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The majority of office workers spend long hours sitting in front of their computers, finishing up tasks, being engaged in conference calls, being involved in meetings, and so much more. Sometimes, it even feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day to do everything from work to personal commitments. And when you have a demanding job and a busy schedule, it often means that finding the time to exercise can be quite difficult.
Juggling a work schedule and personal life means that more often than not, exercise gets lowered in a person’s list of priorities. Neglecting exercise isn’t doing anyone any favors because it puts both the physical and mental health of an individual at risk. In turn, that can negatively impact a person’s productivity, effectiveness, concentration, and overall quality of life.
If you’ve been asking yourself, what can I do to ensure I get my daily dose of exercise even when I’m busy? Well, you’ve stumbled upon the right article to get you started. Read on!
Ways to Sneak in Exercise at Work
Regular exercise is important both for your well-being and the success of your career. Working exercise into your daily routine may seem impossible, but don’t fret, there are numerous things that you can do to be healthy and fit even with a busy schedule. Here are some everyday things that you can do to incorporate exercise into your hectic work life:
Start a Morning Exercise Routine
Beginning your day with a short bout of exercise can wake up the body and the mind. It can help you feel more awake and fill you up with energy to tackle the rest of your day. Moreover, it’s much easier to get exercise out of the way before you get surrounded by numerous tasks. You can start off your morning by doing a couple of stretching exercises to wake up your body and improve your flexibility.
Ride or Walk to Work
Walking, jogging, or cycling to work can help up your physical activity levels even before you sit at your desk. If you leave close to your office, instead of driving or riding the bus, take a safe route to walk or cycle. If your office isn’t walkable from your house and if you commute to work, you can get off a stop earlier and walk the rest of the way. If you drive to work, consider parking your car a few ways away from your building so you can get some steps in.
Take the Stairs
It is very tempting to skip the stairs for the more convenient, less-tiring elevator. But you’ll probably want to stop entertaining that thought. Taking the stairs can help build endurance, improving your fitness and overall health. You also build and improve your muscles, increase your strength, and fill up your cardiovascular fitness meter. Moreover, you don’t need any kind of gym membership to use the stairs, they’re absolutely free and you can walk or run up and down them anytime.
Try Desk Exercises
Sitting for long periods can lead to a host of health risks such as muscle soreness, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even death. You can break the cycle of sitting without moving by incorporating desk exercises throughout your day. Shoulder shrugs, tricep dips, leg lifts, desk pushups — these are just a couple of desk exercises that you can do to get your blood flowing.
These short desk workouts can be done within 5 to 10 minutes; you can squeeze them in before a task or after finishing one and during your lunch break. You’ll certainly feel refreshed after.
Invest in Desk Exercise Equipment
If you can’t bring yourself to the gym, you can still exercise at your workstation by switching your traditional office furniture to desk exercise equipment. Using desk exercise equipment can encourage more movement and increase your physical activity in your work day.
Adapt a sit-stand work method by using a standing desk, switch out your standard office chair for a balance ball chair, and cycle as you type by using an under-desk bike. These are just a few of the best desk equipment that you can use to stay active while working.
Workout with Co-workers
Working out with your colleagues not only helps boost physical activity levels but also forges a sense of camaraderie between everyone, building up teamwork in the office. Exercising together can also reduce the stress and pressure in the office environment. You don’t have to drag everyone to a gym to get everyone to do a workout. Maybe you can make your meetings into a standing or walking meeting, or even allow everyone in the office to do a 5-minute exercise.
Final Note
There are various things that you can do to incorporate exercise into your busy schedule. There’s really no excuse to not exercise anymore! Make time to get moving throughout the way and trust us, your body will thank you for doing so. Try them out!
