Desk Job - Increase your step count

[Lyndz13]

Hey Everyone

I am an Accounting Manager and spent all my day at my desk writing emails, reports, and calls.  I have started going to the gym every night for at least an hour (sometimes two if i do an hour of pilates after). 

I try to hit 10k steps but that includes my hour workout....how can i increase my steps to 20k......

Any tips would be helpful

[WendyB]

Get up every hour and walk around for 5 minutes

Walk to a co-workers desk instead of email

If you have floors go to a different floor to get water or go to the bathroom

Walk at lunch

[Lyndz13]

Thanks Wendy, i do these already (except lunch) as i dont usually get away from desk at lunch (TOO BUSY).  I also park in the furthest parking space away which is a 5 minute walk. 

I have a treadmill at home, should i maybe do a slow walk after the gym when i get home. I get home around 8.30pm and have tea but i could jump back on treadmill and do another 30 mins before i grab a shower and then bed 

[Dominique]

I answered your other post in which you explained you would like to lose 50 pounds in 20 weeks. In theory (*), that requires an average daily deficit of 1250 calories.

Now, if you plan to eat 1200 calories on 6 days and 1600 calories on 1 day, that’s an average intake of 1257 calories. This means your total energy expenditure would need to be 2507 calories in average. In other words, you will be eating only 50% of what your body needs. It’s not realistic / sustainable IMO.

(*) That’s assuming your metabolism stays the same the entire time. However, it’s pretty predictable eating so little (compared to your expenditure) will significantly reduce your metabolism, so after a while, you may not need to expend 3500 calories to lose one pound, but maybe 4000 or even more. How are you going to do this if your activity level is already maxed out, and you’re already eating very little?

For a big and tall guy weighing 350 lbs, losing 2.5 lbs per week may be doable, but it’s a lot harder for a sub-200 lbs female. For him, 2.5 lbs is 0.7% of his starting weight, for you it’s 1.3%.

I just think 20k steps a day is unrealistic for a busy person with a desk job who’s not home before 8.30pm. The good news is you can lose weight with far less than that, though you may need to take more time than you’ve planned to.

[Mukluk4]

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@Lyndz13 wrote:

Thanks Wendy, i do these already (except lunch) as i dont usually get away from desk at lunch (TOO BUSY).  I also park in the furthest parking space away which is a 5 minute walk. 

I have a treadmill at home, should i maybe do a slow walk after the gym when i get home. I get home around 8.30pm and have tea but i could jump back on treadmill and do another 30 mins before i grab a shower and then bed 

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I'm not sure why everyone on this site is so focused with step count, when in reality you should focus on the Calories burned.  There are a ton of activities that increase your active time that aren't step based (weight training, riding a bike, etc.).  

A 30 minute slow walk isn't going to add anything of value to your daily routine.  Assuming your gym time is intense you are better off resting for the additional 30 minutes.  

Lastly, and I tell this to everyone.  You need to really look at your day and determine what too busy really means.  I work a normal 45+ hour week at a desk job with a 2 hour daily commute and I can easily find the time to break 15K+ with ease and that's usually with just 2 hours of active minutes.  It's all about finding an activity that you enjoy so it's more fun than work.

[Lyndz13]

Thanks Mukluk

To answer some questions. I work out for an hour sometimes two at the gym. It is varied and based on a Personal Trainer programme, so each day is different and involves both cardio and strength. 

I currently work in excess of 60+ hours, i am a full time single mum and a student studying for exams, so when i say i am busy i really mean i am busy and trying to find extra time is hard.  I have the above schedule and while i know steps wont be the main cause of weight loss, for me this is just about hitting a personal goal.

I have done 25k steps but that was when i was at Disneyland Paris. This post wasn't about weight loss but more about being active when at work as all i do is sit. 

[Heather-S · Accepted solution]

I work in accounting as well and this is a very sedentary job!  Here is what I do to get over 10K steps (my goal is actually 8K because a lot of my steps rely on walking outside, so on rainy days, it's hard to get steps).  I live in South Florida, so our weather can be very hot, humid, with showers and storms in the spring/summer.

- Go to the gym in the morning before work.  If it's a cardio day, I can get 4-5K+ steps, if it's a strength training day, I get around 2500-3000 steps.

- Print everything to the farthest printer from my desk.

- Make multiple trips -- if I need water and need to use the bathroom, I'll go to the bathroom first, then back to my desk to grab my water bottle, then walk to the kitchen to refill the water bottle, then back to my desk.  

- I volunteer to take out the garbage, clean the kitchen, and do any errands for anyone in the office that require walking!

- Every hour and a half, I leave my desk and walk outside for 7-10 minutes.  I walk up the stairs of the parking garage so I can hit at least 10 floors every day.  Sometimes I can't walk that much (raining or too much work), but I do try to get those walking breaks in. 

- The biggest thing: I try to leave work at the end of the day with no less than 7,000 steps. Sometimes it's more, depending on if I went to the gym or not.  But this is what I shoot for at the bare minimum so I will be close to 10K steps by the time I finish walking my dogs after work (see next point).

