11 Must-Know Tips on How to Stay Fit at Work

Are you slouched in front of a computer all day long? Does your packed schedule leave little time for an honest-to-goodness workout? Having a desk job or working from home should not be a reason to slack off on keeping fit. There are ways to squeeze in some workout time to get your body in top form, even when you’re working your full-time job.

Having insufficient physical activities can lead to some serious health problems in the future if not addressed early on, such as heart disease, diabetes, and even colon cancer. In Malaysia, one of the major health problems is coronary heart disease. Knowing how to stay fit at work not only improves your physical health but also your mental health.

Why bother with fitness and health at work?

Most people spend a huge chunk of their days at work. Whether it is a desk job or a work-from-home setup, your work hours consume many hours of your day. Often, it’s easy to set aside activities that would otherwise help you become healthier. While focusing on work is imperative to improve business functions, focusing on yourself at given periods is as important.

Also, if you’re prone to doing overtime to continue working on projects, then you probably won’t have time left in the day to hit the gym. During the crunch time season, you might even forget to eat your meals, which could affect your overall work performance. Once your fitness health declines, your ability to give your 100% will also be affected, leading to dissatisfactory results.

Keeping in mind your fitness and health at work is a process that begins with mind conditioning. Simple acts can turn into a routine, and eventually, they will become an inclination. Here are a few tips on how to stay healthy at work, both for people with desk jobs and those working from home.

How to stay fit at work while working a desk job

Skip the elevator.

By taking the stairs, you can easily get your muscles moving, not to mention burn a lot of calories. It’s an inexpensive way to get fit. If you’re not running late and you don’t have any pending errands, make use of the stairs and take your time if you’ve just started doing it again. Make sure also to watch your breathing so you won’t get tired easily.

Once you’re more used to it, try running up a few steps before slowing down to a brisk space. Doing so will further stretch your muscles and keep you more active.

Get moving.

Whenever you get some free time, make excuses to move around the office. Try not to take the easy way out and actually do things that will slightly challenge you. Why not get water from the farthest dispenser or use the copying machine on the other side of the office? Got to talk to a coworker? Visit her cubicle instead of calling her on the phone.

While these things are just small tasks, when you do them over and over again, they will become significant.

Stand and squat.

Is the line too long at the photocopier? While waiting, perform some simple exercises. Do some wall press-ups by raising your arms and pushing against the wall. You can also do squats by leaning your back against the wall and rolling down until the back of your thighs and legs touch.

Sit and stretch.

Can’t leave your desk? You can do these stretching exercises to relieve yourself of that stiff feeling:

• Slowly roll your head, alternating clockwise and counter-clockwise, for 10 seconds.
• Stretch your arm muscles by raising your right arm and touching your left shoulder blade. Hold the position for five seconds. Then, raise your left arm and touch your right shoulder blade. Hold the position for five seconds.
• Stretch your chest by clasping your hands behind your back and pulling them away from your body. Hold the position for five seconds.

Treat the office as your gym.

Lift that weight. Get your hands on two reams of A4 paper and use these as you would a pair of dumbbells. If you have a tumbler with you, you can fill it up with water and use that as weight. As long as you don’t ruin company property or make a mess of things, you can be as resourceful as you want.

Make meetings more interesting

Meetings are common in the office, and while everyone is used to the setup inside the conference room, you can propose a walking meeting. Invite your team for a walk around the office vicinity. If your building has a lounge area, ask your team if they’re willing to take a short walk. Making your meeting interactive will also spark some creativity within your team and help enhance productivity.

Pack your lunch

Making healthier options will always be possible when you prepare your own food. Look for cooking guides that make healthy meals. When you’re at the office, you’re more prone to ordering the same unhealthy fast food lunch over and over again. But when you pack your own lunch, you get to choose to be healthy and even save some money.

How to stay fit at work while working from home

Make time for exercise

Since you’re working from home, you have more flexibility with your work hours. Most likely, you get to decide when to start working, and you can have more break times than you would have if you worked a desk job.

Allot at least half an hour a day to exercise. If you can’t run down to the nearest gym, then working out inside your home will work too.

Take naps

Did you know that sleeping on the job makes you a better worker ? Yes, taking productive naps is a thing. Since you no longer fear your boss catching you sleeping on the job, you can take a few naps here and there whenever your load is laxer. Or, you can set a boundary for yourself: Let everyone know that you can’t be reached at one certain period of the day. You can take that time to rest since your cognitive function needs to rest as well.

Walk around your block

Take the time to stretch your legs whenever you can, especially during your break time. If you live in a particularly safe neighbourhood that is free of pollution, consider taking a short walk around your block.

Assign errands for yourself on these trips to make this time even more productive. For example, you can do a short grocery shopping at the nearest convenience store. This way, you will be hitting two birds with one stone, and you will feel more fulfilled.

Look away from the screen

Since you’re working remotely, there’s a high chance that you’re facing your laptop screen the whole day. This can be dangerous as it will not only damage your eyesight but will also lead to stress. If you don’t have any pending projects and no one from work is trying to contact you, stare away from the screen. Instead, do something else with your time, such as cleaning your living room, making yourself something healthy to eat, or pacing around the living room area so you can stretch.

A body in tip-top shape allows you to perform your work better. With these tips, you can make the most of whatever time and resources you have to keep physically fit. You should look out for your career growth, but you should never neglect your fitness and mental health either.

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