9 to 5 Fitness

Good health isn’t a goal that should only be pursued at home

Observing smart health practices is important at work, too. Whether it’s reducing stress, getting out of your chair every once in a while or just steering clear of that box of doughnuts in the conference room, there are plenty of ways to stay healthy – and stay productive, too.

Q&A:

How can someone whose job keeps him or her stuck at the computer keep from spending all day glued to a chair?

What effects can work-related stress have on the body?

Steven T. Devor

The No. 1 thing I recommend to people is to set some sort of mini-alarm that will pop up on your computer to remind you every 30 minutes to get up and, if nothing else, just walk around in your office. You’re getting up, you’re sitting back down, you’re doing a little bit of walking.

We know that if you’re chronically stressed at work, one of the No. 1 things that can lead to is high levels of cortisol in your bloodstream, which can lead directly to weight gain. Getting up and moving around is a great way to deal with stress.

Associate

Professor for the Health and Exercise Science Program at The Ohio State University

Devor has been a professor at OSU since 1999, prior to which he was a faculty member at Ithaca College in New York for two years. In addition to the Health and Exercise Science Program, he is an associate professor for the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology and the Department of Human Nutrition.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and exercise physiology from Central Michigan University, a master’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

The Upper Arlington resident is married with two children, a boy and a girl. In addition to his teaching and research, Devor frequently speaks to corporate groups and works with marathon training programs. He also often participates in races, including the Columbus Marathon. “I try to get out of the lab and into the community as much as possible,” he says.

Are there exercises that can be done while sitting to help improve core muscles? What are they?

The isometric abdominal hold: Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. Inhale and contract the abdominal muscles. Hold the contraction for 10 to 20 seconds before relaxing. Another option is the captain chair: Sit at the edge of your chair and grasp the front of the chair with both hands for balance. Take a breath in, straighten your back and stabilize your core. As you exhale, slowly lift your knees up toward your chest as high as you comfortably can. Hold the position for a count of three and then lower back down to the starting position. Complete three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Other possible core exercises are the seated alternating knee raise and the seated reclining curl. You might also consider trading in your office chair for a stability ball.

What kinds of ailments do you see in sedentary employees after months of sitting each day at work?

The No. 1 thing, and this won’t be a surprise, is obesity and weight gain. We know from research studies that people tend to way overestimate their physical activity and way underestimate how much they’re consuming. One of the most troubling tendencies that people have is to eat snacks at their desk.

How often should employees get up from their desks and walk around or stretch?

I think every 30 minutes would be really good. If you wait an hour, that’s only getting up nine or 10 times a day, and that’s not really much.

What are some ways to reduce stress at the workplace? What can employers do to help?

One of the things that we encourage employers to do is make sure that they’re encouraging their employees to get up every 30 minutes and move around more. Depending on the size of the employer, they might start to develop some sort of corporate wellness program or maybe pay for memberships to a gym. It needs to be a culture at the company, though – it needs to be top-down, because if the employees don’t think it’s important to the company, the employees are much less likely to do it.

What benefits have you seen from corporate wellness programs?

It used to be that only really large corporations had corporate wellness programs. But now we know that increasingly smaller businesses are doing this, because if you keep employees happy and, importantly, healthy, they come to work more, and if they come to work more, you have higher production. If you can keep employees healthy, it makes them happier because it’s seen as a benefit, and they come to work more, which means, ultimately, that the company makes more money.

What is the best example of a quality corporate/interoffice wellness program you’ve seen?

In central Ohio, Honda, Nationwide, Wendy’s and Verizon Wireless all have very good corporate wellness programs. The best corporate wellness programs aren’t just about getting employees more physically active. They run stress reduction workshops, they run smoking cessation workshops, they run weight reduction workshops. They really try to be holistic.

What is the most common question you’re asked about wellness?

“What’s the most efficient way to spend my time exercising? Where do I get the best bang for my buck?” The answer to that question is “the one that you enjoy.” If you only like to run when you’re being chased, then you’re not going to want to run.

What’s your No. 1 tip for staying healthy on the job?

Be more active. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it’s all about making it a priority and building it into your day.

The last thought:

You have to think about physical activity as something that’s in your calendar every day. You could argue that it’s your most important appointment of the day.