Ways to exercise at a desk?
 

I work 10-12 hour days at a desk, with just one hour-long break for lunch, which I generally spend walking...however, I feel like all that time at the desk is just totally wasted! I keep looking for ideas on how to exercise at a desk and all I find is stretching (I do enough of that, and really, stretching isn't exercise!) or sitting on a ball, which I am not allowed to try at my workplace. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking of maybe getting one of those stationary pedal sets that you can put under your desk and pedal all day like you're on a bike...but I'm not sure the boss would be okay with that. Any other ideas? :/

are you hands on a keyboard all day? If not, while you are on the phone, get a head set and do curls with dumb bells.

Use the printer on the third floor (this was one of my tricks, but now, we're no longer affiliated with that office, and got a printer of our own!)

Stand up and pace to read documents (I did this yesterday when I was falling asleep on a really boring document!)

well a ball should be allowed at an office, if your boss is worried about it going all over the place you can get stabilisers.
a good simple way to help burn some extral Kcals is you can take a towel into to work and roll it up (has to be a bit of a heft towel) and place it behind your back as you sit to work. It will make you sit up and have a good curve in your back, engage your muscles and help with any posture problems.

Well, the problem is, I don't work in a traditional office...I work in the camera room of a department store, watching surveillance cameras. Everything I need except a bathroom is right there within reach, from printer to minifridge and microwave. There are no alternatives, I'm required to be at that desk for pretty much my whole shift except a few bathroom breaks and those have to be approved by the store manager (that can be fun when I have a stomach problem...) so taking the long way to do something isn't an option. As for a ball, the boss just flat said no. We have a standard issue company chair and that is what we darned well use because regulations say we use it. The only reason I think I could get away with the pedals is the fact that the boss wouldn't ever see them or realize they're there.

I guess I'll stick with getting up and dancing to crazy music while I'm not actively following any suspicious people, lol...

well have a go at the towel thing, It's an excersise my physiotherapist gave me and it really works to help trim down.

Where on the back do I put the towel roll? Low, like lumbar support, or high? I will try tomorrow :)

put it where a little lowerthan where your back curves naturally, hope it helps.

If you do a Google search for seated exercise, you'll get a ton of workouts. Most of them are fairly short, but will bring on a sweat.

I use a desk bike. I work at home, so no boss to tell me I can't, fortunately. It's a great way to burn calories and keep up some activity even when you have to stay in the same place. With mine I need pretty good clearance under the desk, though, or to be able to move it out from under the desk. I have been happy with it.

Good luck. Sounds like you put in some long days. Your boss should understand you will feel better if you can move around some.

I wish that I could do some desk exercise but with windows on 2 sides of my office and sales people and customers coming in anytime of the day I would be totally embarrassed if I were to get caught!

I think in all honesty, exercise at the desk isn't going to help much. There really isn't anything much you can do that will burn calories when you're sitting down working. I think the best options here would be to try work out a time with your boss so that you can go do something for your fitness.

Cheers

I do isometric (muscle contractions) for abs, chest, lats and neck. I do these in the car during my hour plus (each way) commute. They don't replace other workouts but I have built some strength.

Isometrics is an excellent suggestion, Ron. I used to do them when I was younger. I think I had a program from Charles Atlas? Anyway, they can be done anywhere, are low impact, and produce good results. Not sure if they burn calories but still a great idea.

I figure any activity is better than none. I would guess the calories burned are very low but I do think they have helped me feel better.

Ask if you can have your computer keyboard and monitor put on a higher shelf so that you can stand when you work at the computer. I did this with my home computer and now I stand most of the time that I'm at the computer, sitting only if I have a good reason. At the very least, it would provide a change of position for you - sit, stand, sit, stand....

My son mostly works standing up at his computer at work. With each new hire at the place my son works, they send around a ergometric expert to get people set up in their chairs and at their computers so they'll be less likely to harm themselves (through bad posture, bad wrist position causing carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.)

Another suggestion: Fidgeting! Skinny people fidget more than heavy people. There's a correlation there, but you can't assume causality. However, when I looked it up, I saw an estimate that fidgeting all day at work burns an estimated 120 calories. That's about 15 calories an hour. So if you'd fidget an hour a day at work, that would be an extra 300 calories a month.

If you can stand and still see your monitors (do your job), you could try marching in place--high step, not just shuffling your feet. I typically work 10 hours straight (no lunch break) so, when at all possible, I stand, bend, stretch, clench and release muscles, shoulder shrugs, arm rotations, neck rolls, ankle and leg flexing, and anything else I can manage, including fidgeting. I may not burn a ton of calories, but I am working on muscle tone and keeping blood flowing. I had a pulmonary embolism in the past and am vigilant about not sitting 'still'.