Fitness

How to Work out at Work Without Looking Crazy

Get more active and more productive with these at-work workouts -- without looking like a jerk

by Emily Woodruff | 2 COMMENTS

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For our ancestors, "work" was related to basic survival -- hunting for food, toiling away under a blazing sun or lugging water from a source miles away. Sitting, when it happened, was used as a way to recuperate from the tough physical labor required to survive. These days, it's hard to find a job that doesn't involve sitting in a chair and click-clacking away at a keyboard for eight hours a day. But instead of the cushy office chairs leaving us well-rested, our sedentary lifestyle is taking its toll. The truth of the matter is, it isn't just your imagination -- your desk job is slowly killing you.

Even if you work out regularly, a single burst of activity doesn't combat the damage done by sitting for eight to nine hours a day. One study found that each hour spent sitting, regardless of time spent exercising, increases your chance of heart disease by 14 percent. The solution: small, frequent breaks that activate your muscles and your metabolism. And while "deskercise" sounds great in theory, unless you work at Lululemon, you're going to get some raised eyebrows if you try doing lunges from your desk to the break room.

That's why we've come up with a full day of exercises and tips to combat the sitting disease. Here, the best workouts you can do at work -- without getting called into HR for curling with your cubicle partner's stapler or stealing paper reams for leg presses.

SEE NEXT PAGE: 9 a.m.: Take the Stairs

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