HOW TO

Work Out at Your Desk

Get your blood pumping right there in the office.

Wakeout! Defeat Sedentary Life

More Energy, Less Stress

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Working out at the gym has a lot of benefits: cardio health, a break in your day, loud dance music. But gyms also have one significant downside: getting to them.

That’s where Wakeout comes in. The app provides hundreds of exercises you can do literally anywhere, whether on the couch while watching TV or at your desk with a good book.

The intent isn’t to replace your workout app, says Wakeout’s cofounder (and chief exercise designer) Pedro Wunderlich. “We’re trying to be a companion. We want you to interrupt the sedentary lifestyle, get the blood going, refresh your brain with oxygen and oxytocin and all that cool stuff.”

Since many of us spend our days sitting at desks, we asked Wunderlich to recommend exercises you can do right in your office.

TARGET: Legs

Looks like: You’re moving around the office furniture
Goal: This routine gets oxygen pumping toward your legs and activates your entire circulatory and respiratory systems, making you feel more alert.

TARGET: Neck

Looks like: The tornado drills you did in elementary school
Goal: When you feel anxious, you tend to tense your neck, which tightens up the trapezius muscle and can cause back pain. This exercise helps ease that stress.

TARGET: Hands

Looks like: You’re limbering up to type a term paper
Goal: Too much clicking, typing, and tapping swells the nerves in the wrist, causing pain and numbness. Take a break to stretch and move your wrists around to help keep these ailments at bay.

TARGET: Core

Looks like: You’re using an invisible rowing machine
Goal: Sitting for too long makes you adopt unnatural postures. Your core muscles become too relaxed to support your torso, and you start to slouch, slide, or lean back. Activating your core muscles during the day combats this.

TARGET: Arms

Looks like: You’re really mad at the sky
Goal: After sitting for long stretches of time, your arms can experience reduced blood flow. This exercise is designed to improve circulation not only to your arms but to your shoulders and back as well.