What Nobody Warns You About with Working Out at Work

1. Seated Side Crunches

One of my personal favorite workout moves you can do at work is the seated crunch. I usually get a sore neck from doing traditional crunches so I love the fact that I can easily do crunches during a break at work. These side crunches will work your oblique muscles, which help support your lower back, whittle your waist and improve your posture! They are incredibly easy to perform without leaving your chair, making them a perfect fit for a quick desk workout.

2. Chair Leg Lifts

Another easy desk exercise for those hip flexors and your lower abs are seated leg lifts. This is another quick and easy workout move you can do at your desk and no one will be the wiser! Your hip flexors are responsible for, you guessed it, flexing your hip, and working them will aid you in performance and in preventing injury! These lifts are a great addition to your core routine and can be paired with seated side crunches for a complete midsection workout.

3. Standing Heel Raises

Standing heel raises make an excellent stretch to get some blood flowing after sitting for many hours. They’re also key in toning and increasing muscle definition in your calves, and helping you improve your balance. Who doesn’t want to show off sexy, toned calves and have great balance when you’re exercising or teetering in those sky-high heels?! To learn more about calf muscle anatomy and stretching, you can check out the American Council on Exercise.

4. Seated Tricep Extension

This next desk exercise utilizes dumbbells, but you can always use water bottles or even just your own body weight. For this exercise, you can use a pair of lightweight dumbbells, such as CAP Barbell dumbbells, or simply use water bottles or your own body weight. Working out your triceps will strengthen your arms and if you already work out your biceps, you can balance out your muscles. Muscle imbalance has been known to cause pain and injury, so it’s a good idea to work out those triceps! Some common household items you can use as weights include:

5. Wall Sit

The wall sit is an excellent way to tone those legs and thighs as well as build strength and endurance! Take a minute or two to do a wall sit and scroll through Facebook, read a report or just give yourself a break from sitting and staring at your computer. They might seem like torture at first but they get easier!

6. Squats

Doing squats increases mobility, promotes balance and provides benefits for your whole body, so they should definitely be on your list of workout moves at work. If you have a strict business formal dress code, this is obviously something you’ll want to skip. But if you’re ambitious, try doing mini squats where you perform a shallower squat where your hips do not go lower than your knees, and hold for 5 counts and repeat. If you want to build lower body endurance, try pairing squats with wall sits to keep your legs burning.

7. Wall Push-ups

The last easy workout move to do at work is the wall push-up. Wall push-ups might not seem like much of a challenge, but they do a great job strengthening your chest muscles and are ideal for beginners. Make sure you don’t lock your elbows when you perform this desk exercise because that can stress out your elbows and cause injury! For proper posture and alignment tips during push-ups, you can consult the official Mayo Clinic guide.

These desk exercises might not be new and exciting, but they are tried and true maneuvers that will help strengthen and tone your muscles while you’ve got your nose to the grindstone! If you want to find more options to stay active, check out our guide on simple exercises to do at your desk. Do you currently do any workout moves at your desk? If so, which ones? We’d love to know! Share your favorite exercises in the comments below!