Most urban office workers are glued to their seats for an average of seven to eight hours; typing away at their computers or shifting through papers. While desk jobs require mind exertion, there is hardly any physical work involved, and that can lead to weight gain which will invariably bring in health problems later in life. [break]
But, being tied at desk jobs does not necessarily mean that your health points should go down. You can be on the desk all day long but you can still manage to squeeze in some exercises that are easy and can be accomplished while you are sitting at your desk.
The Week has listed some office workouts that can help you improve your health and help you tackle stress as well. Remember, your job doesn’t have to be an ordeal to your health.
Chandra Shekher Karki
Chair squats: Stand straight from your chair and bring your hands forward and align it parallel to the ground. Now squat until you reach the chair and then stand back to the original position. Repeat 5-10 times.
Chair dips: Make sure that your chair is backed by a wall. Then place your hands at the edge of the chair, your body making an angle with the floor. Now raise your chest and drop your hips a few inches towards the ground. Repeat the steps.
Chair pushups: Stand facing the chair and place your hands on the armrest.. Stretch you legs as far as possible and drop your chest towards the chair. Bring your chest to the original position and repeat the steps.
Chair crunches: Sit at the edge of the chair and lean backwards keeping your core tight. Now raise your legs parallel to the floor and bend them towards your chest.Position the legs to the original position and repeat the steps.
Equip with helpful tools
If you accommodate some of the exercising tools among your work things on your desk, you may get motivated to have a short workout during breaks. Dumbbells, resistance bands and balance discs can be your best friends for office workouts. While doing stretch exercises, you can add to the intensity by using these tools. You can also use balance discs and dumbbells while you are attending phone calls, and if you are waiting for any download to finish on your computer, get on with the resistance bands.
Stretch at your desk
While you are glued to your desk staring at your computer, you can take short breaks and stretch your body parts. The stretches will not only lengthen and loosen your muscle but will also help to maintain the right posture while sitting at your desk. You can start with stretching your neck; flex your head forward and backward, side to side and then turn right and left. Then; roll your shoulders forwards and backwards to stretch the shoulder muscles. You can also stretch your wrists by rotating it in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. Contract your abdominal muscles and hold them there for a few seconds, then release to stretch your abdomens.
Chair work out
Most office spaces are designed to require minimal movement. During desk jobs, it is quite likely that you will gain weight before you know it and consequently add to health problems such as back pain and strain in neck and eyes. But, be a little creative and you can use the same office space to help you with some workouts. Chairs, for example can be of great help when you are at office. You can do squats, dips, lunges, pushup and crunches with the help of your chair.
Stand up every few minutes
Stand up from your chair every little while and walk around the office. This will ensure continuous blood circulation in the body and keep it from getting excessively strained. If your schedule is very tight, you can walk inside the office premises like to the water station to refill your bottle. In case you can afford longer breaks, you can go for a brisk walk around the office premises. This will also reenergize your mind. The best idea would be choose a little farther away eatery for lunch for longer walks.
Rest your eyes
The constant staring at the glaring computer screen can cause strain in your eyes, which can consequently cause headaches or watery eyes. It is necessary that you shift your focus from the computer screen and scan around other things in the room every 30 minutes or so to give a break to your eyes. You can look out the windows or just look at the things on your office cubicle. This helps for eye movement and lessens the chance of eye irritation. You can also rub your hands together and cup them over your eyes to relax them from the continuous stress.
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