Your Monthly Check-Up: Work Out While You Work

Everyone knows that leading a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your health, but when you’re eyeballs-deep in the nine-to-five grind, it’s not so easy to take a break from the computer and get the blood flowing. Sure, you get up to refill your coffee and take the subsequent bathroom break – maybe you even stop and chat with a co-worker at a neighboring cubicle – but is there more you can be doing during your workday to stretch the ol’ limbs and prevent secretary spread?

In fact, there’s plenty you can be doing, and you can make it fun instead of turning it into a chore (that’s what your after-hours workouts are for). Fran Melmed highlights five great tips for getting some exercise at work in her recent TLNT.com blog post titled “5 Tools to Help Get Employees Up and Out of Their Desks.”  

In her article, Melmed shines the spotlight on five tools to help get you up and moving during your day. Hotseat, Fitbolt and Workpace are all computer-based platforms geared toward getting employees away from their computers and into solo or group fitness activities intermittently throughout the day. “Instant Recess” is a book and concept that focuses on this very topic. And tip #5 is to bring your dog to work as an excuse to get out for walks.

Why not start incorporating one or two of these tools into your workday? Try one out and see how it feels, or mix and match a few until you find a combination that lets you take a break here and there while still meeting your deadlines. What have you got to lose (besides that fast-food gut)?

Let us know how it goes – maybe we’ll test some of these out, too!