Tips for incorporating exercise into your work life
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Sitting in front of a computer all day can make for a very sedentary lifestyle and this isn’t good for your health and wellbeing. If this is the case then it’s important to find any possible opportunity to become more active.
Here are some tips on how you can incorporate more activity into your work life.
1 |
Get off public transport a stop earlier and walk in. |
2 |
Park your car in a car park further away from your usual parking place or leave your car at home periodically and get public transport to work. |
3 |
Don’t take the lift – walk up the stairs. To boost fitness, build this up to running. If you push off with your foot flat on the floor rather than on tip-toes you will use your body weight to work your muscles more. |
4 |
Have a break from a period of very focused work and get away from your desk and walk around the building. |
5 |
Take a break at lunchtime to eat and take a walk. A 20 minute mindful walk each day has a positive effect on your productivity. If this isn’t possible, try 30 minutes three times a week. |
6 |
Schedule activity, such as a trip to the gym, in your diary. This is probably the best chance you have of doing it. Set boundaries so you don’t replace it with a work demand. |
7 |
If your energy feels low during the day, find a quiet spot to do some deep diaphragm breathing – just three deep breaths can energise you. |
8 |
If your job is desk-bound, stop periodically and do some simple chair exercises. You could stretch your hands out in front of you or lean against the backrest with your hands behind your neck stretching out your elbows or use the armrest to twist your body to one side then the other. |
9 |
Be the one who offers to go out to get hot drinks or water from the cooler. |
10 |
Have a walking meeting. |
Learn more about stress and exercise in my best-selling book ‘How to Prevent Burnout’ and my latest book, ‘Life Force. The revolutionary 7-step plan for optimum energy’.