BLESS N°40 whatwasitagain from BLESS on Vimeo.

The constant battle between long working hours and a prevailing pressure to get fit is a persisting dilemma for the modern city-dwellers. A working day for most of us is more often than not a non-active one. However, there have been a number of proposed solutions, we recently saw Canadian designer Darryl Agawin create No Sweat!, an office furniture set that easily converts into exercise equipment.

Workout Computer by designers Ines Kaag and Desiree Heiss of fashion/design studio, Bless, also encourages physical exercise within an office environment. To remedy the typical ergonomic aches and pains so familiar to office workers, their project encourages rigorous movement at your desk. Punch bags of various sizes are set up around a computer screen each displaying a different letter, number or character. Some appear on the floor to be trodden on, others are suspended from the ceiling or positioned on the desk. Larger ones are free-standing, expanding into a sort of mini gym. Typing becomes a full-body experience as each time you come into contact with a punch bag; its character appears on the screen.

Whether or not the Workout Computer will have a practical application in the office space remains to be seen, but in the meantime it's is on show at Galata Greek Primary School for the Istanbul Design Biennial 2014, where visitors are invited to try it out.