Working out in the office!

Working five days a week in a 9-5 job is the norm for a lot of people out there and the truth is that for a lot of people that makes it hard to prioritise fitness. Work comes first and physical fitness is a distant second. 

And it is easy enough to say that might be the wrong way around but it tends to be the unfortunate reality. That isn’t to say that everyone who works a job that doesn’t require physical activity is unfit though. There are plenty of people who balance work and physical fitness brilliantly and see tremendous results in both.

It seems obvious that the people who find the time to work out more are usually more physically fit. So when it comes to people working an office job, the ones who keep themselves in the best shape are the ones who don’t allow their work to become a hindrance. 

And the same can be said for all other the other obstacles that appear every single day. If people want to find an excuse then there will always be one available, that’s for sure. But when someone is truly determined to achieve then they will never let something get in their way. 

So what can you do in the office to help? Well the obvious one is stairs. The higher you work in a building, the better. Even if it just when you arrive at work and when you leave, taking the stairs over the lift just provides a little bit more physical activity than usual.

Then there are the things that you can do at your desk. Obviously you aren’t going to be completing a full workout but there are little things you can do throughout the day whenever you find a spare five minutes. 

Why not try knee pull-ups when you are in your chair, for example? Just by extending your legs out and pulling them towards your chest will crunch those stomach muscles and help to tighten everything up.

Or how about turning that chair into a piece of apparatus and using it to help you squat? Needless to say, if you have one of those chairs that are on wheels you might want to avoid this one. Just doing that for 3/4 minutes will help, especially if you are doing it 5 days a week. 

I’m not saying turn your workplace into a gym away from the gym, that would be ridiculous. Not to mention I can’t imagine your boss would be too thrilled if you are spending all your time exercising when there is data to be analysed! What I am talking about are simple exercises you can do in under 5 minutes when you get the chance to take a break. 

And this won’t excuse you from working out at other times. You will find it very difficult to complete a workout in the office that will be sufficient to replace a full session at the gym. What it does mean is that you won’t be rushing late at night or early in the morning to try and fit in a whole load of unnecessary exercises. 

Exercising regularly throughout the day will keep your brain sharp and your body sharper – it’s a win-win situation! You don’t have to choose between being successful at work or successful in the gym – both are possible!