Staying Active While Living In a Sedentary World

Ok first of all, this is not a substitute for a daily workout routine. These are simply some fun and easy ways to get moving more at work. I have an office job, so I sit WAY too much. Sitting is actually not good for you and our bodies are not meant to sit for long periods of time. They are built to be active. So, here are just a few things I do throughout the work day to add some activity and get my heart rate up for a few minutes. Enjoy and please add comments of things you do at work to stay active! :)


Using the Stairs:
I work in an office building with flights of stairs. Instead of going to the restroom on the ground floor (where my office is) here are a few things I do up and down the stairs to raise my heart rate. I don't do all of them at once, I switch it up every break or every day.

• Run to the top floor (5 flights for me) and back down
• Jump Squats up 3 flights of stairs, walk back down. Can do more if you want 
• Run up a flight, lunges on flat part, run up a flight lunges on flat part etc
• Run up a flight, drop and do 5 push-ups, repeat till I reach the top

In your Chair:

• Chair Crunches: place hands on sides of chair and lift legs off the ground, pull knees toward chest, extend and repeat 
• Lift legs off floor and move them like you are running or ride a bike
• Sit up straight the whole day (it's a lot harder than you think and works your back muscles)
• Leg Lifts: Sit up straight, lift and extend legs out and forward and hold as long as you can, you can also alternate between your legs to switch it up a bit
• You can also bring a stability ball to work and sit on that instead
• Stretch every once in a while to keep your body lose and to increase blood flow
• Chair Dips: if you're chair doesn't roll a ton you can also do some triceps dips  (I've done it with my rolling chair it's just hard and you run the risk of falling haha)
• Hover in a squat over your chair (like a wall sit but without a wall) and hold 
• Desk Push-ups

*If your work gives you a 15 minute break other than your lunch break, get up and walk around/do some exercises. Don't use it to just go and sit in the break room.
*One last thing, you can also stand up throughout the day and do your work standing. I hope this helps and will give you some ideas on how to be more active throughout the entire day.

Pictures:

Desk Push-ups

Chair Triceps Dips

Single Leg Lifts