A hectic desk job with no respite? Odds are that your health fitness is already on your mind. Rightly so, as there’s no reason for you to allow a sedentary job to play havoc with your health and fitness. Here are some handy tips that will ensure that you don’t let your work come in the way of your fitness. 

1. Include Exercise in your Daily Routine to Improve Health and Fitness

The big issue is that your job doesn’t leave you with enough time to follow an exercise regimen? Like most, you’ve also set ambitious 10k step targets, and are nowhere near reaching it, right? The good news is that you can find enough ways to organically include some exercise in your schedule. Here are some tips to sneak little steps in your otherwise sedentary schedule. 

• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
• Parking your car a block or two away from your place of work
• Keep walking while you take that important con-call.
• 5-minute desk exercises to stretch tight muscles
• Resistance bands for a quick in-desk leg workout to work those muscles. 

Before you know it, you would have met your daily step goal on your activity tracker.

2. Lower your Caffeine Intake

While you may inadvertently reach out for that hot cuppa to beat the fatigue that comes from long hours of work, consider substituting it with water instead to keep you hydrated. Alternatively, you can also look at other options like green tea or natural juices. Too much caffeine can add to the state of anxiousness. Added to that, it can also skew your sleep cycles. If you feel you cannot do without that steaming cup of coffee, at the very least walk up to the coffee machine yourself to get some exercise in the bargain.

3. Watch Out for your Posture

Not just long sedentary hours of work but also incorrect posture can be the source of a host of joint and muscle pains. Holding your neck and head forward while working on your laptop or cradling your phone to the ear can also lead to a strain in the cervical vertebrae. 

Most of these issues can be sorted out by following this two-step process:

• Getting the office ergonomics right

For people sitting for long hours, getting the office ergonomics right is an essential first step. Bringing the computer screen to eye level, for example, so that the neck is in a neutral position and the back isn’t slouched, is key. A laptop screen lifter and a keypad with wrist support is an important investment. Similarly, a comfortable chair with lumbar support can make a huge difference. In fact, offices are gradually also moving towards the concept of standing desks. Situation permitting that could be an alternative too!

• Taking regular breaks

A 5-minute break after every 45 minutes is something that you need to build into your schedule to avoid stiffness. Ensure that you don’t spend those 5 minutes scrolling through your social media feed though. Instead, use this time to do some neck, shoulder and back stretching and some walking around.

4. Schedule your Meals

A full schedule can perpetuate unhealthy eating habits, where you are often eating junk food on the go. To avoid that, put your lunch hour on your calendar, as you would schedule any other meeting. Carrying a healthy lunch from home is ideal so that you do not give in to your taste buds and gorge on those high-calorie goodies in the office café.

5. Start a Weight Loss Club on Health and Fitness 

Paying attention to health, fitness, gets so much easier if it is a social activity. To do that, start a weight loss or a workout club at the office. With a healthy competition to eat right and to work out during lunch hour, see yourself soaring on your health goals! 

Have more ideas to add to the list to boost your health, fitness? Feel free to add your suggestions in the comment section!