How to Escape the Office Trap And Take Charge Of your Health
While many people begin to return to the office, others remain at home rooted at their desks, staring into the blue light of their screens for hours at a time.
In either situation, employers may be getting more work out of their staff, but across the board backs are aching and waistlines are swelling.
It’s time to do something about it.
While working from home or even back in the office, many people are walking far less than a mile a day and this sedentary lifestyle is contributing to more back pain, increased weight gain and declining mental health as reported by several major employers.
Outside of workouts, it is important for any fitness goal to make sure that you are getting enough general movement, or in the vernacular of the gym world, non-exercise activity thermogenesis or “NEAT”.
NEAT is all the Calories you burn outside of your workouts and they actually make up the bulk of energy burn throughout the day.
So whether your goal is to lose weight or just improve your health, you’re going to need to find a way to move more even around the constraints of your day.
We recommend aiming for 10,000 steps per day
Like you, we trainers spent months locked at home and as such came up with some creative ways to get those extra steps in.
Here are our top 3 tips to upping your step count to increase your NEAT and burn more Calories.
Create Walking Opportunities
Try parking at the end of the parking lot or taking the stars to increase daily steps. These small decisions compound over time and become habits that make a serious difference. Simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator can burn an extra 200 Calories per day. Starting your morning off with a walk while you listen to the news or a book will also help you get a jump on your steps for the day.
Hourly Movement Reminder
Set a reminder on your phone or wearable to go off at the top of each hour and remind you to move for 5 minutes. This could be a walk to get water or go to the restroom or just some jumping jacks if you’re working from home. Getting up every hour will also help keep you alert and give your back a rest from the poor posture so many of us are forced into.
Post Meal Walks
Try taking a 10-minute walk after each meal to add up to 2 miles of total walking per day. This habit can also serve as a way to signal the end of a meal to avoid overeating and to help with digestion. As an added bonus you can skip out on those annoying coworkers if you’re back in the office breakroom.
Like any new habit, adding more movement into your day will take time, but by combining it with existing habits and using prompts to remind yourself, it will become second nature in now time.
If you have questions about how to improve your health and workplace balance then we’d love to help you. Make sure to check out our weekly blog as well as Instagram and Linkedin pages for fitness tips for busy professionals.
