The Boston Globe asked Reg B. Wilcox, a clinical supervisor in the Department of Rehabilitation Services at Brigham and Women's Hospital, for tips on how to sneak movement into an office job. In the Globe's click-through article, this is what Wilcox said:
Take a break every 20-30 minutes. Set an alarm or set a schedule for such breaks.
Use a restroom on a floor above or below the one you work on.
Sit on an exercise ball or exercise ball chair periodically, which requires you to activate your abdominal and back extensor muscles.
Use a pedometer and keep track of how many steps they take during a given work day.
Challenge your colleagues to office exercise sessions. Come up with some simple exercise tasks that everyone can do in their work space.
Avoid the diet trap of being the one with the candy dish or chip bowl within reach of your desk. Store your "healthy snacks" some place where you have to get up and walk to get them.
Volunteer to run the daily errand for your work group.
Make sure your work station (chair, keyboard, mouse) positions are all adjustable. Periodically change your sitting position to allow different muscles to assist you.
If you take many long calls (more than 5 minutes), use a headset or a hands-free speaker phone. Using your arm and or neck muscles constantly to hold a phone receiver puts a lot stress on the neck and upper shoulder muscles.