Sit at a Desk All Day? 5 Ways to Stay Active During Your Working Week

If you spend most of your working day sitting at a desk, in meetings or driving, staying active takes a bit of planning.

You might train a couple of times a week but still spend much of the rest of your time sitting down. Equally, having a desk job doesn’t mean you can’t be fit, strong and active. You need to make use of the opportunities you have, both during work and in your free time.

For many of the clients I coach across Knutsford and Cheshire, work isn’t going to become less demanding. The aim is to build movement and exercise around it in a way that’s realistic.

Here are five ways to do that.

1. Break Up Long Stretches of Sitting

It’s easy to open your laptop in the morning and realise several hours later that you’ve barely moved.

Start by finding natural breaks in your day. Get up between meetings, walk to make a drink or spend a few minutes moving around after finishing a task.

You don’t need an elaborate stretching routine every hour. The first step is simply to avoid spending the entire morning or afternoon in the same position.

If you tend to get absorbed in your work, a reminder in your calendar can help until it becomes a habit.

2. Take Your Phone Calls for a Walk

If a call doesn’t require a screen, take it on the move.

That could mean walking around the house, heading outside or doing a few laps of the office. You’re already setting aside the time for the conversation, so it’s an opportunity to add some movement without finding another gap in your diary.

It won’t work for every meeting, but even one or two calls during the day can give you time on your feet that would otherwise be spent sitting.

3. Use Part of Your Lunch Break to Get Outside

A lunch break is often another half an hour at your desk, just with food instead of work.

Where possible, use part of it for a walk. Ten or fifteen minutes is a manageable starting point, and having a regular route makes it one less thing to think about.

You could go before eating, afterwards or walk to pick up your lunch. If you work near someone who wants to be more active too, arrange to go together.

The key is making it a normal part of your day, rather than something you only do when work is quiet.

4. Build Movement Into Your Journey to Work

Look at your usual commute and see where walking could fit.

You might park slightly further away, walk to the station or take the stairs when you arrive. You don’t have to turn the whole journey into a workout for it to be useful.

If you work from home, create your own version. A short walk before opening the laptop or after closing it gives you a regular opportunity to move and a clear start or finish to the working day.

Choose something practical enough to repeat throughout the week.

5. Plan Your Main Activities Around Work

Some days will involve a lot of sitting, however good your intentions are. That makes sensible planning outside work particularly useful.

At the start of the week, decide where your main activities will fit. That might be two strength sessions, a game of padel and a longer walk at the weekend. Choose activities you enjoy and give them a place in the diary.

You’re making room for the activity your job doesn’t provide. It doesn’t need to mean cramming exhausting workouts into every evening.

Have a shorter option for busy days too. If you can’t manage your usual session, could you do thirty minutes? If an evening gets taken over by work, is there another realistic slot that week?

A manageable plan gives you something to follow when time is tight, instead of relying on whatever energy or motivation you have left.

Making It Work for You

Staying active with a desk job comes down to the opportunities you create throughout the week. Move when you can during work, then plan your main training and activities around the time you have available.

At Train Cheshire, I offer gym based personal training in Knutsford and mobile personal training across the surrounding Cheshire area, helping you build a routine that fits your work, family and goals.

If you’d like some help getting started, book a consultation and we can talk through what would work for you.