Deskercise

Doing More With Less

In a perfect world, none of us would be chained to an office chair for the duration of the day. Your lunch break involves eating real food with a friend or co-worker away from your workplace, not at your desk while still working. Unfortunately, this ideal isn’t the reality for many of us. Fortunately, there is a way to get in some movement even if you can’t leave your space.

Below is a circuit of five exercises you can easily do at your desk; all you need is a resistance band and a desk chair with wheels. You can still get total body movement even if you only have a few minutes. The easiest way to the following circuit is to set a timer, even if it’s just five minutes. Start your timer and perform ten repetitions of each exercise back to back, resting as needed until your time is up. Alternatively, you could do each exercise for a short time, 20 or 30 seconds, then move to the next. It’s guaranteed to get your heart rate up, blood pumping, and hopefully, a spark of motivation and energy to complete the task at hand.

March In Place

This whole-body movement gets you started. You wanted exaggerated arm and leg movements. Imagine trying to drive your knees to the ceiling with each step and vigorously pump your arms.

Chair Squats

Stand in front of your chair with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed slightly out. Initiate the squat by pressing your butt back and slowly lowering yourself down until you are sitting with all your body weight on the chair. Stand back up by slightly hinging forward, press straight down through the floor with your feet, and stand all the way up; avoid putting your hands on your knees to assist with standing back up. Make this more challenging by holding something to add more resistance, like a couple of packages of printer paper, a kettlebell, or anything else you have on hand that you can comfortably hold while squatting. Doesn’t everyone have a kettlebell tucked under their desk, or is it just me?

Chair Walks

Sit up straight in your chair, squeeze your midsection so your torso stays upright throughout the movement, and start ‘walking’ by digging your heel into the ground to pull yourself along. Go as far as you can, then push back and repeat.

Chest Press/Push Up

You’ll need a resistance band for this one, or you could do push-ups or kneeling push-ups instead. If using a band, put it behind your back and choke down on it so it is tensioned. Press your arms straight out in front of you, then slowly bring them back.

Lat Pulldowns

You'll need the band once more. Start with arms overhead in a 'V' position, ensuring the band is tensioned. While keeping your arms straight, pull the band apart and out until it is under your chin, then slowly return to the starting position. Remember to keep your arms straight! If you must bend your elbows to complete the exercise, the band is too heavy for you.

And that's it! Give yourself five minutes to do these five exercises and reap the benefits of exercise even when you 'don't have time.'