Fundamental Fit: Bathroom squats?

By: LL
As I previously mentioned, due to our relocation back to the Midwest, I started a new job this past April. You know how it is when you start a new job - there is the learning period where you absorb the rules and polices and try to establish your patterns. That has been me these last two months. I've had to adjust my routines to accommodate my new commute and work schedule. My fitness routine has been the main thing to change. My previous job allowed me a flexible schedule (in by 7 and out by 4) and my commute was a mere ten minutes.

I quickly was able to set up a new "outside of work" fitness plan (even though it will be changing soon as I start my 1/2 marathon training next weekend), but it is my "at work" fitness that I am still working on - I'm referring to the simple physical activities that help keep me awake and counteract the fact that I am sitting at my desk most of the day (and will soon require high, flat ass jeans ... cue the SNL song: "Mom jeans, mom jeans, put on your mom jeans, with an applique vest").

My PA started slowly with a few leg lefts and abdominal squeezes at my desk, followed by once per hour laps around the building. It has escalated to squats in the bathroom stall and sprints up the three flights of stairs to my department. See, no one is that active work, except for my "four-pack" partner who also walks periodic laps. I try hard not to seem creepy. (There is nothing creepy about bathroom squats!)

{courtesy of www.kalisthenixfitnessblog.com}

Luckily, when driving back from a client meeting the other day, I stumbled across a small park tucked away near the office. It has a baseball field, a few pieces of playground equipment, but most importantly, a track that is 75% shaded by trees. Score! In the most recent weeks, this has become my lunch-time escape. I pack a simple pair of comfortable flats and spend 30-45 minutes walking around the track. One day, I was super ambitious and tried to do a 30 minute run. Bad idea! My work does not have a shower, so I went back to work sweaty and uncomfortable sitting in the cold A/C the rest of the day.

Point of this account - it might seem difficult or creepy (okay, maybe squats in the stall are creepy), but it is so important to find little ways to be active throughout the work day - especially if your job is a lot of sitting at the desk (you don't want to develop chair ass).