- Walk my dogs after work.  I have two dogs and I walk them separately every night (depending on weather) for half a mile each, which usually gets me 2,000-2,400 steps.

- Walk around my house to make up the extra steps to get to 10K+ or walk around the neighborhood if it's not too hot or rainy.

It's really hard having a desk job!  Just have to find excuses to get up and move!

[Lyndz13]

This is great. Totally having a desk job is hard and sometimes with meetings etc you just physically cant leave your desk.

I do the same with you regarding multiple trips. I can currently get 10k

[Heather-S]

The most I've been able to hit on a work day is around 16K.  It requires a 3 mile run before work, frequent walking breaks, walking my dogs their full 1 mile walk, and additional walking after that.  It's really hard.  I can't imagine getting 20K per day.  I'd have to go to the gym twice or run probably 6 miles a day.  My desk job just doesn't allow for 20K days.

[GershonSurge]

Joe Henderson, who was the editor for Runner's World back in the 60's and 70's and a good runner said the two questions he was asked most often were:

1. How do I run farther and faster?
2. How do I recover from the injuries I got from trying to run farther and faster.

The only advice I have is when, not if, something starts to hurt even a little bit take a break until it doesn't hurt anymore. Otherwise, you will soon be asking how you can run through an injury. Most of the time, you can't. Then you will disappear like most people who went down the overextended path. 

[Mukluk4]

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@Lyndz13 wrote:

Thanks Mukluk

To answer some questions. I work out for an hour sometimes two at the gym. It is varied and based on a Personal Trainer programme, so each day is different and involves both cardio and strength. 

I currently work in excess of 60+ hours, i am a full time single mum and a student studying for exams, so when i say i am busy i really mean i am busy and trying to find extra time is hard.  I have the above schedule and while i know steps wont be the main cause of weight loss, for me this is just about hitting a personal goal.

I have done 25k steps but that was when i was at Disneyland Paris. This post wasn't about weight loss but more about being active when at work as all i do is sit. 

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As a Six Sigma Black Belt, the 60+ hours usually falls into a couple categories

1. It's self-imposed

2. You work for an antiquated company that believes hours put in = Success or they have no idea what different roles entail to build the correct success metrics.

3.  Job roles are not well defined.

Secondly, being a single parent you are already behind the 8-ball and looking at a Cat's In the Cradle outcome.  Drop the gym membership and be more of an active participant in your kid(s) lives.  There's a reason they are always skinny and it's do to the fact that they are always moving.

Play ball, get a trampoline, ride bikes, etc.  The gym is just a time sink for you at this time.

[Bionicwoman71]

I walk on my 20 minute breaks and lunch and I take the long way to the bathroom every hour. I easily get 15k-16k by the time I get home. I also walk to work and the parking lot is 5 minutes away.

[MelodyRiddle]

My job has walking stations where I am able to walk and work at the same time. Does your company have any of these available?

[lperc]

I'm in the same position as you, as a Developer I don't leave my desk, and it would be frowned upon if I left my desk to go for a walk every hour for 5 mins.

I do go for a 30 minute walk at lunch. But the time I get home feed my young daughter, cook dinner, do laundry, eat dinner with my husband and got little one to bed it's 9pm. I don't have time or the budget for a gym membership.

Any other ideas?

[Bionicwoman71]

you can take the long way to the bathroom every hour to use it and you can get workout videos to workout at home after work or before work.

[CarlyJane86]

I've always found this super hard too! I hit around 13k at the moment thanks to a few changes I made - I park my car 10 minutes away from the office so there is that short walk before and after work every day, I use my half hour of lunch walking instead of just having an al desko lunch like I used to. I then take my dog for a walk for an hour in the evenings (which is a lot easier now its warm and light in the evenings!).

[brookeflinn]

One thing you may want to consider, though it may not necessary increase step count, is getting an adjustable desk that allows you to stand and work. If you don't think you'll be able to get away from your desk once an hour (I work in title and I know that it is sometimes just not possible) being able to stand while working does help burn a few more calories. Plus it allows you to quickly/easily bust out a few squats or lunges since you'll already be standing. 

[Heather-S]

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@lperc wrote:

I'm in the same position as you, as a Developer I don't leave my desk, and it would be frowned upon if I left my desk to go for a walk every hour for 5 mins.

I do go for a 30 minute walk at lunch. But the time I get home feed my young daughter, cook dinner, do laundry, eat dinner with my husband and got little one to bed it's 9pm. I don't have time or the budget for a gym membership.

Any other ideas?

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Can you wake up early?  Can you do 15 minutes of walking around the house before going to bed?  

If leaving your desk to do a 5 minute walking break is frowned upon, then you don't have many choices.  Wake up early to get in steps, maybe rearrange how things are done in your household (maybe your spouse bathes the child so you can take a 30 minute walk), or you stay up later to get in steps.  It just depends on how important hitting your daily steps is to you.

Honestly, if I'm low on steps, I'll walk in place while I watch 30 minutes of TV.  Usually does the trick.

[Lobanica]

Increase the number of steps gradually

[shipo]

@Lobanica, any other pearls of wisdom?