5 Exercises You Can Do at Work Without Breaking a Sweat

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Turn Your Office Into A Gym - Without Those Pesky Fees

We all know we perform better and are more productive when we feel great. To help you reach your full potential, we’ve tested out simple exercises you can do at work, and shared our favorites below.

1. Chair Squats

Squats get your blood pumping which can lead to micro bursts of energy throughout the work day. 

  1. Step away from your chair with your feet shoulder width apart.
  2. Keep your arms out to help with balance and alignment.
  3. Without letting your knees pass your toes, squat down until you gently touch your chair. 

Complete 10 – 20 repetitions and repeat 2 -3 times throughout the day. 

Alternative:  If you have bad knees or poor balance, holding the back of your chair can help. Remember, it’s important to do what works best for you.

2. Desk Push-Ups

How many words a minute can you type using your nose? Doing daily desk push-ups will be sure to improve this number in no time flat, though we recommend sanitizing your keyboard first. 

Did you know that using an incline like your desk or wall while doing push-ups decreases the intensity? Now this normally strenuous exercise can be done easily at work without leaving you gasping for air.

  • Using your desk or wall, place your hands slightly wider than your chest width apart. 
  • With equal pressure in your palms and fingers, press away from your desk or wall.

Complete 10 – 20 repetitions and repeat 2 -3 times throughout the day.

3. Wall Sits

Now why would I sit on the wall when I’m already sitting at my desk? 

Well, wall sits help activate those fancy leg muscles that aren’t being activated when sitting all day. So why not do a wall sit and try to hammer out an email? What better way to motivate yourself to get your work done than by your shaking legs telling you to get a move on!  

  1. Place your back against a wall and sit with your hips and knees in line. 
  2. Set a timer for one minute or use this in tandem with getting out an email or catching up on social media.

4. Standing Calf Raises

Research shows that doing calf raises while watching a long training video or reading a long email makes it less boring! Ok, so this may not be backed up by scientific research but around our office this is certainly true.

Next time you have a long email to read, a video to watch or research that requires focused attention, use your chair as a balancing tool and get in some calf raises while you work. 

  1. Queue up content. 
  2. Stand behind your chair. It is recommended to push the chair closer to your desk for better stability. 
  3. Hold on to the back of your chair and slowly go up onto your tip toes and then back down again.
  4. Leave about an inch off the floor on the decline before going back up again.

Repeat until you are no longer bored or your calves are on fire – Whichever comes first!

5. Seated Knee Raises

Can’t motivate yourself to get out of your chair to do any of the other exercises? Have a deadline and you simply can’t stop working? Well you can do these seated knee raises while sitting at your desk. Now there’s no excuse! 

  1. Sit-up straight.
  2. Engage your core (pretend you got poked in the stomach). 
  3. Make sure both feet are flat on the ground (Sitting in the middle of your chair may help with this).
  4. Lift up one leg at a time using only your leg and core muscles. 
  5. Continue working away! 

Repeat intermittently throughout the day. Recommended 10 – 20 leg raises each per set.

Keeping your body active throughout the day is an important part of keeping you at the top of your game. We hope you find these exercises useful and that they help you start to come up with your own fun or creative ways to pencil-in activity throughout the work day.

For more tips just like these check out this companion blog 5 Stretches You Can Do At Your Desk

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