Check it out below to learn a bit more about how sitting all day on the job impacts your physical and mental health. To start, people with sedentary jobs are twice as likely to die from heart disease than those with active jobs (yikes!).

You may want to stand up after reading this:

The post MindBodyGreen Agrees that Sitting is Making You Fat appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Does your employer encourage a healthy lifestyle at the office?

In previous posts we’ve talked a lot about the importance of exercise and staying active (even moderate exercise is hugely beneficial, for all you hardcore exercisers out there!)

But for those readers out there are who are struggling to squeeze exercise into their overflowing to-do list, it can be difficult to find the time and motivation. After all, we’re busy. I get it. But there are certain things we can all do to help each other when it comes to staying on track with exercise.

One thing that employers and employees can do is create a Workplace Workout Program! After all, many of us spend most of our time at work—it’s the perfect opportunity to support and encourage each other to stay active.

Here are some ways to workout at work:

1. Participate in a local race. Even better, participate in a local race for charity! This can be a great way to stay in shape and bond with your co-workers.

2. Start a wellness committee. This group can host seminars or activities themed around issues relevant to staff.

3. Have challenges in the office tracking personal fitness goals. I had a job once that partook in a “biggest loser” type challenge. Everyone supported each other throughout the process and in the end, the people who were the “biggest losers,” i.e. lost the most weight, were given a prize.

4. Give the people what they want! What I mean is, give your employees standing height desks, adjustable height desks, or treadmill desks. They will not only be healthier, but more productive, thus benefiting the entire company!

5. Provide compensation for your employees’ gym memberships. This is probably the most effective and straightforward way to tell your office, “I care about your health. Now go to the gym!”

6. Brainstorm together. Have a meeting with your employees about office fitness. Find out what ideas they have on bringing better ergonomics into the office and promoting physical (and emotional!) well-being inside and outside of the office. A happy, healthy office is a more productive office.

While we can’t exactly enforce a rule in offices to make employers equip their offices with standing height desks, adjustable height desks, or treadmill desks, we can encourage YOU, the employee to step up, work with your employers, and build a healthy team rather than just an office space.

Does your office offer any kind of incentives for living a healthy lifestyle and exercising? Do you all use standing height desks, adjustable height desks, or treadmill desks at work?

Share your thoughts below!

The post Bring The Workout to Work appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Using a treadmill at your desk can help you lose 45 to 65 pounds per year.

In a previous post we went over some of the top benefits of using a treadmill desk while at work. You can improve your posture, your muscle tone, your energy and much more (Let’s just say there are a lot of benefits to using a treadmill with your desk!).

In today’s post, I thought we could expand on one benefit in particular that a lot of people seem to be interested in: weight loss. And it’s no wonder why—The US is a country where over 1/3 of its adults are not just overweight but obese. I’m not criticizing or pointing fingers, I’m just saying that it is high time something is done about this. And a treadmill with your desk is a good place to start.

Think about it, if about 1/3 of adults in this country are obese, a whole lot of those folks are probably working desk jobs. In fact, in this age of computers and technology, most people are working desk jobs. And did you know that when you’re sitting, you’re only burning 1 calorie per minute? That is nothing, people!

Xdesk’s latest option of the treadmill with desk couldn’t get here at a better time. People are obese, sure, but our nation is smarter now. We know the facts. And we are ready to make a change.

How much change can you expect with a treadmill at your desk? According to the British Journal of Medicine, you will burn about 191 kcals/hour when using a treadmill with desk, compared to a measly 60-70 kcals/hour when you’re sitting down.

Furthermore, if you replace your sitting time with walking and working at a treadmill with your desk for 2-3 hours per day, you can lose up to 20-30 kg per year.

These folks are British, so let me put this into perspective for you:

If you swap just 2-3 of your regular sitting time with using a treadmill desk, you will lose about 45-65 pounds per year. Just by switching to a treadmill with desk for 2-3 hours a day! Just imagine what would happen if you coupled that with a healthier diet.

Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let me point out that the benefits of using a treadmill with your desk are not restricted to obese desk-workers, or even those folks who want to lose weight. With a treadmill desk you’re not only able to shed away pounds (or kg!), you’re also able to get healthier overall.

In a previous post I discussed my own experience with a treadmill desk and I can honestly say, I felt more energetic, more productive, and my whole body felt looser, simply by being in motion while I was working.

As you’ve probably read in this blog before, I “accidentally” lost weight simply by switching to Xdesk’s adjustable height desk. And I can only imagine what a treadmill with my desk would do for me.

I’ll tell you something: it is definitely going on my Christmas list next year.

Do you use a treadmill with desk at work? How do you like it?

Sources: CDC.gov

The post Pair a Treadmill With Your Desk & Lose Weight appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Ever wonder why you can’t shed those last few pounds? Here’s why.

If you are like countless Americans, you’re probably trying to lose weight. And, like countless Americans, you are probably sitting down while you read this—perhaps at work at your traditional, seated desk.

