“We have grown used to idleness. The modern life too often asks us to sit, type, and keep off our feet, inviting the kind of sedentary lifestyle our waist lines are so better off without” says Matt Madeiro of Make Every Day Count.<\/p>\n
Any motion is better than no motion at all. That\u2019s the core idea behind each of these tricks, and that\u2019s the biggest bullet point worth incorporating into your daily routine.<\/p>\n
1. Move.<\/strong><\/p>\n Your job might demand you spend a lot of time in a chair. You can\u2019t always change that, but there\u2019s nothing stopping you from doing your best to work within those constraints. Move – any motion is better than no motion at all.<\/p>\n 2. Set a timer.<\/strong><\/p>\n Most modern phones come with a built-in timer, but you can always just keep an eye on the clock if you\u2019re not keen on the sound of an alarm. The idea, in either case, is the same: to remind yourself at regular intervals to get up out of your seat and take a quick stroll around the office.<\/p>\n 3. Incorporate bodyweight exercises.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re aiming to add a little more motion to your routine, in other words, don\u2019t forget that you have a weight room already available. Have arms? Experiment with the Hundred Pushups program, and don\u2019t be afraid to enjoy some wall pushups in the privacy of your own office. Have legs? Air squats, so long as you go slow and ease them into your routine, work the body like few other movements, and you don\u2019t need more than five minutes to get the blood flowing before you\u2019re forced to move back to your seat.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re keen on setting a timer, too, this is the perfect opportunity to have a mini-workout. When that clock strikes 0, crank out 10 to 15 pushups, lunges, etc., and see how many you can collect over the course of the day. As the weeks progress, so will your totals, and so too will your overall fitness.<\/p>\n 4. Keep walking.<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ve heard the usual tricks: take the stairs where possible, park out as far as possible, and so forth. That\u2019s solid advice, to be sure, but there\u2019s no reason to stop there. Why not go further? Why not keep walking as much as possible?<\/p>\n When your timer goes off, pace around your office for five minutes. At the end of your lunch break, don\u2019t sneak back to spend some time on Facebook \u2014 take a walk around your office instead, or head outside to soak up the sun while you circle the block.<\/p>\n When you take a phone call, don\u2019t lean back in your chair to accept it. Pop up and move around for the duration of the call instead. In the case of long calls, this can easily\u2014and effortlessly\u2014add minutes of walking into your daily routine, minutes you otherwise might spend with your jaw flapping and both legs stuck motionless to the floor.<\/p>\n 5. Take a stand.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is revolutionary thinking, so brace yourself: standing is not sitting. It\u2019s so far-removed in how it tasks the body, in fact, that you could call it a kind of exercise in itself (especially when stacked up next to relatively motionless hours spent in a chair). Standing desks, unfortunately, haven\u2019t hit the mainstream, but they\u2019re still a great start if you\u2019re looking to tackle the core problem of the modern office: big, comfy seats, and jobs that demand we spend hours getting intimate with them.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re stuck with a regular desk, however, you can still see the benefits of taking a stand. It might seem like an obvious trick, but try this: when given the choice of sitting or standing, choose standing first. When you\u2019re visiting someone\u2019s office, stand for a decent-sized chunk of the conversation. When you\u2019re enjoying your lunch break, don\u2019t be afraid to stand while you eat or prepare your meal. If you find yourself closing the door to your office for a good think, why not do it up on your feet?<\/p>\n When you get home from work, too, don\u2019t immediately drop down on the couch. Stand in the kitchen while you cook, stay upright while you talk with family, and just try and delay that familiar combo of TV and couch for as long as your legs allow. A sudden increase in your standing time won\u2019t come too easily at first, but stick with it and you\u2019ll see your endurance rise within the span of a week.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ll allow a repetition: any motion is better than no motion at all.<\/p>\n Remember, lastly, that exercise doesn\u2019t have to be difficult. It doesn\u2019t demand three hours in the gym or long, sleepless nights on the treadmill, but it does ask you, now, to take an interest in your well-being, and to take small, steady steps toward improving your health.<\/p>\n