day is normal. It’s also something you need to correct. It’s not okay to spend your life sitting in a desk chair working your mind, but not your body.
Make it a point to add exercise into your workday. Walk to deliver a message instead of emailing. Park far away from the building on sunny days – and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Ask your boss if they have or would be willing to implement a health and fitness program at the office. Point out the fact that exercise increases productivity and job satisfaction.
Take small, easy to store exercise equipment to the workplace so that even if your boss doesn’t want anything to do with exercise, you retain total control over your own health.
