Staying active during the colder months can be a challenge for many employees and is a problem found across the nation. According to a study by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health, nearly 50% of adults in the U.S. admit that they don’t engage in the recommended 30 minutes, five days a week of moderate physical activity or the recommended 20 minutes, three times a week of vigorous activity. As part of building a company culture of health, we have provided several desk exercises that can be passed on to keep employees healthy this winter.
 
These maneuvers use common items that can be found in most offices and will help to increase productivity by raising staff’s energy levels. Using a productivity platform, such as Continuwell, managers can send out push notifications to employees throughout the winter to encourage taking a couple minutes to perform one of these exercises.
Wrist & Ankle Rolls
Wrist & ankle rolls can help those joints from being stiff while also strengthening them. This exercise is especially good for those employees who spend long periods of time typing on the computer.
To see how to do ankle rolls, check out . Wrist rolls can be done the same as ankle rolls.
Stress Balls
Stress balls reduce stress, improve wrist strength, and help stretch the muscles in the fingers and forearms. They are also great for getting blood circulating. There are several techniques that stress balls can be used in.

• Simply squeeze for a count of three, then relax and repeat.
• Pinch the ball with the thumb and one finger at a time, holding for a count of three and repeat.
• For a relaxing palm massage, roll the ball against a table with the palm.

Calf Raises
Calf raises are great for strengthening the ankles – something that may not happen sitting in an office chair all day. This is also a small workout that will train ankles to have more control when moving weight from one side to the other.

• Start by standing with both feet on the ground, fairly close to one another. Begin lifting your body up until you are standing on your tip-toes. Slowly lower your body back down to your heels.

Chair Push-Ups
This exercise is simple as employees can simply use their office chairs.

• Position a chair against the wall. Then, placing hands on the armrests raise your body to a straight angle. Raise your body up and down using your arms positioned on the armrest to create a push-up.

Winter can be a difficult time for employees to be motivated to exercise. Using these tips, managers can help keep employees moving, even if it is just at their desk. For more tips on how to better create a culture of health at your office, subscribe to Continuwell’s blog or contact us.