Posted by kathryn in Work life integration

Today’s task in 31 Days to Better Energy also comes from my colleague Alexia Morris (see below for more about Alexia). For today’s task Alexia has come up with some easy suggestions to get you moving more at work.

Why?

The most common excuse for not exercising is lack of time. While many people’s lives are very busy, there’s no reason why you can’t move more during the day. Incidental exercise can make a huge difference to your fitness levels and also your energy levels.

It’s all about finding ways to move more during the course of your normal day. We’re surrounded by labour saving devices, which lull us into a state of inactivity, but there are still plenty of opportunities to get moving.

Today’s task

Earlier in the 31 Days to Better Energy, I set the task of going to chat with a colleague, rather than emailing or phoning them. Today’s task is an extension of that and it’s to find three ways to move more today. Over to Alexia for more suggestions:

• Why not take the fire stairs instead of the lift?
• Create a good impression by offering to get your colleagues water and delivering each cup individually, to increase the distance you need to walk
• Do some office chair quad strengthening: lifting alternating legs, bent at the knee, for 10 – 20 repetitions
• Alternate that with chair calf strengthening: take your shoes off and rise up on your toes for 10 – 20 repetitions. This can be done sitting or standing.
• Sit on a fitball, rather than a chair, to strengthen your core abdominal muscles, try just 15 minutes at a time.
• Or why not do some body stretches: shrug your shoulders, slide your shoulder blades down your back, look from side to side, to stretch your neck and lift your arms above your head. Repeat this combination of four moves 10-15 times.

Alexia has over 20 years in the fitness industry, is a pilates instructor, personal trainer and all round fitness guru. I work closely with Alexia at the Source of Wellness and she runs classes at The Gartlan Sports Centre in northern Sydney.

August is 31 Days to Better Energy month here at Limes & Lycopene. If you’d like to know more or view the full range of tasks so far, then take a look at the introductory post.

29 August, 2007