9 Easy Ways to Sneak in Workouts While Working From Home

Sitting for long hours is terrible for your health. According to Yale Medicine, an overly sedentary lifestyle can exacerbate everything from diabetes to dementia, and even depression—and those aren’t even all of the negatives that start with the letter “D.” Fortunately, even for those of us who are proverbially chained to our desk for long hours each day, we have options. With this top-rated electric standing desk, you can effortlessly raise your workspace up to a standing height, and spending even a portion of your working time on your feet can do much to improve your health, especially if you also stretch, do toe raises, do squats, and execute other isometric or bodyweight exercises while on your feet.

According to Very Well Fit, a person of average size and fitness jogging at five miles per hour for half an hour can burn up to 300 calories. So, the next time you’re going to be spending a half hour reading through a brief or listening in to a meeting (cameras off!), why not do it with a compact treadmill set up under that standing desk of yours? (Or off to the side of or behind your regular desk—that works, too.) This compact, low-profile treadmill can support users weighing up to 220 pounds, and it can have you running along at speeds up to 7.5 miles per hour. And when you’re done with the daily walk or jog, the wheels let you roll the unit away for storage under the couch or bed or in the closet.

Whether you’re at your standing desk or just on your feet for a few minutes as you take a call or go through emails on your phone, make the most of that upright time by standing on this balance board from FluidStance. Doing so will help promote better balance, serve as a good low-impact core workout, and work the muscles in your legs and back.

Want to burn about 150 calories per hour just by sitting at your desk while working? Well, normally you can’t—unless you have this under-desk elliptical from Cubii. Per U.S. News & World Report, that’s about how many calories the average user will get with an under-desk elliptical, but the benefits don’t stop at that moderate figure: you’ll also improve leg strength and flexibility, enhance your circulation, and enjoy good cardio exercise while you tackle that overflowing inbox.

Spending hours every day typing away at your computer may be required for your job, but it can take a toll on your hands, wrists, and forearms, causing repetitive stress injuries that are painful and debilitating both acutely and chronically. Using this Resistance Bar from DMoose is an easy way to stave off injury and build hand and arm strength, too. It can be as simple as spending a few minutes every few hours twisting and bending the thick, easily gripped rubber tube to build grip strength, tone your forearms, and ease the pain of “tennis elbow.”

This sturdy spherical-shaped chair from Trideer comes with a ring that sits on the floor and prevents it from rolling away, so you can focus on your work instead of worrying about tragicomically falling over backward when you rise momentarily and then sit back down. The chair requires you to keep your balance and maintain an upright posture, which, in turn, engages the core without having to think about it (or do crunches!). Of course, you can also incorporate sitting exercises while you draft a report, answer emails, or even listen in on a Zoom call.

Resistance bands are about the most affordable—and most portable—exercise tool you can possibly find. Strap a band around your legs and you can do great exercises as you stand at your desk. Put a band around your wrists, and you can work out your triceps as you type just by keeping your hands separated from one another. They can be used for stretching, pilates, or strength training, and when not in use, they can be quickly stowed in a drawer.

It can be a bit tricky to get the hang of using this handheld spinning device, but once you do, you can do wonders for your hand, wrist, and arm strength all without getting out of your chair. Using an NSD Powerball is one of the least invasive but most effective ways to exercise the many muscles of your fingers, hand, and lower arms. Plus, you can use this gyroscope-based exercise tool as casually or intensely as you want: spin slowly, and it’s just a fidget toy; spin ever faster, and you begin to get a solid strength training workout.

It’s one thing to perch a set of pedals on the ground beneath your desk; it’s another thing when your desk itself is a bike. The Desk Bike from FlexiSpot offers a table space large enough for your laptop or paperwork strapped to a stationary bike that offers almost as solid a workout as most dedicated exercise bikes, so you don’t have to compromise the quality of your workout or your work. Sure, this is bulkier hardware than most of the other options on the list, but if you’re committed to working from home and staying in shape, it’s worth your consideration.