Staying fit while holding down a full-time job is a challenge for us all. How can you exercise while chained to your desk?
Two inventive U.S. scientists have come up with a "vertical workstation." The office equivalent of the hamster wheel, this allows workers to stomp away while typing and telephoning.
Its inventors, Professor James Levine and Jennifer Miller of the Mayo Clinic, in Minnesota, say that using it for a couple of hours a day could help obese staff shed up to 65 pounds a year. But until you get your own vertical workstation, what else can you do to stay fit in the office? Here are 20 ideas.
1. The seated spine twist exercise: Sit at the edge of your chair (or sideways on the chair, if this is easier) with your feet firmly on the floor.
Put your right hand on your left knee, and, keeping your spine straight and tall, take a deep breath into the back of your rib cage and turn gently to your left.
As you exhale, gently draw your belly button back towards your spine, and let the spine unravel a little. With all of these exercises, try to breathe in a natural way; don't force the breath, or hold it too long. If you're stiff, don't stay too long in the twist, but repeat it a couple of times, then do the movement to the other side. Repeat to the other side. Don't do this if you have disc problems.
2. Back stretch: Stand a few feet back from your desk then bend forward from the hips, placing your hands flat on the desk (shoulder-width apart), until your spine is straight. Pull back gently in your hips, so that you feel a slight stretch in your spine. Take a few breaths in this position, allowing your stomach to flop like a blancmange as you breathe in.
Then pull the stomach muscle back to the spine as you exhale, letting the shoulders loosen and the spine unkink.
This will stretch out the back and take pressure off the spine
3. Join a running club. Running in your local park with like-minded souls is a great way to shake off stress. Find out if there's already a running club in your area. If not, take the initiative and start one yourself.
4. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. This isn't hard, but it requires mental strength to do it each time. If you don't have stairs, walk up the escalator, rather than hitching a ride.
5. Gentle back extension: Stand up and link your hands behind your back. Breathe in and gently draw your shoulder muscles downwards on your back (think of moving the shoulder blades down an inch or two). Next, exhale and lift your linked hands away from your bottom.
This will gently extend the spine, bending it from the direction it usually slumps into when bent over a keyboard.
It will also loosen the muscles across the front of the chest, which often tighten under stress.
6. Make sitting an activity. "If you sit on a big exercise ball, you will have to use your stomach muscles so that you don't fall off," says Kathryn Freeland of Absolute Fitness in London. "It will work your core, your tummy and back muscles."
7. The powerball gyro: Weighing about five pounds, the tennis ball-sized Powerball gyro spins at 15,000 rpm and applies more than 40 pounds of force to your fingers, hands, wrists and arms. If used for five to 10 minutes every day, it promises to strengthen the muscle groups of your lower arms and wrist within weeks.
8. Leg lifts: Sit tall with good posture. Keep your stomach muscles in so that this doesn't hurt your back. Extend one leg so thighs are parallel, lift one leg up, hold for 10 seconds then down. This will work your core muscles as well as your legs.
9. Take office exercise class. Many exercise teachers will come and teach in the office. Find some colleagues who also need a break, find a space, find the time then summon professionals who can tailor any class, from Pilates to resistance work or self defense, to your specific requirements.
10. Leave your desk regularly. Don't just use a break from the computer screen to save your eyes; stretch your legs and hike away from your desk for a few minutes. Visit a colleague on the other side of the office. Or better still, just climb the nearest set of stairs.
11. The beneficial slump: Back bends are energizing; forward bends are calming. To make the most of a simple forward bend, stand up tall, then drop your chin to your chest, allow your sternum to soften, and let the weight of your head pull you slowly down, vertebra by vertebra.
Keep your feet anchored and parallel and knees "soft", i.e. don't lock them straight as you bend. Let the weight of your head hang heavy, rather than crunching up your neck and let your arms dangle like an orangutan.
12. Yoga neck stretch: Sitting upright in your chair with your feet firmly on the floor, drop your right ear towards your right shoulder. Reach your right arm up above left ear, and place it, palm down, on your head above the ear. Push down gently with your palm as you exhale to give the neck a gentle stretch. Don't tense the neck or push too hard. This helps alleviate tension in the neck.
13. Pelvic floor exercises: These are beneficial for men as well as for women.
Squeeze in your pelvic floor and release. As it gets stronger, do the pelvic elevator -- lift to the first floor, second floor, third floor, then come down the same way. Do that without moving the rest of your body.
14. Exercise as you commute. "Walk, run or ride a bicycle part or all of the way to work," advises Kathryn Freeland. "You might walk one day, cycle another day, or just run home once a week. If you can't run that distance, start by walking with two-minute bursts of jogging, and build up. It will save money, de-stress you and pack your exercise into the same amount of time that you would normally spend on public transport."
15. Take up a team sport. Take up a team sport, such as baseball or basketball, which you could play after work or at lunchtime.
16. Supercharged walking: Make walking to work a proper workout with footwear that makes your body work harder. Certain shoes can give your body the feeling that it's walking on uneven ground and forces you to use more core muscles to keep yourself stable. Fitflops, the latest idea from Marcia Kilgore (the brains behind the Bliss spas), are the newest brand of this type of shoe.
17. "Cow" arms: Reach your right arm up straight above your shoulder, without pushing your head out of alignment, then hinge it at the elbow so that your hand drops down behind your head, and let it rest at the back of your neck.
Bend your left arm up your back behind your left shoulder blade. The aim is for your hands to meet in the middle. If they do, great. Clasp them loosely and take a few breaths in that position. If they don't meet, bridge the gap between them by holding a belt or tie in both hands. Don't push into this position, just follow your natural rhythm of breath. Then do the exercise to the other side.
This is a great position for releasing tension in the upper back and shoulders.
18. Swap your killer heels for yoga sandals. As you pad about the office on your screen breaks, improve your balance and posture with the aid of a pair of yoga sandals. These have toe separators that massage around the toes as you walk, while the molded sole helps the body into better alignment. They are a great antidote to high heels which thrust the weight of the body forwards and off balance.
19. Buttock squeezes: Gluteal muscles can slack easily from not being used. But they are one of the easiest muscles to target, too. Squeeze your buttocks together as hard as you can and release as many times as you can.
Try three sets of 20 to start with. This will tone your gluteal muscles and make your backside that much firmer.
20. Give yourself a seated workout. There are numerous devices available that go beneath your desk and power your way to shapely legs while you work. Some also have a calorie counter that shows how long you need to pedal to burn off that mid-morning latte. The effort of combining typing with pedaling will also improve your coordination.
Source: Evening Standard; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by YellowBrix.
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