It may seem harmless to sit at your desk all day. However, it's taking a toll on your health. Sitting for extended periods of time has been linked to “sitting diseases.” These diseases include obesity, chronic joint pain, stiff neck, shoulder pain, anxiety, depression, varicose veins, diabetes, and heart disease.

In order to prevent any of these diseases, you must include physical activity at your desk. In this article, we'll discuss office exercise apps that can help keep you active while you're at work.

1) Office Workout—Exercises at Your Office Desk

The Office Workout app helps you manage your weight and health while working at your desk. In an ideal world, this app would cover a workday's worth of stretching exercises in an 8-hour cycle. Exercises do not require any special equipment. It's just you, a chair, and a table.

Additionally, the app offers tips on how to take care of your eyes, back, posture, belly fat, and stress while working. As a Pomodoro timer, you can set the countdown timer to 25 minutes (while you're working) and take a five-minute break (during your office exercises). Your reminder will go off to remind you to take your breaks and do your exercises. You even get reminders to drink water.

Download: Office Workout for Android (Free)

2) 100 Office Workouts

This app has over 100 office workout exercises which do not need any special equipment to do. The workouts are well-illustrated, and you can easily follow them. Under the exercises, there is a timer that you can set to the number of minutes you want to work out.

The exercises on the app include chair-bound routines, 60 Seconds HIIT circuits, lunch break workouts, no-sweat cardio, soreness and tension relief, step-away microcircuits, stress reduction, upper body only workouts, stretching for desk job fix, and office yoga.

The downside of the app is that it does not have a reminder like a Pomodoro timer. So you have to set a timer for yourself on when to work and when to do the exercises. Also, if you find it easier to follow animated exercise routines, the illustrations may not be as motivating. Lastly, you have to choose the exercises for yourself. So, if you prefer structure and clear guides, you may feel overwhelmed by the app.

Download: 100 Office Workouts for Android (Free)

3) 5 Quick Office Exercises

As the name suggests, the 5 Quick Office Exercises app, has 5 office exercises. They include neck stretches, shoulder raises, side bends, eye-rolling, and forward bends. The exercises are animated, easy to follow, and have reminders on when to do them.

The exercises are also grouped into three levels of difficulty that is easy, normal, and hard. So, you can choose the intensity you prefer depending on your fitness level. You can also document how much you have worked out, as the app comes with a workout log.

Download: 5 Quick Office Exercises for Android (Free)

4) Office Yoga

How about some yoga in the office? The Office Yoga app does that. It has yoga exercises you can do at your desk that are easy to follow and custom-made for different fitness levels. They start from easy, medium, to difficult. So, do not worry, you will not be doing any headstands.

The app also has a BMI calculator that you can use to calculate your BMI and see if you need to work on your weight. There is also a fitness log where you enter the exercises you have done for the day.

Download: Office Yoga for Android | iOS (Free)

5) Easy Workout Exercises on Your Office Chair

The app has 13 office chair exercises for you at your desk. These include chair arms, chair bicycle, chair circle, chair dip, chair extension, chair knee to elbow, chair push, the “big” hug, the “leg” hug, exercise ball, stand up and sit down, torso twist, and stretch arms.

The app tailors these exercises from beginner, intermediate, to advanced. So, you can choose the intensity you prefer. The app also has daily diet tips which you can follow to improve your nutrition while at the office.

Download: Easy Workout Exercises on Your Office Chair for Android (Free)

6) 7 Minute Workout

Do you have 7 minutes a day to spare in your day? Most probably you do. The 7-minute workout is based on the premise that anyone can carve out 7 minutes in their day and work out. The 7-minute workout helps you get the most out of every minute of your exercise, and you do not need any equipment to do the exercises. All you need is your body weight, a chair, and a wall.

Some of the exercises in the workout include jumping jacks, wall sits, push-up, abdominal crunch, step-up onto a chair, squat, triceps dip on a chair, plank, high knees/running in place, lunge, push-up, rotations, and side plank. These exercises work on the upper body, lower body, and core.

You can fit in the 7-minute workout at your desk and get a quick shot of physical activity. However, note that this exercise program condenses 7 minutes of workout. Therefore, it will be very intense.

Download: J&J Official 7 Minute Workout for Android | iOS (Free)

7) StretchIt

The StretchIt app is an app dedicated to helping you stretch and improve your flexibility. The app has classes (video demonstrations) of stretches that cater to every skill level, and you can do them easily at your office desk. The videos are 15, 30, and 45 minutes, so you can choose what is suitable for your time.

StretchIt has reminders on the app that make it easy for you to plan and work on your stretching goals. It also has a feature where you can take before and after pictures and see your progress. Additionally, you can download the stretching classes and practice them when you don't have an internet connection. The app comes with a free 7-day trial and has monthly access plans starting from $13.33 per month.

Download: StretchIt for Android | iOS (Free, In-App Purchases)

Stay Fit at Your Office Desk

Physical activity and staying healthy have become increasingly difficult in modern times. Much of the workforce today consists of knowledge workers who spend much of their workday at their office desks.

The result is a rise in sitting diseases, as indicated earlier, that can be avoided if only some activity is part of the daily routine. So, go ahead and exercise at your desk while using one of these apps.