This week I am spending a lot of time working in my office - mostly seated of course - catching up on files, prepping lessons, shredding unneeded papers, cleaning up and in general readying the way for when the new school year starts again!
Like I said, it is involving a lot of sitting - something which is new to me but which many personal training clients deal with in their jobs all year long. What can we do to keep active when work requires so much inactivity? Here are 4 of my favorite tips to get moving even while sitting.
1) DRINK plenty (preferably plain water) - this not only keeps you hydrated in environments that often have plenty of drying A/C, but also results in needed trips to the washroom - which gets you up and moving! Why not throw in an extra walk down a couple of hallways while you are at it? Moving regularly feels great, gives your body and mind a break and invigorates you for the next part of your morning.
2) Take planned MINI breaks - Set a timer for every 30 to 60 minutes that forces you to stand up and do something different. For me, I have a skip rope hanging next to my computer (this is a bit of a privilege of someone whose office is connected to a school gym with plenty of space and no watching eyes!) and allows me to get a minute or two of jumping in. What can you do for your mini break? Walk to say hello to a co-worker? Go fill up the water bottle again? Take a couple of trips up and down the stairs? It doesn't need to be much, just enough to put some motion into your morning.
3) Sit TALL - For those times in between or when you just can't get away from your desk - think about sitting tall - pull your spine up straight and see if you can make some spaces in between your vertebrae. Turn your neck gently side to side and look away from your screen as often as possible.
4) TALK - instead of sending that email, get up and give your message in person. This not only gets you up and moving,but also forces your coworker to take a break as well!
