The Importance of Fitness in a Busy Work Environment

Written by: Rainey Ashcraft Jr., Director of Fitness, O2 Fitness Seaboard

As our jobs get more demanding and time consuming, it is very important to maintain an active lifestyle outside of work.  Work gets the best of everyone from time to time.  It stresses us out!  While it's awesome to reap the financial benefits of working long hours and charging away at the computer, it's important to remember how much stress this is doing on the body and mind.

Problems associated with this include the following:

Kyphosis....

-the subtle creeping forward of the chin from staring hard in front of you in a seated position.

Winged scapula...

-which results from the rounding forward of the shoulders from having your arms in front of you typing all day.

Lower back pains and weak abdominals...

-resulting from staying seated for prolonged periods of time.

Steady weight gain...

-General over all weakness from being inactive also slows the body's metabolism, thus creating this slippery slope affect of steady weight gain.

Weakened joints...

-The excess weight then leads to weakened joints associated with the stress of carrying fat and the lack of muscle to overcompensate.

Unstable joints and ligaments...

-The joints and ligaments in the body then become unstable, thus increasing the risk of injury simply from being unbalanced - not to mention any external force that may come at the body.

Stress on the mind... 

All of this, in turn, creates stress on the mind while increasing the risk for many other things such as high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, and cancer.

Exercising may not prevent certain health issues, but it can certainly help to slow processes and decrease the risk for certain ailments.

The Solution

Hitting the gym before or after work has so many health benefits.

• Strength training is going to help increase the body's metabolism through muscle recovery.  If the body is busy helping sore muscles recover while at work, the body will burn calories while doing nothing.
• Exercises, like rows and reverse flys, can help to build muscle behind the scapula and correct or fend off the rounding of the shoulders and kyphosis.
• Getting a good ab workout in at the gym is going to help in the prevention of increasing back pain from sitting for so long.
• Working out is also a destressor for the mind.  It will help you sleep better at night and come into work the next day re-charged and ready to go.
• Strengthening the joints and ligaments will also allow a person to do more extra curricular activities on the weekend that are active and fun.
• It has also been proven that being around others who lead active healthy lifestyles can promote healthier lifestyle choices in the individual, such as good eating habits.

All of these things can only help you be more successful at work!

So instead of skipping out on the gym to join your friends at the bar after work, get into a fitness routine and lead yourself towards a more productive career and better quality of life.  Don't forget about the whole better looking thing, but that's another story!