At the very heart of every cubicle job is the requirement to sit for at least eight hours a day. I know employers are starting to implement programs to encourage people to move more, which is great, but no matter how you look at it, they want you to sit, this is what you are getting paid to do. Sounds pretty easy, however we now know that all this sitting is killing us . According to studies, it doesn’t matter if you go to the gym for an hour every day or run your 5 miles every morning, the effects of sitting for extended periods of time take a toll on your body and will cut years off your life.
If you live in a cube, and you want to stay healthy you need to incorporate movement into your day somehow, someway. It is a constant struggle.
An easy way to add movement is to get into the habit of walking places. Keep a comfortable pair of shoes at your desk (maybe some deodorant as well). Think about places nearby where you can walk to get your lunch. Grocery stores, sandwich shop, juice bar, Starbucks (maybe this one is reserved for an afternoon pick-me-up). If you have a meeting in a nearby building, leave your desk early and walk over.
Even easier, set a timer on your computer to go off every 20 minutes and when it goes off, stand up and stretch!
One of my favorite ways to add activity to the work day is to commute by bike. Lucky for me I live close to the office, and actually, living close to work by itself means less time sitting in the driver’s seat and hopefully more time moving. If you are a two car family, and one person is committed to bike commuting, you can sell one car, and save more money for your exit plan. There are a lot of logistics to think about when you plan to commute by bike, but in my opinion, it is a great way to start and end your work day and worth the planning.
You can see my Electra Townie above, which I love to ride to work, 7 speeds, bell on the handlebars, laptop and lunch in tow. In preparation for our exit, my husband has found a buyer for my beloved Townie! Hopefully, it will bring someone else some happiness.
Some things to think about if you are considering riding your bike to work:
- What route will you take to get there? Google maps has an option that will show you bike lanes and bike trails. You can study this to determine a route. If you have to cross a highway in your travels look for a walking bridge that crosses it somewhere. This is much safer than a highway on/off ramp area where there can be a lot of traffic. I recommend trying out your planned route on a weekend first to see if it will work and you can see approximately how long it will take you to get to work.
- Will you need to shower when you get to work? Some buildings do have shower facilities available, but if you are taking a shower now you have the added issue of all your toiletries and a towel. If there is no shower available or you don’t want to shower you can always freshen up with some wipes and deodorant.
- Will you need to change your clothes? This depends on the dress code at work, what type of riding you are doing, how fast you are going, how sweaty you will get, what type of bike you have. My thinking is if you have a nice big seat, a chain guard to keep the grease away, fenders to catch any dirt being thrown up and you go at a leisurely pace to keep the sweat down, you can wear your normal work clothes on the bike. If you want to change your clothes, now you need to store your work clothes at work somewhere. I have heard of people bringing all their clothes for the week in the car one day to work and storing them there then bringing them all home in the car another day.
- How will you carry your laptop back and forth? Some people put it in a backpack. I don’t like that idea because I think it would give me a sweaty back. I added baskets to the back of my bike and I bungee the laptop in for the ride.
- Where will you lock up your bike? Check out your building ahead of time and see where the bike racks are. If there are none, what can you lock your bike to? Can you bring it inside?
- What type of bike should you use? This depends on what you have available all ready (maybe you can fix up an old bike in the garage), how far you have to go (a long ride may require a road bike to go fast enough), will you be on busy roads or on an off road bike path with people walking their dogs and pushing strollers (you may like a bell for this type of riding).
- What about helmet hair? My way of dealing with this is to not wear a helmet and stay away from the cars as much as possible. If you have to wear a helmet you may need a hair dryer or flat iron at work. Or put your hair in a ponytail, what’s more important your health or your hairstyle while you are in your cube?
- What if it is raining or dark? Rain can be a deal breaker for me, but if you have the correct rain gear and you are serious, go for it! Darkness is no problem, just make sure you have lights on your bike front and back, preferably blinky lights so you can be seen by the cars. Make sure you keep them charged up or you carry extra batteries. Reflective clothing is helpful as well.
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