Exercise while working? Ten strength-building office exercises you can do in everyday clothes | Fitness
FAurella Rafael remembers feeling stiff at the end of each day at her old office job. “The lack of movement will creep in and worsen over the course of the week,” she says. Although standing meetings and walking were encouraged, it was not always possible to meet deadlines. “That’s partly what motivated me to become a Pilates instructor,” she says.
Raphael now teaches Pilates at Scout Studios in Sydney, where she meets people like me who spend a lot of time sitting. according to Australian Bureau of Statistics46.9% of Australian adults described their jobs as mostly sitting, which may explain why Only 22.4% of Australian adults meet physical activity guidelines in 2022. In England, one in four Get less than 30 minutes of exercise per weekAnd in the United States only about Half of the adult population meet Guidelines At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Worldwide, that’s approx 1.8 billion People, says the World Health Organization.
I’m one of those people who is mostly inactive, especially since having a baby and going back to work full time. It’s not easy to find time for classes, or active commuting, and I’m generally better at composing email while sitting.
“We’re not designed to sit all the time like we do in modern life,” he says. University of Sydney School of Public Health Professor Cathy Sherrington. Too much time spent sitting has been linked Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. “So anything that breaks that stable behavior helps.”
Helping inactive people get fitter is what Yago Aldir does every day as personal trainer and co-owner of Melbourne gym Project Better. He suggests stacking habits to help bring more incidental exercise into daily life. “You may not have 30 minutes, but you may have 10 x 3 minutes throughout your day,” he says.
How should we spend those three minutes?
1. Calf raises
Raphael, who likes to do a range of exercises while waiting for the kettle to boil, says raising his calves “doesn’t look so ridiculous” in public. Stand with your weight evenly distributed across your legs, then raise and lower your heels. “Instead of bending down to the balls of your feet, try reaching down the length of your foot, holding that, feeling the sway, and then carefully bending the feet downward. We don’t want the ankles to bend, nor are we relying on momentum to get up and down.”
Always up for a challenge, I do a set of calf raises while I wait for my coffee to take away. I feel like my calves are on fire after 10. I got some curious looks but it’s a success. A positive layer on my habit pile.
Sherrington, who specializes in fall prevention and healthy aging, told me she exercises her calves while waiting for hot water to arrive for her shower. “I can do 30 exercises in that time.”
2. Wall sits
“Wall sitting is great for hip health,” says Rafael. Find a sturdy wall free of hooks, brackets or other obstacles, then lean your back against the wall and sit with your legs at a 90-degree angle, as if you were on an imaginary chair. “Engage your core, hamstrings and quadriceps and hold for 30 seconds, or as long as you can,” she says. “Be aware of any previous injuries that may affect the amount of load you can handle, and if you want to challenge yourself, try taking your hands off your knees.”
Sure I could sit on the wall for three minutes during my phone call, I guess. How hard is it? In less than a minute, my legs are shaking. “When you’re up against the wall, there’s no need to fake it,” Rafael says, looking frustrated with my effort. I try again after a week: 40 seconds. My heart is racing, but this feels good – like progress.
3. Balance on one leg
“Balance is important from a longevity standpoint,” says Alder. “While the kettle is boiling, you can stand on one leg with your eyes closed to see how well you balance on one side. Then repeat on the other side and compare. Aim for longer each time.”
At 4pm in the office, I wake up to go to the kitchen (to eat cookies). While I’m there, I close my eyes and test my balance. My knee-length skirt limits my range, but I hold steady on my left leg for four seconds and then on my right for six seconds. When my eyes are open, it’s much easier and I can count to at least 10. Michael MosleyOld quote: “If you can do 10 seconds with your eyes closed, you’re in good shape.” One to work for.
4. Take the stairs – add stairs up and down
Simply walking up the stairs “would be considered vigorous activity,” says Associate Professor Sian Gomersall, an expert in physical activity, sedentary behavior and health at the University of Queensland. This makes stairs a “great” opportunity to build up a progressive workout.
On your way up, Rafael suggests building up your glutes, by taking two or three steps with one leg, then engaging your core and glutes to bring the other leg to the top step, pausing and lowering the other leg again, and repeating. “Keep the core engaged by bringing one leg back down at a time,” she says. “Do this without leaning too far forward or to the side, and keep your hips and shoulders square.”
I’ve made it my mission to use the office fire escape for active breaks from my desk. It’s dusty, windowless, but devoid of pedestrians. I choose to do three steps at a time, being careful not to go too fast and keeping myself upright. It’s boring and feels slow. I prefer to get to the top as quickly as possible. As far as habit stacking goes, I’ll leave this one out of the pile.
5. Elevated incline push-ups
You don’t need to put your hands on the floor to do push-ups, especially in public in your regular clothes, says Alder: “You can do them on a bench or a wall.” Elevated incline pushups are a little easier, and even though you may not be sweating, you’re still moving your chest, shoulders, and arms.
