Have you heard of Deskercise? Continue reading to learn why more and more people are using Desk Exercise Equipment to get their exercise in while working at your desk.
One of the most used excuses for letting our fitness levels languish is our lack of time. We're all busy people and heading off to the gym every day may not be possible, but that just means we need to get more creative in how we get our exercise.
Recent studies have revealed that a stagnant day at our desk can be seriously detrimental to our health. It is even to the point where regular exercise doesn't make up for the lack of movement.
Health experts recommend you take and break and move around for a bit, preferably every 20-30 minutes. That's a good start, but optimal fitness requires a lot more movement than an occasional jaunt around the office. So, what's the solution?
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What Is Desk Exercise Equipment?
Fortunately, there are heaps of exercises you can perform while reading emails and shuffling through paperwork. There are also many different accessories available designed to help you work your core and minimize muscle tension.
Yes, you can keep fit and work your muscles while keeping your clients or boss happy and satisfied that the real work is still getting done.
Here are a few popular choices that will be discussed:
- Active Chairs
- Height Adjustable Desks
- Balance Boards
- Treadmill Desks
- Under Desk Exercise Equipment
What Are The Benefits Of Active Chairs?
Active chairs promote movement by ensuring you use the same natural shifts in posture while walking or standing. It's called active or dynamic sitting, and the benefits include improved posture, stronger core and back muscles, and reduced stress on the body.
The chairs use a more open angle between your torso and legs to manipulate your spine's alignment and prevent you from slouching.
Active sitting chairs force your legs into doing more work, thereby reducing pressure on the lumbar region and spinal discs. If you suffer from back pain while sitting at a desk all day, an active chair may help alleviate some discomfort.
There's quite a range to choose from in dynamic seating, so here are a few of the popular styles you will come across:
Pilates or Balance Stool
It's the simplest of all the solutions as the stool consists of an air-filled ball.
You can have the ball all by itself or use a model which has the ball integrated into the stool.
The bounciness of the ball makes your body work at staying upright, but you do need to keep your feet flat on the ground.
The Saddle Chair
Sitting on a saddle chair looks a lot like you are riding a horse, with the position opening up the angle between your knees and hips - 135° compared to the 90° of a standard office chair.
This angle means your spine retains a more natural shape and reduces stress on the neck, shoulders, and lumbar area.
You also strengthen your core as your body works harder at maintaining balance.
The Wobble Stool
Wobble stools have rounded bases that follow your movement, freeing your body to rock in any direction and making it work at maintaining balance.
You can choose to balance in place or use the stool's full range of motion to keep yourself moving and working your muscles.
How To Use Dynamic Sitting Chairs
Dynamic sitting chairs are a significant adjustment, so we recommend swapping them out for an hour or two a day and gradually extending your time on them. You are using muscles you don't usually use, so expect to feel some soreness during your adjustment phase.
After a while, the chairs will feel natural and you will be able to use them all day in comfort. The ultimate goal is to create a work environment where you are never quite sitting entirely still for long periods.
Height Adjustable Desks
You might be horrified when you add up all the time you spend sitting down, which will include the commutes to and from work, at your desk, and then on your lounge chair at home.
It will become apparent that you spend a lot more time sitting than standing or moving around, and it's not good for your health.
Standing at a desk burns slightly more calories than sitting, even when you're not moving around. An adjustable height desk is more versatile than an office chair and standard desk if you plan to be more physically active in the office.
You can get in a bit of yoga while checking your emails or teleconferencing. Try hamstring stretches, quadricep stretches, chest stretches, back stretches, or stand on your toes to relieve tension and keep your muscles working.
Standing all day at the office takes a bit of getting used to, which is why we recommend height-adjustable desks over the purely standing variety. You can vary the position and use it in the sitting or standing position.
Balance Boards
When you've successfully tackled the standing desk and want to up your game a little, then it might be time to add a balance board to your office exercising equipment. Balance boards operate on a straightforward principle; standing on one will engage extra muscles to maintain your balance.
There's not much difference between sitting and standing at a desk in terms of calories burned - an extra 0.15 calories per minute. It works out to around an extra 54 calories per day for someone who weighs 140 pounds.
Add a balance board into the mix, and you significantly bump up that figure. You activate a whole bunch of small stabilizer muscles, work your core, and engage your lower back and leg muscles to burn up to 100 calories an hour, which adds up over an 8-hour workday.
Treadmill Desks
You probably won't be seeing treadmill desks in corporate cubicles any time soon because of their bulk and noise. Treadmill desks have quiet motors out of necessity, but even the slight noise would add up in a busy office environment.
However, if you suddenly find yourself working at home because of the pandemic, they are definitely a viable solution. You could burn a lot of calories if you could walk while you talk.
Under Desk Exercise Equipment
Under desk exercise equipment may be a more viable addition to your ‘deskercising’ equipment than a full-blown treadmill. Most under the desk exercise equipment take up little room, can be hidden away, and are also a lot cheaper.
Get the right model, and you can connect it to a compatible smartphone app that will track your activity throughout the day.
We have identified 5 types in the graphic above.
You can read about each type in are detailed article, "Deskercise? Under Desk Exercise Equipment For Health And Fitness."
Summary
If your work keeps you busy and you find yourself wondering how you can find time to get some much-needed exercise, then ‘deskercising’ may provide the solution.
With the right mindset and some simple equipment, you can achieve your weight loss goals while keeping your busy schedule on track.
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