What kind of physical exercise do you engage in to counteract the effects of sitting at a desk for 7+ hours a day? Curious as to whether you engage in no activity, smaller activities throughout the day or a longer single daily exercise session.
Look around and see if you can find a climbing gym near you. They often have a decked out set of free-weights and bars as well for any other workouts you may want, so you can get away without needing a regular gym membership too.
I will say that as someone with moderate to severe social anxiety it was tough for me to get into at first, since some bouldering gyms get pretty busy and crowds will actually form as folks wait for their turn to try a problem. But realizing how nice people are helped me break through that barrier and stop caring.
That said, it's a rather specific type of exercise, so I go running as well to keep it varied.
1) Be careful. Don't overdo it, make sure to warm up properly and don't push too fast up the grades. I ended up having shoulder surgery and 8 months of physio. 2) I found to really get the most from bouldering you need to do some cardio exercise as well. Cycling is a pretty good low-impact option.
Time is scarce, especially if you have kids, however there are a lot of options. I recently started to run from work to home and I just don't belive that I didn't have this idea before! I'm home in almost the same time that when I commute by metro (around 1h), but you disconnect immediately from work and you feel like you have a second day starting fresh once you are home ! (this of course depends where do you live, I assume most live in urban area where distance is not that long)
I mostly cycle to work and take the approach of leaving a change of clothes there so I have minimal stuff to carry. In that case you could maybe get away with a small waist-pouch-belt for Id cards/keys/phone etc.
Most of the time, I just take the keys, phone and some cards, leaving the rest of the stuff at work. I'm running every 2 days, so on the days I'm not running I just bring everything home.
When I need to take something, I have a small trail running pack (5L).
#1 - choose something you will enjoy. You may not know what that is (see below) but if you don't enjoy it you will not continue.
#2 - Do it in a routine. Some people can bike to work; that's great since you have to go anyway, but you still have to (probably) leave earlier and plan for what you'll do when the weather is bad. Of course if you don't like biking or can't bike, choose something else (see #1).
#3 - you may be surprised what you like. I paid for an expensive, 6-person "boot camp" at 6 AM four days per week. This should be the kind of thing I would hate: I don't want to get up that early, I prefer solitary activities (coding, backpacking, etc). Surprise! I liked the solidarity of the group; it got me to work harder than I could on my own and I liked it so much I worked out 6 (actually, usually 7) days a week, with other group members on the non-"boot camp" days. Then I stopped paying extra, just paid gym membership, but work out almost every day. I used to take gym clothes on business trips and found I was always too busy to work out; now I don't and just do bodyweight exercises naked in my hotel room (nothing that would disturb the people in the room under mine).
#4 - as with so many things: just start. Don't set ambitious targets, because it's a lifestyle change, and because you don't even know now what targets are appropriate.
#5 - get professional help. Honestly, if you can afford it a trainer can help you do that exercise correctly and teach you new ones. You don't have to see them regularly, but it's even worth it if you're also doing classes/group sessions.
TRX (https://crufit.net/pages/trx and http://www.flying-studios.com/strength) -- Core conditioning, I like the structure and the ability to dial the difficulty up/down depending on what my body's up for.
Circuit training classes (https://crufit.net/pages/circuit-training) -- strength and cardio.
Yoga (http://www.flying-studios.com/yoga/) -- Flow and Happy Hour.
Indoor Cycling (https://crufit.net/pages/cycling) -- find a place with bikes that measure power output and heart rate so that you have an objective measure how hard you're working. Subjective measures are sneaky....
All of that supports telemark skiing, mtn biking, surfing (aka, falling, swearing).
1. Got an Apple Watch. Set a daily target of 630 active calories. Aggressively pursue that target, and get on a "streak" of hitting it. The longer the streak, the more incentive there is to keep on hitting it. My personal rule is that I have to average 630/day over the course of a week, so I'm allowed to dial my daily target down to keep my streak going provided I hit that average by the end of the week.
2. Joined a gym, took some personal training sessions to learn how to use it and then started going 3-4 times a week (mainly to help me hit my calorie goal described above).
3. Signed up for a half marathon. Used a training plan from the internet to train for it. I ran a full marathon about 7 years ago but I hadn't run much since then.
1. Bike to work, every day. Where I live the traffic is so miserable that it's comparable to driving in terms of time. It's the single thing that makes the biggest difference in how I feel.
2. Every other day, do some basic body-weight strength exercises (pull-ups, push-ups, and the like). Bicycling is great for cardio and it works your legs a little, but that's it. It's good to keep all your major muscle groups engaged on a regular basis.
3. Use a standing desk, to encourage small movements throughout the day. Standing all day doesn't feel good and isn't good for you, either; I aim for about 50/50 standing and sitting.
I cancelled my gym membership. Now I just do 3 sets of: - 1m30s plank - 20 situps - 5 leg lifts - 15 pushups
I try to add a few reps to the sets every week or two and another exercise was a recent innovation. I started out at: - 1 minute plank - 15 situps - 10 pushups
In addition I walk 35-40 minutes to and from work every day.
I know it's not perfect, but to me this routine has really helped! Good luck.
I could see huge improvements in muscles and overall wellbeing. But a large part of it ensuring that you consume sufficient proteins, around (0.8 * body weight)g. I supplemented my diet with whey protein shake (2 scoops on gym days and 1 scoop on non).
