Working from home can easily lead to a sedentary lifestyle. With the long sitting hours, endless phone calls, video meetings, and easy access to your refrigerator, it can quickly become a slippery slope into weight gain. Many of us have already realized just how easy it is to stay in one spot all day without exercising, but it doesn't have to be that way!
If you read my post, "How to Stay Active while Working from Home" you will remember I sit on an exercise ball to work instead of a desk chair, so this will be a crucial part of this article as well. If you don't have time to get one, here is one I suggest from Amazon: Trideer Yoga Ball Exercise Ball. Remember to grab the correct size for your height!
One other piece of equipment that will be used in the article is THERABAND Resistance Bands and Band Loops. If you don't have any bands or prefer not to buy them, you can easily do most of these exercises without them, using lightweight household objects such as water bottles, or a backpack stuffed with something that gives it weight.
Now here are a few exercises you can try at your desk!
Seated Marches
Sitting up straight on your chair or exercise ball, have your feet shoulder width apart, flat on the floor with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle. One leg at a time, lift your knee up, keeping the 90 degree angle. You should be able to keep your body seated straight while doing this. You should feel the muscles of your groin/front hip activating as you do this motion. If you break form you may be lifting your leg higher than possible. Once you do one leg place it back down and do the other leg. For a more difficult challenge, add the band loop around your thighs!
Exercise Ball Crunches
For this exercise, move the ball slightly away from your desk. From here you are going to lean your back on the ball at a slight angle and with your knees bent crunch up with your core lifting your shoulders and then relax back down in a controlled manner. Your goal should be to direct your chest up to the wall at an angle in a straight line. This will cause a greater contraction in your abs.
Bent Over Back Flys
Start by sitting up straight with feet flat on the floor with your knees at a 90 degree angle. From here you will put your resistance band under your feet so there is even slack on both sides. While keeping your back straight, lean your chest over your knees and grab each side of your exercise band. Pull your hands backwards, pinching your shoulder blades together with your elbows slightly bent, feeling the muscles of your back contracting. Do not pull your arms so far back that your shoulders become awkwardly angled behind you. The shoulder should only move as a result of you contracting the muscles of your upper back, and bringing your shoulder blades together. Your arms should not travel past your torso on the way back.
These are just a few of the exercises you can do at your desk! Try to perform about 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps of these exercises a couple times throughout the day! If you find yourself sitting down at work for hours on end, finding creative ways to stay active should become a priority for your health. There's a reason people say sitting is the new smoking, so these small exercises done a few times a day can make a big difference in your life, especially if you're finding time throughout your day to take a short walk as well.
If you're curious about more ways to stay active at your home, we create personalized at-home workouts specifically designed based on your needs and what you have available to use! You can also visit our blogs page for more articles that be useful to you in the future. For now, give these exercises a try and tell us what you think!
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