abillybob Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Hey All, Bit of a strange request. I was just wondering how you all keep moving around when stuck in your office for long periods of time. I find myself sitting in this chair, in the same spot for days and because I've been at work all day the last think I want to do is go home and go for a jog etc... so normally I fall asleep. Is there any types of small exercise you can do once per hour just to make sure your not static for 8 hours a day? My day tends to go like this: Wake up Get Dressed Drive to work (sitting) - 20 minutes Make a brew Go to office (sitting) - 3 Hours Minimum up to 7-8 Hours Drive Home (sitting) - 20 Minutes Watch a bit of TV (sitting) - 1 hour Eat Dinner (Sitting) - 15 Minutes Play a game or two (Sitting) - 2-3 Hours Sleep Really not good is it, they do say sitting will be the new cancer, so what your way of making sure you don't slob 24 Hours a day? Cheers
elsiegee40 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) Don't park in the school car park. Force yourself to walk a bit every day! Always stand up when you take or make a phone call. Make a point of getting up and walking around every half hour or so. Stand up ( go to the loo, or whatever) in tv commercial breaks. Limit the time on the gaming! Actually plan some exercise at every lunchtime... go for a walk and don't let weather, etc be an excuse. Leave your desk! Edited March 3, 2015 by elsiegee40
Joanne Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 I can't keep still when sitting, so I'm always jiggling. I drink A LOT of water too, so I'm always getting up to visit the toilet. I go to the staffroom for lunch and I tend to go for random wanders if I'm bored, ask people if everything is ok etc. I also clean all the touch screens once a week, so that gets me walking. Clean projectors at dinner time to get some exercise. OR: Buy a standing desk... VARIDESK Pro Plus
clockend25 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 I make a point of trying to be as active as possible at work. We have a fairly large site so I can clock up some decent mileage throughout the day getting around to different jobs around the site. Our server room is also at the opposite end of the site to our office, so any work over that way means a trek.
scholes99 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Try and cycle to work. Introduce it gradually. Start off at one day a week and build it up.
LiamH Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 You can buy little bike peddles for under your desk too. Amazon.com: Stamina 15-0125 InStride Folding Cycle: Sports & Outdoors
elsiegee40 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Get some sort of step counter that you wear on your wrist and try to do the recommend 10,000 steps per day. The step counter truly puts you to shame. I have one on my phone, but because the phone spends most of the time on my desk it doesn't show me doing much... a wearable one is better.
jcs808 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 You could try one of these. Office Fitness Deluxe Folding Pedal Exerciser -Low Impact Aerobic Exercisor - Compact design for easy storage - Ideal for home use or under desk office use: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors Buy Pro Fitness Mini Exercise Bike at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Exercise bikes.
abillybob Posted March 3, 2015 Author Posted March 3, 2015 Thanks guys for your tips will try to put them into action. May also try walking around on my lunch break, just feeling rather unhealthy. I'm not much of a sporty person or anything like that so just wanted to introduce the odd thing or two in my day to make sure I'm not just sitting all day! Unfortunately biking to work is no option for me otherwise it would take me around an hour each way though is a good idea and if I lived closer I definitely would!
arwen Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 House work to keep you active at home without it costing you a penny. Set aside 30min to an hour each day for house work, I tend to do this the moment I get in as I then like to relax after dinner. Tasks that only take 30 min or so include - Hand washing dishes, Hoovering/cleaning the floor of living room and kitchen (do the other rooms another day) Give the living room a decent tidy up, getting rid of junk mail and stuff that accumulates over the week. Gather clothes and bath towels for washing, put them in and hang them up afterwards, Clean the kitchen worktops and cooker, Clean out the fridge and disinfect the shelves, If you have a pet then clean their stuff, Clean the bathroom, Wash your car/bike Cut the grass/clean the slabs/patio/path When you are at work, standing while on the phone is a good one. Also, just because a task can be done remotely doesn't mean it has to be done remotely. Get up and go see people when they have a problem sometimes. Go for a walk during your lunch break (make time to have a lunch break in the first place!)
Quackers Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Go for a walk on your lunch break? I go off for 40 minutes, headphones on in my own little world. Gives you a break from the screen too.
CHR1S Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 @clockend25 Snap, I could rack up north of 5 miles on a busy day. I go through the souls of my shoes in a half term (cheap light River Island loafers)
Garacesh Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 I walk to work and back every day, it's a 25-minute trip each way, plus the walking around the building (sometimes up two flights of stairs.. I'll be damned if I use the lift whilst I got healthy legs!) keeps me moving a reasonable amount, I feel. Still got a podgy belly and a 36" waist, though My diet's the problem. Too much bread and bread-like foods (sandwiches to work every day, I am sometimes rather partial to lazily throwing a pizza in the oven instead of cooking..) and other carp. Realistically I need to sort my diet out and join a gym. But I'm a self-confidence-less wuss and can't bring myself to do it
HarryMonkey Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Go to the gym on the way home from work rather than getting home and sitting down or go for a run in the park when you get in. Staying healthy is all about making a lifestyle choice and sticking with it. Factor in regular exercise as well as doing little bits throughout the day. Spend less time in front of the screen when you get home and more time out in the fresh air. Have a look at the Couch to 5k program. (If only I had a pound for every time I've recommended that)
timbo343 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) set an alarm on your phone for every hour to go for a stroll around your site and get some fresh air. Also have a read of this I saw on twitter a few weeks ago The Office Worker's Schedule for Healthy Living Behind a Desk and this one http://lifehacker.com/5879536/how-sitting-all-day-is-damaging-your-body-and-how-you-can-counteract-it Edited March 3, 2015 by timbo343
HarryMonkey Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 I walk to work and back every day, it's a 25-minute trip each way, plus the walking around the building (sometimes up two flights of stairs.. I'll be damned if I use the lift whilst I got healthy legs!) keeps me moving a reasonable amount, I feel. Still got a podgy belly and a 36" waist, though My diet's the problem. Too much bread and bread-like foods (sandwiches to work every day, I am sometimes rather partial to lazily throwing a pizza in the oven instead of cooking..) and other carp. Realistically I need to sort my diet out and join a gym. But I'm a self-confidence-less wuss and can't bring myself to do it You don't need self confidence to sort out your diet, just a commitment to getting healthy. Your exercise will be far more beneficial when coupled with a better diet. Don't get rid of bread all together, just eat less of it and find healthier options.
