How to Burn Calories at Work

If you have a sedentary job, sitting at your desk and staring at your computer screen five days a week can be tedious to your mind and body. Fortunately, there's a lot you can do to get your blood pumping and calories burning, while still getting your work done.

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Invest in a balance ball chair. You will feel your core (torso section) getting activated just by trying to keep your balance. When feeling restless, you can bounce up and down while sitting on your balance ball chair, expending a little extra energy (and burning more calories).

Start a mini workout club at the office. This is common within smaller companies or start-ups. Designate 15 minutes before lunch every day for mini workouts focusing on muscle regions or groups. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you could focus on arms and have "push-up club", whereas Tuesday and Thursday you could focus on abs and have "abs club".

Create a standing desk. Migrate to a nearby filing cabinet and if it is tall enough, set up your laptop there and work while standing for about 30 minutes. Standing burns more calories than sitting!

Go out during your lunch break. Walk, jog or bike to your destination if you can.

Fidget. Studies show that lean people fidget for about 150 minutes a day more than obese people do. That kind of low-grade activity (tapping feet and fingers, twirling hair, gesturing while speaking, etc.) can burn 350 calories a day, which translates into 10-30 pounds a year! It's called Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT), any movement that isn't intended as exercise. You can burn an extra 100-150 calories an hour by increasing NEAT.

Reach for the caffeine, pass on the sugar and cream. Caffeine tends to increase the number of calories you burn, probably because they stimulate thermogenesis — one way your body generates heat and energy from digesting food and because the boost in energy means you move around more (which means more calories burned). Having 250 milligrams of caffeine with a meal can increase the calories spent metabolizing the meal by 10%.

Weight train to boost your metabolism so you burn more calories at work. Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact)^[1] so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Every muscle cell that you gain is like a little factory that constantly burns calories for you, even while you sleep, and revs up when you exercise.

Acquire a hand gripper. They are cheap, small and light. When you have to read something either on the screen or on paper, you probably won't be needing to use your hands very often, so use this opportunity squeeze your gripper. It is an excellent forearm workout.

Take an afternoon walk with a coworker. It's a great chance to touch base or meet about relevant work issues, and getting some fresh air will help re-energize you too!