How to Keep Muscle Mass in an Office Job

If you work an office job, being sedentary is almost inevitable. For example, a 2018 survey found that over 80% of office workers in the UK spent between four and nine hours chained to their desks each day. 

All that time sitting down isn't going to help towards your training goals. The good news is that, if you’re thinking about how to keep muscle mass in an office job, there are plenty of things you can do to stay fit. 

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How much of an issue being sedentary really is

• Diet tips for how to keep muscle mass in an office job

• General ideas for how to stay fit at a desk job

• Desk-based exercises you could try

How much of an issue is being sedentary for muscle mass?

We all know that regular exercise is important for staying healthy. And if you’re looking to build strength and muscle, regular resistance training is vital. However, having an office job where you’re sitting at your desk for several hours each day isn’t necessarily a problem for your muscle mass - as long as you’re active enough generally

If you want to build muscle mass, studies show that two to three weekly resistance training sessions will lead to hypertrophy (muscle growth). And, these sessions don’t need to be incredibly long - anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour is generally considered enough. 

So, as long as you can still get to the gym at least twice a week, having a desk job isn’t the worst thing in the world. By following a consistent training regime, you can still build muscle. Indeed, working in an office might actually be preferable to having an active job, since you’ll likely have more energy for productive gym sessions. 

And while being consistent is essential for building muscle, periods of non-exercise are OK. Studies have shown that it can take several weeks, or even months, to lose strength if you’re already fit. So, if you’ve got a couple of super busy weeks ahead at work, your body will forgive you for missing a few strength training sessions. 

Protein while paper pushing

If you have a desk job, arguably the best thing you can do for your muscle mass at work is to think about your diet. Specifically, you should be looking to consume enough protein to help your body efficiently build muscle. 

The exact amount depends on your body weight and your goals, but research suggests that you’ll need to eat about 1.6 grams of protein per kilo of body weight each day. So, someone who weighs 70 kg would need to consume 112 g of protein per day to build muscle. 

What’s more, experts generally recommend consuming protein throughout the day, every four hours or so. Your body only uses dietary protein to build muscle for 4-5 hours after eating it, so spacing it out means your body will be effectively building muscle all day long. 

If you’re thinking about how to keep muscle mass in an office job, your focus should be on consuming protein throughout the working day. Assuming you have regular 9-5 office hours, it might look something like this:

• Breakfast at home: Eat a quarter of your daily protein needs.

• Mid-morning snack: Eat about 12.5% of your daily protein needs (e.g. a protein bar or a hard-boiled egg). 

• Lunch: Eat a quarter of your daily protein needs with a nutritionally complete instant meal. 

• Afternoon snack: Eat about 12.5% of your daily protein needs (e.g. drink a high-protein meal at your desk). 

• Dinner: Eat your remaining daily protein allowance. 

Related: How to eat when building muscle

How to stay active with a desk job

The health risks associated with inactivity are well documented, so it’s really helpful to think about how to stay fit with a desk job. What’s more, lots of research has shown that making small changes to how you move at work can lead to big rewards in terms of stress, well-being, and energy levels. 

We’ve broken down our tips for how to be more active with a desk job into three categories:

1. Changes to your physical movements around work

2. Changes to your working environment itself

3. Exercises to do at your desk

1. How to get exercise at a desk job

The following suggestions look at ways you can increase your overall activity in and around the office. 

• Do an active commute

Probably the most effective way to fit exercise around your office job is by having an active commute. Cycling and running to the office are ideal if you live close enough. If you take the train, bus or tube, try to find ways to extend walking time (e.g. get off public transport a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way). It’s harder to be an active commuter if you drive, but you can still get some walking in by, for instance, parking at the far end of the office car park. 

• Always take the stairs

If you’re thinking about how to stay fit with a desk job, there are few things better than taking the stairs. According to one study, climbing stairs burns seven times more calories than taking the lift - and the benefits from walking down are almost as good as going up. 

• Hit the gym at lunch

Fitting your training sessions on your lunch hour can be a great idea, assuming there’s a gym near your office. As long as you’re quick, you should be able to fit an effective strength training routine into 30 minutes, which should leave time to shower, get changed, and have a quick meal.

• Set a movement alert

There are plenty of apps (or simple diary alerts) that can remind you to get up and be active for a couple of minutes. This could be as simple as doing a quick walk around the office or doing some of the desk-based exercises listed below. 

2. How to change your workspace to encourage activity

There are several things you can do to change your office workspace which will encourage you to be more active. You might have to check with HR or make requests with the office manager, but many employers will be happy to help. 

• Sit on an exercise ball

Sitting on an exercise ball at your desk may help with your general fitness and strength by making you continually engage your core as you balance. Do note that there is some debate about the pros and cons of sitting on exercise balls at work. Nonetheless, some people swear by them, and you might find it a useful technique to do some of the time (e.g. sitting on the ball for one hour per day). 

• Get a standing desk

Again, there’s some debate among ergonomics experts about the pros and cons of standing desks. But the idea is that they encourage you to move more while working, rather than just being slumped over your keyboard. 

• Get a walking desk

A walking desk is essentially a treadmill combined with a standing desk. They take quite a bit of getting used to, but they can really help with increasing your daily step count. 

• Get an under-desk bike

Allowing you to pedal while sitting in your office chair, under desk bikes let you stay active all day long. 

Related: 50 Everyday Ways to Make Yourself a Little Bit Fitter (Without All the Sweat)

3. Simple exercises at your desk

Want to keep using your muscles at work? Try building a few mini-workouts into your daily routine. 

Now, performing the following exercises in the middle of an open-plan office might draw some interesting reactions, so you might want to think about doing them somewhere quiet (e.g. in an empty meeting room). If you work from home, however, the following routine would be super easy to fit in whenever you have a spare moment. 

It goes without saying, but use your discretion when deciding whether or not it’s safe or appropriate to do any of the following exercises at work.

• Squats x 5

Perform simple air squats, or grab a pack of printer paper for added weight. 

• Planks 30 seconds

If you have more time available, extend your plank for longer. 

• Lunges x 10

As with squats, you can do bodyweight lunges, or hold light weights in your hands (e.g. bottles of water). 

• Press ups x 10

Try different hand spacing to increase or reduce the difficulty. 

• Single-leg bodyweight deadlift

From standing, hinge your body forward while one leg swings back, so your body makes a T-shape. Once again, holding a bag of printer paper can add some additional resistance. 

More ideas: How to build muscle outside the gym

Learning how to stay fit while working long hours at an office can really pay dividends. From eating the right food to changing your commuting routines or even doing mini-workouts at your desk, there are tons of small changes you can make to stay active, healthy, and happy.