Just like house plants need water, our energy reserves need regular replenishing. If not kept in check, the side effects of long office hours can lead to an expanding waistline and reduced quality of general health. Swapneel Hazare tells you how to keep piling on the kilos in check.
Ihave no time to exercise. I work more than eight hours just sitting at my desk glued to the computer,” is a common complaint for not being able to keep up fitness levels. The list ranges from doctors, teachers, pilots, lawyers, financial planners to most working professionals where a packed 9-5 work roster is a common panorama. In a country like India where “work is worship”, we usually end up working well beyond regular office hours. Much of this cannot be avoided due to the demands of our job and so it becomes a big challenge to keep oneself active and mobile during working hours. But the good news is that a wide range of simple steps are available for us to stay in shape at a desk job.
Before work
Kick your metabolism at the beginning of the day with a light morning workout before leaving for work. A few mobility drills and stretching exercises will get you up and about.
Leave early, walk a few extra blocks during your daily commute to work. Get off the bus a few blocks away from work and walk it to office. If you take a train, walk from the station to the office. If you drive to work, park your vehicle at the furthest spot and walk to the entrance.
At work
When you reach your workplace, try taking the stairs to your work floor if you are not stationed on the ground floor. A flight upstairs is a great way to burn calories and strengthen the lower extremities which are the base structure for your body.
Make the most of your washroom breaks by using the washroom two levels above/below your work floor. Drink a lot of water as this will make sure you walk up and down the stairs frequently to visit the loo. Also, drinking enough water will ensure you have a well-hydrated body.
If you are required to move around in the building then walk around or use the stairs instead of the elevator.
Change your mode of communication with colleagues; instead of sending them an e-mail, making a phone call or sending Whatsapp messages, walk over to their desk to speak with them.
Ensure that you get out of your chair every one hour and walk around the premises for one to two minutes which will ensure you don’t get stiff and there is good blood circulation in your body.
Use facilities like the gym or swimming pool if available within office premises. If not then you can always have a quick lunch and utilise 15 to 30 minutes of your lunchtime to go for a walk in the neighbourhood.
Since we spend most of our day at work, eating healthy through those work hours is very essential to help keep our body in shape. With so many different options of food available at work such as vending machines providing chips and soda which have high content of sodium and sugar, burger, pizzas, pav bhajjis, vadapav sold at the canteen, it is difficult for one to stay away from junk food. The best way to keep these foods at bay is to pack your breakfast and lunch, not forgetting to pack some power snacks with you to munch on through the day. Carrying boiled eggs, dry fruits, fruits, salads, yoghurt as a part of your snacks is a smart move as they not only fill you up but boost up your energy levels and keep you alert through the day.
Indians are tea/coffee drinkers and require a small cup every now and then to refresh ourselves when at work; if you are one of them then reach out for your tea and coffee minus the sugar. Although the portions of tea/coffee may seem small, the sugar content in each cup adds up to quite a lot of calories by the end of the day.
Keep yourself hydrated through the day, drink a lot of water as it will fill you up and prevent hunger pangs or cravings.
Run small fitness challenges with your colleagues. One can enrol in different marathon runs around the city so everyone has a goal and keep some incentive for completing the challenge or the marathon. This is a good way to cultivate fitness awareness and to get more aware of your body and health.Keep a weekly challenge of maximum push-ups or squats or maximum time one can hold a plank for. This will get more and more people involved.
Make sure you stretch your body and move around every now and then. Mobility should be the key word for all sedentary office people. Sitting in one place for a long time makes you stiffer and engages the wrong muscles which make your posture go bad. So make sure you do small basic stretches for your neck (neck flexion and extension and rotation) shoulders (shrugs, arm rotations), back (side flexion and rotation), legs (gentle hamstring and quadriceps stretches and glute stretches). 12. The easiest piece of equipment you can carry to keep you more mobile is a Black roll. The Black Roll Mini Ball and the Black Roll Mini Roll are the best tools for the office goers to release the tight muscles and fascia. Rolling helps you to hydrate your Fascia which is the connective tissue of your body. Foam Rolling will help you keep most of your pain away and keep you mobile. Hectic working hours is the best excuse when it comes to ignoring our health. But it actually can be our choice as to what we want to make of our work day. Every little effort we put in when at work during the day is a big step towards our overall health. So, plan your exercises at work, and make fitness a part of your everyday office routine.
The writer is Senior Fitness Consultant, Prosport Fitness Centre, Mumbai