Jan 24, 2020

Burn Calories at Work

An 11 stone man will burn approximately 100 calories an hour sitting working at his desk¹. That’s only about 50 more than sleeping!

Using a standing desk improves things a little (typically an extra 6-20 calories an hour²). The muscles still aren’t very active… but at least you have to fight gravity a bit more… using your postural muscles and returning blood to the heart. But it is obviously not enough and has down-sides; ‘walking desks’ are better but impractical for most.

Doubling your metabolic rate while working… now that would soon add up! Once you’re used to it you can easily use BionicGym at a low level that will cause a slow burn of calories. For instance, just an extra one or two hundred calories per hour… not enough to make you sweat or be breathless (only equivalent to walking or less) … but cumulatively enough to make a big impact. Calorie counting tends to be counter-productive but, in simple terms, an extra 3-4 hours of low-level exercise per day may be just what you need to tip the balance.

Sped Up video of using BionicGym working. Second half is at high intensities ... not for most! At lower levels you can do this for hours with no sweat.

[To continue watching the full video ...using it at high intensity click here ]

Much more important than the calories is the glucose (sugar) consumption. We mostly control our blood sugar levels by either sinking it in muscles or turning it into fat. Let’s encourage the muscles to soak up the sugar. If you are sitting, standing or doing low intensity exercise you tend not to use up much sugar. Due to a quirk in the physiology and how we target particular muscle fibers, the stimulation – even at low levels – happily soaks up more sugar than equivalent ‘normal’ exercise³.

MEDICAL Note: Type 1 diabetics may need to adjust their insulin levels. You should discuss this with your doctor. Pre-diabetics / Type 2 diabetics should also be aware that this may affect your glucose levels. Before undertaking vigorous exercise of any sort, including BionicGym, you should check with your doctor that this is safe and appropriate for you.

Calorie expenditure / oxygen burnt at different intensities

Forget calories… think of your health!

“Sitting is the new smoking”… while possibly not quite that bad… hours sitting everyday has very serious health effects. For instance, a big Dutch study showed “an extra hour of sedentary time was associated with a 22% increased odds for type 2 diabetes and a 39% increased odds for the metabolic syndrome.”⁴

We appear to need to contract our muscles and keep moving them during the day. It seems that even going to the gym a few times a week can’t counteract the deterioration that occurs in between. “Even when adults meet physical activity guidelines, sitting for prolonged periods can compromise metabolic health. TV time and objective-measurement studies show deleterious associations, and breaking up sedentary time is beneficial.”⁵

Tips for exercising at work:

Get used to it: when you first put on your shirt in the morning you feel it. Then after a while you don’t… your nervous system begins to shut it out. Same with BionicGym.

Use it at levels you will use it!: If you find it too intrusive at intensity 20 try 15. People usually find they can increase the intensity with time.

Try the zones: different people like different BionicGym-Zones depending on the position, and even intensity.

Some people find the workout “Less Cardio more Discreet” more suitable for the workplace.

Stand too! Most people can happily work at higher levels standing. Note the laptop and in particular the screen should be high – you don’t want to be hunched over.

NOTE: If you only intend using BionicGym at work / low intensities you only need the STANDARD product (Click here to ORDER)
If you want to push yourself and train hard too Get the PRO-HIIT (Click here)

Myself, I sometimes use BionicGym at work just to perk myself up. Sitting all day I often feel groggy… so a bit of BionicGym helps me there too.