Garacesh Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) You don't need self confidence to sort out your diet, just a commitment to getting healthy. The self-confidence remark was more to do with joining a gym than changing my diet. Part of the issue is I don't really know how to cook very many things. And it's fine and dandy saying "Well I ought to learn how to cook" - and I do agree, I should! - but with the price of decent quality ingredients it's an expensive mistake to make if you mess it up, so admittedly there's some anxiety about that. I keep aiming to get a slow cooker or something, it's really difficult to screw up making something in a slow/pressure cooker.. But it's money I don't have right now whilst I'm paying £80 a month for tattoo removal >.< Edited March 3, 2015 by Garacesh
elsiegee40 Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 I'll be damned if I use the lift whilst I got healthy legs! keeps me moving a reasonable amount, I feel. Good one. Lifts and escalators are out! Use the stairs! Always! It makes a real difference. When I worked in Holborn, I used to make a point of walking up the escalators to the surface on my way to work.... The Central Line is very deep at Holborn and it made a real difference to my fitness!
HarryMonkey Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 The self-confidence remark was more to do with joining a gym than changing my diet. I gathered that. You're already taking regular exercise so joining a gym isn't always the answer, whereas small gradual changes in diet can work wonders. We're all guilty of chucking the odd pizza in the oven or heading off to KFC and that's fine once in a while. My new partner is diabetic and has to be careful what she eats which means she makes me be careful too. It's already making a difference and I'm sure that once the salad season starts it will be even better
mrbios Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) Hey All, Bit of a strange request. I was just wondering how you all keep moving around when stuck in your office for long periods of time. I find myself sitting in this chair, in the same spot for days and because I've been at work all day the last think I want to do is go home and go for a jog etc... so normally I fall asleep. Is there any types of small exercise you can do once per hour just to make sure your not static for 8 hours a day? My day tends to go like this: Wake up Get Dressed Drive to work (sitting) - 20 minutes Make a brew Go to office (sitting) - 3 Hours Minimum up to 7-8 Hours Drive Home (sitting) - 20 Minutes Watch a bit of TV (sitting) - 1 hour Eat Dinner (Sitting) - 15 Minutes Play a game or two (Sitting) - 2-3 Hours Sleep Really not good is it, they do say sitting will be the new cancer, so what your way of making sure you don't slob 24 Hours a day? Cheers Funnily enough i've been thinking about the same thing the past 2 weeks, my day isn't quite as bad as yours mind! I tend to have: Get dressed Walk to work (15 minutes) Sit in office (Often for the whole day with brief toilet trips or the odd outing if the occasion occurs, rare) Walk home (15 minutes) TV and catchup with family, which tends to result in more sitting dinner Play games on PC or watch TV rest of the evening... It seems to me like it's that games or tv in the evening is our real downfall. I'd suggest that if your drive is only 20 minutes that maybe you could start riding a bike to work? or work out how long a walk would take? but on both our daily schedules i'd say we need an evening hobby or activity. I was quite tempted to buy a treadmill and run on that for 30 minutes a day in the evening... because as much as i shouldn't, i can gauruntee that i'd make the weather an excuse if i went jogging. Is a treadmill as healthy as jogging? You don't get the fresh air but it's still running...? I wish i could make eating healthier, but im so damn fussy in that area Edited March 3, 2015 by mrbios
pcstru Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 The self-confidence remark was more to do with joining a gym than changing my diet. Part of the issue is I don't really know how to cook very many things. And it's fine and dandy saying "Well I ought to learn how to cook" - and I do agree, I should! - but with the price of decent quality ingredients it's an expensive mistake to make if you mess it up, so admittedly there's some anxiety about that. I keep aiming to get a slow cooker or something, it's really difficult to screw up making something in a slow/pressure cooker.. But it's money I don't have right now whilst I'm paying £80 a month for tattoo removal >.< You don't need to learn to cook a lot of things - probably just a few 'healthier' things. If you are walking 50 mins a day 5 days a week, relatively small changes in diet should work wonders.
witch Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 @Garacesh I got a slow cooker by asking on Freecycle or Freegle. Or look on Gumtree for a cheap one. Definitely worth it. Other than that -have a look on the web - there are lots of quick, easy and nutritious recipes out there. Decent veg and mince aren't expensive anyway - try and go to the supermarket late so you can stock up on the marked down stuff. @abillybob Speaking on the phone standing up is a good one, as is an alarm that reminds you to move. I don't use remote stuff because I like to move about and you often come across other problems if you are walking about (may not be a good thing) The more you move, the more you will feel like moving! Off to a killer class now - if my poor feet will take it
Ketlane Posted March 3, 2015 Posted March 3, 2015 One solution I've seen: change your desk so you stand at it, so higher than normal, monitor at eye level for standing......
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