Obviously, there is a direct correlation between these two facts. Sitting down for long periods of time can and will add fat to your body—particularly in the areas that you are sitting on (namely butt and thighs). I’ll go deeper into this in just a moment, but first I want to reassure you that there is a solution: It’s called a Xdesk Fit, the latest treadmill workstation.

That’s right, you don’t have to rush into your boss’s office or pick up the phone and dial your employer with your two weeks’ notice. Change the way you work with the Xdesk Fit treadmill workstation.

There is hope. And now that I’m sure you won’t do anything rash, let me get back to the science behind my claim:

Sitting makes you fat.

A recent study has shown that by sitting for long periods of time, your body can generate up to 50 percent more fat in those areas (as mentioned above: hips, butt and thighs).

In this study, the participants who were sitting for long periods of time developed 50 percent more liquid fat (gross!) than regular fat cells.

Furthermore, exercise outside of the office isn’t enough to counteract the long periods of sitting at work. This face got my attention, because I have always been very active—after work. But for many years, I would sit at my office desk for about 8 hours a day, taking only short breaks to walk or stand, and then go to the gym. I never really thought I needed to lose weight, exactly, but I didn’t understand why I wasn’t with my active workout schedule.

So when I read a study that claimed “even those who eat well and exercise will have more fat at the waistline and hips from excess sitting,” well, I stood up.

But to take your calorie-burn even a step further than using a standing desk or adjustable height desk, you need to be moving. That’s where the latest innovation, the Xdesk Fit treadmill workstation, comes in.

With a treadmill workstation you can burn about 100 times more calories than you when you’re sitting. And with a Xdesk Fit you’re not walking that fast (you’d be hard pressed to focus on work if you were!).

The simple act of moving and lightly walking with your treadmill desk for just 2-3 hours a day can help you to burn fat, and even lose up to 45-65 pounds in a year.

Now I said treadmill workstation, rather than treadmill desk because with Xdesk’s latest and greatest, you’re truly getting a complete workstation—not just a dinky table.

To find out more about losing weight the right way—with the Xdesk Fit from Xdesk in particular—check out our previous post about this marvel in ergonomic furniture.

Trust me, I’ve tried it out and I’m counting down the days until I can get my own treadmill workstation.

Happy walking everyone!

Do you use a treadmill workstation at work or home? Share your thoughts and tips below!

The post Why You’re Not Losing Weight appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Researchers have proven that sitting down for long periods of time contributes to weight gain.

Okay, I know the title might sound a little bit harsh, but it’s the truth. By now you know how an adjustable height desk can help in your health, energy, and even prolong your life. But for some people nothing speaks to them more than this simple truth: sitting down is making you fat.

According to researchers from Tel Aviv University, by sitting down for long periods of time, your body can generate up to 50 percent more fat in those areas (hips, butt, and thighs.)

The study’s participants were in a bit of a different circumstance than sitting around the office for too long though. You see, the researchers looked at MRI images of muscle tissue of people who had been paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. They found that fat cells were stretching to surround the areas around the muscles where there was a lot of pressure from sitting or lying down.

Like I said, the participants in the study were in a different circumstance than somebody who happens to sit all day at work. So the researchers took it a step further. They manipulated a group of fat cells to stretch and stay sedentary for long periods of time, representing an average person in a desk job’s time sitting or lying down, and after just two weeks, they found that these stretched cells produced nearly 50 percent more liquid fat than regular fat cells.

And it seems as though exercise is not enough to counteract prolonged periods of sitting. Studies have shown that even those who eat well and exercise will have a bigger butt and waistline if they stay seated for longer periods of time.

So aside from quitting your desk job and becoming a professional triathlete, what can you do? Well, get moving for a start! Stand up! Yes, right now! Of course standing and staring down at your computer screen to work, type, or even to read this short post are not exactly conducive. In fact, standing up and looking down at your monitor may be better for your circulation and weight, but it’s bad for your neck, shoulders, and back. Plus, you just look silly.

With an adjustable height desk, though, you can work, type, and yes, even read this article, all without harming your posture or your health. By simply switching to an adjustable height desk for only four hours a day, studies show that you can burn an extra 120 calories per day. Let’s put that into perspective.

With just four hours standing at an adjustable height desk, you burn an extra 120 calories per day. If you stretch that out to a full year of working on weekdays, plus or minus some vacation and sick time, you will burn an extra 30,000 calories per year. That’s about 8.6 pounds of weight loss per year—just by standing.

Lots of people go out and buy standing desks when they hear the news. (“A smaller waistline! Better health! I’m getting a standing desk!”). But not so fast. A standing desk is a step in the right direction—you’re not sitting all day. But it’s also not great to stand all day either—blood can pool in your legs and reduce circulation.  With an adjustable height desk, you’re getting the best of both worlds. You can sit, you can stand, and most importantly, you can move around and in between positions. Movement is the key to a better metabolism—this is when you’ll see the weight come off.

So are you standing yet? Get an adjustable height desk today. Lose weight, feel better, be healthier.

Source: ABCNews.Go.com

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