2018 Issue

37 I t is hard to believe that given the medical studies and the recent media that there are many of us who have not picked up on the idea that exercise is not only good for you, but an essential part of being efficient and alert throughout the day. Being alert helps us communicate with our clients more effectively, and helps us come across as intelligent and quick witted as we are better able to answer difficult questions. You may be a genius, but if you come across as “slow” your clients may not trust you as much as they would if you are alert. According to a 2006 report in the "Primary Care Compan- ion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry," exercise improves mental alertness by reducing feelings of tiredness and increasing stamina and energy levels. How does one do this at the office? Most of us as engineers are confined to our office almost all day. Most of us have families and interests outside of the office and can’t afford even ½ hour before or after work in a gym. I would suggest that you can put in as much as 30 minutes of healthy activities while you are sitting at your desk or while you are in the office. The first thing one can do is to avoid elevators and simply take the stairs. People pay good money to go to gyms with “stair masters”, and since most offices have stairs, it’s a simple option available to us. If you are feeling like you’re not getting enough of a work out, then accelerate on the straight-aways and take two at a time every other flight. Another option is standing, yes standing. While standing isn’t a traditional exercise, research shows it is better for you than sitting. Long periods of sitting are linked to in- creased risk of diabetes, obesity and a handful of other dis- eases. Should you stand all day? That is up to you. I suggest that you alternate between standing and sitting throughout the day. One thing I do is stand when the phone rings and remain standing during the conversations. Another way is to encourage others in your office to stand during meetings. We don’t print as much as we used to, but we still do print things out. I like to do calf raises while I wait for my calcu- lations or construction documents to be printed. Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, press up onto the tippy toes, pause at the top, then lower back down. Repeat for three sets of 12-15 reps, or until the printing is done. If you get bored, or want to amp things up, try raising only one leg at a time. One doesn’t have to have a weight set in the office to do a set of curls. I suggest using a simple office stapler. Starting at thigh level, bend the elbow and curl the arm up towards the chest, just like a regular bicep curl. Pause momentarily then lower the stapler back down. Continue for 12-15 reps, then switch. If this isn’t working for you, try using a filled water bottle. These are just a few that I use. I’m sure you can think of many more. There are many articles written about this online and can be found with a simple “Google” search. The key is to stay active during the day and avoid sitting for long periods of time. These, and other exercises, will help keep one healthy and alert during the day, and I sincerely believe that this will help us be better engineers. Matthew Roblez is a board certified li- censed structural engineer. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He has served as the American Society of Civil Engineers Utah Section President an unprecedented three times. He is a pub- lished technical author and also a profes- sional lecturer. He currently is an owner of McNeil Engineer- ing and serves as the chairman of the ASCE Utah Section State and Government Relations Committee. Staying Fit in the Office By Matthew Roblez, S.E., SECB Past President ASCE Utah Section