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Dabbling with Deskercise, by Nick Horbowyj

Although having missed the boat to being ‘beach body ready’ with a flight to Greece looming and still the not-so-proud owner of a little excess baggage around the middle, there is no better time than now to start making small steps to a slightly more active lifestyle (or so I’ve heard). One of the issues with this, other than creating elaborate excuses to avoid the gym, is that for many people a desk job limits the ability to keep active throughout the day, with the exception of running to the shop at lunch or chasing down the ice cream van. However there is hope by the way of an article on Greatist, posted back in 2014 but recently brought to my attention thanks to Twitter – Deskercise! 33 Smart Ways to Exercise at Work

Although I didn’t manage to get through all 33, here are a few that have already started paying dividends, whether it’s for overall health improvement or just for office hilarity:

The celebratory split squat jumps

The idea behind this is that every time there is a celebration, you do a split squat jump. For those new to the move, it’s basically steading your feet and getting into a split-leg position, lowering into a lunge and then jumping up with celebratory force. Finding an excuse to do it was tricky at first but I quickly came to realise that even the offer of a Jaffa cake was enough, which hopefully balances out the calorie intake to some degree.

The Mover and Shaker

Although my days of dancing the night away are for the most part behind me, the odd jig can often still manifest with the right song, so the idea of a quick bout of desk dancing was entirely possible. Yes, my colleagues did begin by looking on with concern at the impromptu moves, however, it is quickly contagious. 80s Movie Hits playlist on Spotify was a great source of desk dance inspiration, FYI.

The Shoulder Shrug

This is as simple as it sounds – raise your shoulders up to your ears in a shrug motion, with a five-second hold. It says not to do this in a board meeting but I would also suggest a warning to your colleagues if you plan to shrug and perhaps don’t do it in front of your boss. In the midst of asking you an important question, a shrug probably isn’t the best response.

 

For more deskercise inspiration go to https://greatist.com/fitness/deskercise-33-ways-exercise-work and big thanks to the writer, Emily Milam for the inspiration.

 

So Macho….

tofu

Apparently, the number of vegans is growing.  According to new research by Ipsos Mori, commissioned by the Vegan Society, there are 542,000 vegans in Britain – the previous estimate, from 2006, was just 150,000.  And an estimated 500,000 vegetarians are thinking about going vegan too, so there could be more than a million British vegans before long.  Which means a whole new set of opportunities opening up for businesses not just in the food sector but in fitness, active wear, beauty and sports.

This is no fad, either.  Google searches for “vegan” have doubled since 2011, while the market in animal-free food and drink is growing too.  Mintel reports that the number of products launched in the UK marked “suitable for vegans” grew by 134% between 2012 and 2015.

Vegan dishes used to be restricted to wholefood cafes, but now Wetherspoon pubs – yep, you read that correctly – have launched a vegan menu, and Pret a Manger has seen sales of its vegetarian options soar, and is introducing two new vegan specials every month over the summer.

So next time you mash that avocado on your granary toast and prepare to poach an egg to go on top of it – don’t.  All the cool people eat only plant-derived foods. Will you join them?