"Work"ing Out: 9 Ways to Sneak in some Exercise at Work

Sitting at a desk all day at work is one of the hardest things I do. Well, sitting at the desk itself is actually incredibly easy and that's the problem. The difficult part is trying to stay active throughout the 9-5 grind many of us find ourselves in. How do you find time for exercise at work?

Recently, being shifted to a remote "work-from-home" station like so many others, I was excited about the prospect of building more activity into my daily routine. Unfortunately, after the first week, it seems like it's been the exact opposite.

Sitting at a desk at home, I don't have the luxury of walking across our office to check-in on a co-worker. There are no walks across campus for an afternoon meeting. Instead, everything is done, once again, sitting at my desk in front of my computer, and it's been driving me INSANE.

But, that doesn't necessarily have to be the new normal. Although it seems to have become even more difficult to move around throughout the day, that just means we have to be more intentional about our activity.

To help myself, and hopefully help you as well, I've put together a plan to build exercise at work into my daily routine, even (or especially) when working from home.

Building a Plan

Alright, you have a few exercises, but your schedule is jammed. How do you fit them in? You may choose to schedule dedicated time to build in some of these exercises, but many of them can also be completed while working on a given task.

It's important to use this information as a guide but tweak it to meet your specific needs. Working from home, I've got A LOT of meetings built into my day so here's an example of how I incorporate an "Exercise at Work" plan.

Example Routine

  • 9:00-9:50 - Morning Reports and Department Meeting
    • Focus on Posture
    • Seated Leg Raises

  • 10:00-10:50 - Project Work
    • Swivel Abs

  • 11:00-11:50 - Advising Meetings
    • Towel Crunch

  • 12:00-12:50 - Team Meeting / Emails
    • Posture Check-In
    • Calf Raises

  • 1:00-1:50 - Recruitment Meeting
    • Ab Squeezes

  • 200-2:50 - Lunch
    • Walk / Stretch Break

  • 3:00-3:50 - Advising Meetings
    • Toe Raises

  • 4:00-5:00 - Staff Meeting / Wrap Up
    • Celebrate with Chair Squats

Final Thoughts

It's far too easy to get locked into a task and let hours slip by without ever moving from your desk. Now you have some ideas for ways you can start to exercise at work, but the challenge for you is to schedule them and secure them as part of your daily routine.

Once you have a routine, don't forget to revisit it regularly. What's working, what could you change? Slowly but surely, you'll build a successful plan to help you stay active on the job.

Running