Activate the Workplace

How many of us sit on our Gluteus Maximus all day long? It’s easy to drive to work, take the lift to the office, then plonk down at our desk for the day.

The British Heart Foundation and the campaign group Get Britain Standing found that 45% of women and 37% of men in UK offices spend less than 30 minutes a day walking around at work.

What about our bodies? What have they got to say about our sedentary habits? Let’s sit up in our seats right now and listen. Wait for it: I can hear music and the lyrics of King Julian singing ‘Move it! Move it!’ My body really is amazing. What about yours?

All we really need is time and motivation in this hectic modern world to keep it happy. So we’ve put together some tips to help you to get your body singing too.

Take the stairs, ditch the lift

You probably have heard this one a million times before, but it works.

A study of 69 people, carried out by Swiss researchers, found that replacing the lift with the stairs brings multiple health benefits: “banning the use of lifts and escalators led to better fitness, less body fat, trimmer waistlines and a drop in blood pressure.”

Go for a walk during lunch

The National Cancer Institute found that physical activity leads to longer life expectancy, “even at relatively low levels and regardless of body weight”. Findings also show that it can increase life expectancy for as much as 4.5 years. So don’t spend your whole lunch sitting down and get walking.

Maybe there are parks, shops, or markets near your workplace that would make entertaining sights, and motivate you. You can get co-workers to tag along, listen to an audiobook, a podcast or a juicy music playlist. Who knows, it might turn out to be a nice twist to your routine.

Get up more often throughout the day

Some people only get up for lunch or cigarette breaks, don’t be one of them. Try to get up and move about at least once every hour.

You can offer to do the tea or coffee, get your own mail, do your own photocopying etc. The bottom line is: try to avoid getting assistants and others to do the walking for you.

Forget parking close

If you can’t ditch the car (most of us can’t), you can still reverse this no-exercise situation by parking further away. Just remember to make some time for it so you won’t have any excuses.

It doesn’t have to be a chore, a simple 10-15 min brisk walk will fly by and do wonders for your health.

Personally, I try to walk home as often as possible: it’s a good 30 min. cardio workout, and you do get hooked on the endorphins!

How about you? How do you fit workouts into your routine? Let us know!