The arms should be shoulder width apart, with the elbows slightly back and closer to the ribs than 90 degrees. “The important part is to keep your core active as if you were doing a plank,” he says. Aim to do five to 10 push-ups. “The first level could be against the wall, and the second level could be against the bench,” he says. Although he admitted it might seem awkward, “the third level might be on the ground.”
When I found an empty conference room, I did five level one push-ups. It looks so easy but it’s also a little uncomfortable in my blouse – I don’t want to press a button. I try again with a set of 10. I feel like my biceps and triceps have woken up, and I’m not confused.
“Celebrate the victories,” Alder says. “Give yourself credit for taking advantage of this time.”
6. Farmers’ adjusted load
“We don’t lift our arms enough in modern life, so our shoulders are at risk for stiffness,” says Sherrington. “Just raising your arms is better than nothing.”
Rafael suggests using whatever you have on hand to do some load-bearing arm exercises. Stand tall, engaging your torso, pulling your shoulder blades back to engage your middle back, then pick up a heavy object such as a package or backpack with both hands at arm’s length for 10 to 15 seconds. “Do this without throwing your arms up quickly or arching your spine to cheat on your lower back muscles,” she says. Lower the body slowly and breathe evenly. Repeats.
“The little one is at an excellent weight,” says Gomersal, which is lucky for me because I only remember to do this when I’m home with my 2-year-old. After uploading Weighing 15kg to hip height, my arms are as straight as I can muster, and I carry him for five seconds. He’s thrilled – “More, more” – but I don’t have a second actor in me.
7. Leg marches
Leg marches are self-explanatory, but it’s important to start slow and steady and focus on your balance, according to Raphael. “Stand tall, lift one leg, and raise one knee to hip height while balancing on the other. Switch legs and repeat.
“If you could make it nice and big – and lift it up to your belly – “Without losing balance, you’ll feel it more in the core,” she says. “If you’re going to do a smaller movement, aim for the leg of the table, so the knee is in line with the hip.”
It may seem like Monty Python couldn’t do this in public, so I stand in the kitchen at home and do a 60-foot dip while waiting for the microwave to heat up my lunch. I feel it in my hips and thighs but especially in my tight hip flexors. Minutes later, I did 40 again. It’s kind of addictive. I can feel my pulse rising, I’m energized. As if I had climbed to the top of the habit pile.
8. Lateral bending
Stand next to a wall, creating yourself into a banana shape by crossing one ankle over the other and then leaning toward the wall with your upper body and arms, suggests Rafael. “Anything that involves a little length to the torso, or has an element of stretching or a little dynamic movement, is always great,” she says.
She’s right – bananas feel good. My neck muscles stretch and my hips relax a little. It feels good, especially for my iliotibialis band.
9. Squat
“If you could only do one exercise, my choice would be 10 maximum depth bodyweight squats,” Alder says. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and toes pointing forward. Hinge your hips and sit. Keep your chest high and your back straight. Squat as deep as you can.
I skip this workout on skirt day, but I manage to do 50 squats during a video meeting, camera off, While wearing loose pants. I gasped, my eyebrows furrowing.
“We have a lot of big muscles in the legs… and they require more energy. “So you’ll get more money out of squatting,” Alder says. The range of motion helps “open the hips and extend the lower back and buttocks as we get into that lower position” as well.
Want to make it more challenging? “You may be able to stand on one leg and then squat down,” says Sherrington.
10. Walk into your office
“People think they need to spend an hour or two a day to go to the gym and go for a run, but it doesn’t matter whether you run for an hour or you walk very slowly all day,” says Jimmy Montalto, owner of Jimmy’s Fitness in Melbourne. He used to take up to 20,000 steps a day as a personal trainer, but since hiring a team, he’s been committed to the office.
He bought a walking pad, which he uses on the lowest setting for one hour — or until he feels uncomfortable. “Your head shakes when you walk… but you get used to it,” he says. “It’s the best hack ever, even just for myself.”
Work your way up
Each week we should aim for an hour and a quarter of vigorous physical activity — where you “sigh heavily,” Gomersall says — or at least two and a half hours of moderate physical activity, “where you can talk, but you can’t sing.” Australian Government Physical activity guidelines We also recommend doing muscle-strengthening activities such as squats and push-ups at least twice a week.
Walking meetings, active commutes and climbing stairs can help promote movement during the day, but Sherrington says adhering to the guidelines “may not be enough.”
“We say something is better than nothing, but more is actually better too.”
However, “going from zero to 100 is where we tend to see injuries develop,” Gomersal says. “Find small things you can do and gradually increase them in a way that is sustainable for you. It’s important to go at your own pace.”