With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, finding time to squeeze in exercise to stay fit may seem like a monumental task. Who has the time with all there is to do?! What if I told you that you can find that extra time to exercise during the holiday season during your work day? It may sound crazy, but with some creativity and a few simple changes to your everyday routine, staying fit at the office during the holiday season is possible.
One easy way to stay fit at the office during the holiday season is to get more steps during the work day. That could mean that you start parking further away from your building to make the walk farther; if it is cold outside, then just walk faster or even jog! Either way, you are doing something good for your health. Another way to add more steps is to take the stairs instead of the elevator. You can also walk over to a colleague’s desk instead of emailing or calling them. These all seem like small things, but every little bit helps!
You can also suggest that your weekly standing meetings actually become “standing” meetings by having attendees stand or walk around the room for the duration of the meeting. Another strategy for getting more steps in during the day is to take a walk during your lunch break. You can even multi-task by also getting some holiday errands done during your walks; maybe you can walk to the post office to mail your holiday cards, or walk to a nearby shopping area to pick up some gifts!
Besides getting more steps in a day, squeezing in some toning exercises is another example of ways to stay fit at the office during the holiday season. You can do isometric exercises right at your desk without anyone knowing! Here’s a few to try:
-Lift your legs straight out off the ground under your desk and cross at the ankles, push your bottom leg up against your top leg. This tones your hamstrings and quadriceps.
-Place palms flat up under your desk and push. This tones your biceps and triceps.
If you have your own office, you can get very ambitious and lift dumbbells or use exercise bands during teleconferences, or complete a strength training routine during lunch. There are also now many websites that offer free streaming workouts; workouts range from under 10 minutes to an hour, so you are sure to find something to meet your need and can stream using your smartphone.
If you follow these tips for staying fit at the office during the holiday season, you are sure to enter the New Year being “ho-ho-healthy”!