HALOize Your Workday

• Book your physical activity time in your Outlook calendar as a recurring meeting (during a break or your lunch time) – it’s an important booking with yourself to improve your health.
• Book a walking meeting room in Outlook (for details on this visit our walking meeting rooms page) and take your meeting outdoor walking! It is recommended that we get 10,000 steps a day in – this is one way to help get those in!
• Stand while you’re talking on the phone or while reading long documents. If you’re on a conference call and doing more listening than speaking – put it on speaker, stand up and get moving. There are plenty of exercises you can do in your office, such as lunges, squats or planks. Use a tall book shelf as a desk for reading or for your laptop.
• Get creative and make a do-it-yourself standing desk by raising your monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Try using some sort of lift placed on top of your desk (e., a laptop tray on top of your desk).
• Encourage standing during meetings or classes.
• Do a quick set of simple stretches at your desk/in your office once every hour.
• Use an exercise ball to sit on rather than a regular office chair. Sitting on the ball works the muscles in your abdomen, lower back and hips, so you’ll get a core workout while catching up on emails. Using a standing desk also burns more calories than sitting.
• Park in the Far Parking Lot or better yet, consider walking or cycling to work or using public transit (save on parking fees and wear and tear on your car).
• Try doing an activity first thing in the morning at home or at the gym. It sets the tone for your day – encourages you to eat healthy and think more clearly. Any other activity you get in after that is BONUS!
• Join forces – organize a lunchtime walking group (or start a Fit Club – see link for more details). Enjoy the camaraderie of others who are ready to lace up their walking shoes. It’s great for accountability and a way to offer encouragement and support to one another when the going gets tough.
• Always have a change of clothes ready to go workout at your workplace or nearby gym during, before or after work.
• Put running shoes in your office for impromptu walks or times when you can work standing up.
• Keep fitness gear at work – resistance bands or small hand weights in a desk drawer or cabinet. Do arm curls between meetings or tasks.
• If you travel for work, plan ahead – if you’re stuck in an airport waiting for a plane, grab your bags and take a brisk walk. Choose a hotel that has fitness facilities or bring your own equipment with you (jump ropes, resistance bands are easy to sneak into a suitcase) or you can do other body exercises such as jumping jacks, crunches and other simple exercises without any equipment at all.
• Instead of sending an e-mail, why not walk over to your colleague’s desk/office to deliver the message?
• Interrupt periods where you are sitting at your desk for a long time by going up and down the stairs a few times a day.
• Take fitness breaks – rather than hanging out in the lounge with coffee or a snack, take a brisk walk or do some gentle stretching.
• Weigh yourself down – burn more calories while running errands or walking by wearing a weighted fitness vest. There are thin-profile styles available that can be worn under your regular clothes.
• Turn social hour into power hour – instead of meeting your friends for coffee or cocktails, catch up while walking at a local track, park, or shopping mall. You’ll reconnect while logging some serious mileage and there’s no tab to pay at the end.
• Form a fitness team to raise funds for charity or organize a lunchtime ball hockey league or any other activity your group is up for.
• Every minute counts – if you don’t have time for 30 minutes of activity in your workday – 10 minutes is better than none – be creative and make it happen!
• When possible, avoid the elevator and take the stairs.

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