Stuck at your desk doing work? Feel like you don’t have time to exercise? There are ways to do a workout routine right at your desk or office area without going to the gym. Good exercises for this include the Floor Bridge, Toe Reach Crunch, Pushups and Squat Thrusts. There are many benefits to working out at your desk. Research has shown that taking movement breaks every 30 minutes is even better than a one hour active workout to overcome the effects of extended sitting. People at a desk or office job have a higher risk of developing health issues. To overcome these negative consequences, you can do some simple exercises without serious work interruption. By doing this, it can help you burn more calories, have healthier joints and muscles, improve your blood circulation, reduce stress, increase productivity, and even get better sleep. Let’s look at each exercise and how you can perform them at your desk area. For each one, you can stand or lie down behind your desk and chair to complete the exercises.
Floor Bridge
A floor bridge offers many benefits such as improving posture and balance, reducing back and knee pain, boosting moods and reducing anxiety. To do a floor bridge, start by lying down on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and feet at hip width. Bridge your body by keeping your head on the ground and raising your stomach until your glutes contract. Take a pause and then slowly lower back down to the ground. Repeat for more repetitions. A good workout to start with is 2-3 sets of about 25 reps each. If that’s too much, lower the number of sets or reps, and then slowly work your way up to more. Look at this video to see the proper floor bridge technique from our experts:
Toe Reach Crunch
Toe Reach Crunches help build your core and strengthen your abs. They also work the hamstrings, creating more flexibility. Start by laying on your back with your legs extended vertically. Then, extend your arms upwards, keeping them parallel to your legs. “Crunch” yourself forward by teaching your fingers towards your toes, making sure your head, shoulder and back come off the ground. Lower yourself and repeat. You should aim for 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps each. If you want to see how to do a toe crunch, check out this video:
These are also two exercises you can do by your desk area. Pushups are a fundamental exercise that should be part of your routine, and they are so easy to do in the office! Squat thrusts are a bit more rigorous, but also work well in the office. See below for proper techniques on both exercises:
Your Office Routine
If you decide to do workouts at your desk area, come up with some routine that you can follow. One example is doing two of these exercises each day, rotating between them. Or doing all four every other day. Whatever you decide, make sure to stick to your plan to get maximum results and effect.