Leisure and Cultural Services Department - Healthy Exercise for All CampaignLeisure and Cultural Services Department
Exercise in the Workplace
Foreword
With technological advancement and economic restructuring, our life has become more and more comfortable. However, we have become less and less active in our everyday life. This comfortable but sedentary lifestyle has made us pay a high price in health. As the number of office workers grows, health problems such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis have raised more and more concerns.
According to the findings of the “Physical Fitness Test for the Community”, there are correlations between the physical fitness and the physical activity level and lifestyle of individuals. So, we should build exercise into our daily life in order to develop an active and healthy lifestyle.
If you are an office worker, why not try to do some simple exercises in the workplace to keep your mind and body fit!
Health Benefits of Exercise in the Workplace
Mobility exercise improves the mobility of your joints, enhances your blood circulation and helps you get prepared for physical activities. It can even help you relieve stress if you maintain the right breathing pattern during exercise.
Stretching exercise helps you relax the muscles, enhances the mobility of your joints, relaxes your mind and reduces the risk of muscle soreness.
We normally spend at least one third of our time in the office, sitting down to write or use the computer most of the time. Maintaining the same posture for a long time will cause muscle tightness, fatigue and soreness, which in turn undermine our efficiency at work. Some researches show that office workers are prone to suffer from problems related to their neck, shoulders, back and waist, followed by wrists and fingers.
People who spend long hours sitting or lack exercise are advised to do more mobility and stretching exercises, which can help prevent strain injuries through relieving muscle and tendon fatigue.
Come on, let’s do exercise together and lead a healthy life!
Guidelines for Doing Exercises
| Understand yourself | To better understand your own physical condition, consult a doctor or a professional before starting any exercise programme. |
| Change posture regularly | Do not maintain the same posture for a long period of time. You may leave the seat once in a while and do some stretching exercises. Choose an exercise that meets your needs to help you to relieve tension and relax your tired muscles. |
| Safety comes first | Exercise in a safe and well-ventilated environment under comfortable temperature. |
| Proper clothing | Choose proper clothing for you to do exercise comfortably. Take off any jacket or high-heeled shoes before doing exercise. |
| Move slowly | During exercise, the range of your movement should not be too large, neither should you move too fast. Do not do bouncing or jerky movements, especially when you are exercising your neck or back. |
| Concentrate on your breathing | Maintain normal and natural breathing when doing exercise. If the mobility exercise is done in synchronization with your breathing, you will become more relaxed. |
| Follow the sequence | Do the mobility exercise prior to the stretching exercises. Finally, take a few deep breaths to finish an exercise session. |
| Enhance your self-awareness | After finish doing stretching exercise, just take 10 seconds to experience and enjoy the feelings of comfort and relaxation from the stretched body parts. This will help you to improve your self-awareness of any existing muscle tension in your body. |
| Be health-conscious | When you feel any discomfort during exercise, stop the activity and rest for a while. If you are not getting better, consult a doctor as soon as possible. |
Acknowledgements :
Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association