Ways to remain active at work (desk job)

[SunsetRunner]

I work at a desk for 10 to 11 hours a day in a large production facility with separate offices. Since I started Fibitting, I have had to come up with creative ways to keep moving It took me a couple of weeks but I am learning new ways to keep moving. I really try hard to reach my 10,000 steps before leaving work door. So here is what I do:

- I arrive a few minutes early and get around 1,000 to 1,500 steps before I officially start at 5 am by walking around the plant portion (the floor is quiet so I am not interrupting anything).

- I take 3-5 minutes every hour to get  at least my 250 steps and do 3 stair wells each time (very steep steps, about 28 of them), which helps me obtain the floors for the day. I  am hitting around 60 floors doing this alone. I figure if my coworkers can socialize for however long, I can take a brief stroll as long as my job duties are being completed 🙂

-If weather permits (which pretty much means no rain because walking in the cold/snow doesn't bother me), I take 20 to 30  minutes to go for a walk at the near by park. I get over a mile or 2,000 steps doing this. There is a hill at the park for sledding, so if the ground is not wet, I walk up and down the hill.

I usually hit the goal for steps, floors, and active before I leave. Then 5 of 7 days, I try to exercise in some way before dinner, whether the elliptical, going on the trampoline with my kids for 15+ minutes (this is one of my hardest work outs lol) or for a run. I don't have a gym membership so I do things available at the house.

What are ways do you keep active if you have a desk job? Any tips are appreciated.

Have a great day!

[USAF-Larry]

@SunsetRunner, I no longer work in an office, or have a desk job, but when I did I always got plenty of exercise throughout the day. I took the stairs instead of the elevator, I parked at furtherest distance from the door so I could get some walking in, I would use the restroom on the 4th floor (worked on 3rd floor), walked to a nearby cafe for lunch, walked to co-worker's desk instead of calling on intercom, etc.

[WendyB]

I am retired so I dont have a desk job. But when I did. I got up every hour and made sure I got my 250 steps in. Either outside or around my Warehouse

Lunch I would close my door and do a 3-5 mile Leslie Sansone. Its my lunch hour I can do what I want.

Sometimes several workers would go for walks but it was pretty spread out as when they wanted to or not..

I do not rely on other people because of it

[Alicat2104]

My desk job is 0800-1700. Before work I walk my dog and, after taking him home, walk over to a local lake to feed the swans and other birds (ten mins each way). During work I make every opportunity to move around - drinks of water, walking to talk to co-workers rather than phoning, going to collect mail and other deliveries, going to the downstairs toilet instead of the one on this level.  At lunchtime I go for a walk, sometimes walk the full hour, other times walk ten mins, sit and read for ten mins, walk back.  I've been known to jog on the spot or do bodyweight exercises in the toilet if I get really restless. 

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

@SunsetRunner I have a desk job ( starting between 9am-9.30am but there is a field for flexibility ). At work, I don't use lifts and take frequent breaks. When I want to get a coffee - I walk from 3rd floor to the ground floor despite the coffee machine is also on my floor. I also use standing desk ( you may elevate it, so then you're using a computer standing ). For lunch, I take a walk home ( and do some cooking which also involves a certain level of activity ). But mostly, before work, I just go to the gym for 30-60 minutes. Depending on exercises, it may not add more steps at all but makes sure I did what I could to be active. Sometimes, I just keep low activity level after work like using a stationary bike or if I missed for some reason morning workout - I substitute it with in-house kettlebell training. Unfortunately, there is no one solution for "office work" and it may be worth seeing whether you can shift active time beyond working hours. At work usually ( if I skip the gym ) I see a count of 2000-3000 steps so regardless of what I mentioned above, without extra effort I won't reach 10k steps. The very nature of an office work works against leading active life 🙂

[Heather-S]

I work a desk job, usually between 0730-1630 Monday-Friday.  If I don't do ANY breaks for walks, I'll only have 3,000 steps by the time I leave work.

Luckily, I live in Florida, so the weather is usually nice and warm.  Our office is very small, so I can't walk around the building without seeming to be weird.  So I take walking breaks outside about every two hours.  I try to walk 1,000 steps during each break and I usually get in about 3 floors on each of those breaks by walking the stairs at the parking garage by our office.  But because our office is super small, if there is a rainy day, then it screws me out of steps for the day since I do all my walking outside.  And it can get quite hot so even my 7 or 8 minute walks can leave me sweating a bit.

I also try to make multiple trips.  For example, if I need to refill my water bottle and go to the bathroom, I'll walk to the kitchen to refill my water bottle, then back to my desk, then I'll walk to the bathroom.  I also try to print all my documents to the printer that is furthest away from me.  

My goal is to leave work with 7,000 steps.  If I go to the gym in the morning before work, this is really easy, as that usually gets me 2,500-3,000 steps first thing in the morning.  But on days where I don't go to the gym, like today, I really have to work to get in those 7,000 steps before leaving work.  

Once I get home, I walk my dogs and get in another 2,500 steps.  So then it's easy to hit the 10K steps for the day.  Sometimes if it's not too hot or humid, I'll go on a solo walk after dinner to get in another 2,000 steps.  

[emili]

not only do I have a desk job, I also work from home. Every morning I walk the dogs for 1.7 miles so I start the day with 4000 steps. I get up periodically to just move and stretch, make lunch, mop the floors (dogs are so messy), let them outside.. by 4PM I have around 5000 steps. If its nice out I will walk around the neighborhood or go to the park on non-gym days. On gym days I get to my goal of 14K through cardio, farmer walks and all the fun stuff that happens at the gym.