I started with a pretty unremarkable body and desk job lifestyle. Good luck.
When I first met my trainer (a current professional boxer), the 1st question he asked me was "Are you a Computer guy?". I asked how he knew and he said "You crouched shoulders are a dead give-away. We can straighten that in 3 months".
I do strength and conditioning 2 x a week, weights 1 x a week and boxing training (drills) 3 x a week and sparring with headgear 2 x a month.
5 years later, my shoulders are very straight, my hands and wrists have become stronger from punching. I've totally lean-ed out -- was healthy BMI to begin with, still lost 15 pounds in the 1st 3 months of beginning boxing. I'm also able to focus more at work.
I tried doing things separately (ex: running outside, going to 24 hour fitness just for weights etc) and it didn't work.
With this, there is 1 place I go to - my boxing gym - and get everything in the same place. My gym has TRX classes 2 x a week for strength and conditioning, in-house trainers to learn boxing 1 on 1 if you want to as well as group classes for boxing drills and heavy bag workouts.
If you do end up starting with physical exercise, be sure to also watch your diet. Also start slow and build up otherwise you may not stick to it. I started going once a week for 1 month, then 2 x a week the 2nd month, then 3 - 4 x a week the 3rd month. Now I go 5 to 6 x a week.
Exercise + Diet = Lifestyle.
5/3/1 strength training consisting mostly of Deadlifts, Squats, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Pull Ups, Seated Rows
Off days: M/W/F
Mobility Work, stretching and/or cardio
Diet rules: Count calories No sugary drinks 1 coffee per day 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks per week Drink only water besides coffee/alcohol At least .8 grams of protein per lb of body weight
So Mondays - Chest, Tuesday - Back, Wednesday - Biceps etc.
Also running 1.5mi after the weightlifting. Full workout takes about 1hr 30min.
I've been following this routine for the past few months and its the best I've ever felt.
Running helps dramatically reduce my stress and anxiety levels about deadlines.
Highly recommend running daily if you work at a startup.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/37ylk5/a_linear_pr...
Also these back stretches at least a few times a week. They help with preventing hunchback from sitting in a chair on a computer all day.
Weights 2 times per week.
Bike to/from train station and to/from small distances.
Currently I exercise every morning for about an hour. 45 min of lifting weights, followed by running 1 mile, and stretching. I have more energy at work, I'm in a better mood, and It motivates me to be conscious of what I eat throughout the day if I start the day off right.
The biggest impact on my posture and back pain has been doing the yoga-like stretches every morning. I highly recommend it.
Also most office chairs will really mess you up. I've resorted to sitting on a yoga ball or standing. For me, the yoga ball is actually the most comfortable desk chair I have used.
The grocery stores are more convenient than when I lived in the US and public transportation is decent enough for this to generally be doable. It was a lot harder to do when I lived in the US.
For exercise, a great way to spend your time is the bike. It's great transportation, great views, and makes you feel good. If biking outside or to/from work isn't an option sign up for a spinning class.
It's high intensity, low impact, easy on your body, but demanding enough to give you a great workout.
For smaller stuff throughout the day, just go for small walks around your work building. A Fitbit/Garmin/fitness tracker also can come in handy and also help you track your heartbeat and sleep over time as well as give you motivation.
It gives me a new set of skills that I feel complement my career, eg. I spend most time writing software trying to be thorough and spend time thinking things through (sometimes to a fault), whereas being in the ring with someone else requires you to make decisions quickly and trust your instincts. While the training itself is a great workout, it also gives me motivation to do additional work to improve conditioning / strength / etc.
Next big problem is to get rid of the gut. Weight training is great to get strong but not particularly great at helping one shed excess fat.
Try it, it's great! And it forces you to counteract a lot of the desk job muscle imbalances in a way that many other exercises let you skirt.
I've been doing this off and on for about 3 years now. I wish I had done it much sooner. (I've been working from home a lot longer.)
I need to be doing more for core, range of motion, strength, explosive movements. Biking is good for cardio and legs but that's it.
Biking 7 miles to and from work along country lanes, only danger is from rouge sheep.
Around 1 mile roller skate at lunchtime most days (depends on weather).
2 - 4 mile run 3 nights per week, longer 6 - 8 miles run at weekend.
Planned:
Take up yoga again (I had begun to master the head stand).
Take up weight training again.
Up the running distance in preparation for half marathon.
3x a week to the gym just means getting up a little earlier or going after work. It's very doable.
Waking up on Sunday for 500 kettle bells before my coffee is a good way to wake up.
Rock climbing when I can be bothered going to gym. Not lately.
I do it three times a week before work.
I would like a 20 minute home program that requires very little machines. I did get some books to that effect, but I need to go through them and put it together
If you're not sure what kettlebell training even is, I recommend "Strength Training for Non-Athletes" (https://joshkaufman.net/strength-training-for-non-athletes/). If you're interested enough to buy your first kettlebells, I recommend the book Simple & Sinister for an explanation of the form and a training plan. (It's easy to hurt yourself with the wrong form, so you really want to read the book before working out with any significant amount of weight.)
One more tip: I found the suggested starting weights to be way off from my personal ability. As a guy who hadn't done any weight training in years, I needed a 15-20 lb weight for get-ups and a 25 lb weight for swings when I started off. (But over the last year, I've worked up to 35 lb get-ups and 55 lb swings.)