Standing Desk Workouts Anyone Can Do
Are you looking into getting a standing desk but are unsure how much of an influence it’s going to have on your overall health? That’s an entirely valid thing to wonder about. Obviously, standing throughout the day has many health-related benefits compared to sitting, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth the price of admission.
Fortunately, there are a ton of exercises that you can do while using your standing desk that will improve your overall wellbeing. So, if you are looking for standing desk workouts that anyone can do, you’ve come to the right place.
Walking
We’ll start with the most apparent workout: walking. We’ve all seen those mini treadmills that people buy to walk on while they work. They may look silly, but they are surprisingly effective since you can walk and work simultaneously. Plus, walking drastically increases the number of calories you burn per hour when compared to standing still.
The most significant deterrent to going through with this is the price. Some of these mini treadmills can cost almost as much as a normal sized one. If you can’t justify the high cost, you can try walking or marching in place instead; this achieves pretty much the same results. On top of that, you can lift your legs higher while marching to work them out more.
Sideways Walking
If you decide to get the treadmill, you can change things up every so often by turning it 90° and walking sideways for a while. You can either shuffle your feet back and forth or do a sidestep. If you decide to go with the latter option, you can put a resistance band between your legs for a more demanding workout.
Balance Board
Another thing you can buy is a balance board. Standing on one of these and moving around is an excellent way to keep yourself active while remaining still enough to work effectively. The more you move around, the stronger your leg muscles will become.
Stair Stepping
This will be our last suggestion that involves you buying something. Although, if you have some extra boards lying around, you can just as easily use them instead of buying an actual stair stepper. Either way, the goal is to have an object to step up onto while you’re standing.
Desk Pushups
Now, we do have to warn you that desk pushups are a little dangerous if your standing desk isn’t the strongest. You’ll be putting a lot of your weight on it at a sideways angle, which could lead to you accidentally pushing it over. If your desk can take it, though, this is a great way to work out your arms as opposed to your legs while standing.
If you decide to buy a standing desk converter like the wooden laptop riser we offer in our online store, then pushups will be safer to do since you’ll still have a shorter, sturdier desk to put your weight up against.
Shoulder Stretches
Another easy arm workout you can do is the shoulder stretch. All you have to do is reach one arm across your body and pull on it a little bit. You can easily do these intermittently while brainstorming or looking over an important file.
Lunges
These will distract you from your work a little bit, but they are perfect for when you take a short break. Doing both forward and sideways lunges will help limber you up and refresh your legs if you’re not quite ready to sit back down yet. As a bonus, your desk will be right next to you if you start to lose your balance.
Calf Raises
We’re sure that a little bit of upward and downward motion won’t slow down your work speed, so calf raises are a perfect way to work out while remaining productive. You can go up and down at a regular pace to stretch out your calves, but if you trulywant to put them to the test, you can stand on your tiptoes for a bit in a short endurance test.
Hamstring Curls
In case you aren’t sure, hamstring curls are the stretch in which you pull one of your ankles up towards your backside. Like with calf raises, you can either do reps with these or hold them for as long as you can. Holding it will also work on the balance of the other leg that you are currently standing on.
Squats
No matter how in shape you are, you’ll have to sit down eventually. Before doing so, you should do that motion a few times and get some squats in. This workout is well known for working out a large portion of your leg muscles. Don’t be afraid to push yourself on these since you’ll get to sit down afterwards.
Gluteal Squeeze
Even though you can do gluteal squeezes while standing, they are much more effective when performed while seated. They are super simple, too. All you have to do is squeeze your butt muscles together and hold them for a few seconds before releasing, repeating the process until fatigued. The best part about this one is if you are working around other people, no one will even notice that you are doing it.
Leg Extensions
If you still want to keep your legs active while sitting, then you’ll want to try out some leg extensions. All you have to do is lift your legs up in front of you while you’re sitting. Hold them for as long as you can, then give it a rest before trying again.
You can do these while standing as well, but it will be harder to work at the same time since you’ll be reaching one of your legs backward instead. This forces you to lean forward a bit, making typing on your keyboard a little more challenging.
Chair Dips
We know that we’ve been focusing primarily on legs, but that’s because we’re trying to bring you workouts that don’t impede on your work. However, once you’re seated, one of the best workouts you can do is chair dips. This is when you use your arms to hold yourself on the edge of your chair and dip your butt towards the ground. All we ask is that you don’t do this on a chair with wheels, so it doesn’t roll away when you go down.
Abdominal Curls
We want to give your abs some love, too, which is why our final standing desk workout that anyone can do is abdominal curls. While on a break or during a long conference call, you can easily cross your arms over your chest and do a seated sit-up. They are relatively easy to perform, so if you want to challenge yourself a bit, you can add a twist to it in order to work out even more of your ab muscles.
