Greening the Workday Workout

This year, weight loss and exercise are the top New Year’s resolutions, according to a poll conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

If these New Year’s resolutions sounds familiar, incorporate the ideas below to lower the eco footprint of your fitness and weight-loss routine. 

1) Before you purchase the gym pass, explore the great outdoors.  Stepping right outside the office and going for a run not only cuts back on carbon emissions, but also time.  With only an hour lunch break, fitting in the drive to the gym can be stressful. 

2) Exercise DVDs.  If you workout before or after the workday, be on the lookout for exercise DVDs.  Send an email to coworkers for borrowing exercise DVDs, or suggest an exchange.  Also, consider signing up for online yoga classes through YogaToday or YogaGlo, or picking up some workout DVDs from the local library, suggests Alexis Petru on Earth911.

3) If the weather keeps you in the gym, find a workout partner and choose a gym nearby.  That way, you and a coworker can share rides to the gym, help to motivate one another and cut back on miles traveled.  In between workouts, encourage your gym to adopt green practices, says Alexis Petru on Earth911.  From replacing broken machines with energy efficient ones, offering recycling, to installing low-flow showerheads, there are many ways the gym can lower its footprint.   

4) Keep a few reusable water bottles on hand.  Never have the excuse of forgetting your reusable water bottle, and consider having more than one on hand in places like the office kitchen cabinet, the car, near your desk, or in the gym bag.  That way you'll also remember to stay hydrated.  If you have to use a plastic water bottle, remember to recycle it. Producing new plastic products from recycled materials, instead of virgin materials, reduces energy use by two-thirds, reports Earth911. 

Fitting in time to workout each day, also means being organized.  Set aside some time to organize your desk, or your office before you start the workout routine.  From desktop literature organizers, to ProFormance Crocodile Embossed Pencil Cups, to bookends made from recycled materials, EcoGreenOffice offers  a variety of desktop accessories and workspace organizers for getting things in order the environmentally friendly way. 

Before you start your ecofriendly fitness routine, get organized with supplies from EcoGreenOffice made from recycled materials.  The Recycled Plastic Desk Drawer Organizer Tray pictured above is made from 100 percent recycled content.