Ok, so your one of those people who just has the worst kind of
schedule known to mankind. You get up at 5am so you can get to
the office by 7am to start your day. You have to go to a
parent-teachers meeting at your kid's school right after work,
then you have to take your kid to soccer practice after that.
You seem to have days like this almost all the time. You never
seem to have much time for yourself between all of the things
you have to do every day, so how can you possibly find the time
to incorporate exercise into your day? Exercise takes time, and
time is one luxury you just don't have.
Well, there is a way to get some exercise into your day and that
way is to simply exercise at your desk. No, that was not a typo.
Here is a little routine that you can do right at your desk. It
doesn't take up much time and while it will not make you a
candidate for the next fitness competition, it will give your
muscles enough work to stay firm.
Complete one set of each exercise in order. Do 10 to 20
repetitions of each exercise, and follow with 1 to 2 more sets
in order if time permits it.
Chair crunch: Sit tall in your chair with your feet flat on the
floor. Begin to slowly round your upper back downward until you
feel your abdominal muscles tighten. Hold for 3-5 seconds, and
then return to the start position.
Squats: Stand up in front of your chair. Sit back into a squat
like you are sitting back down in your chair, keeping your
weight on your heels and your knees behind your toes. When you
are almost touching your chair with your butt, push yourself
back to the standing position using your leg muscles.
Calf raises: Stand in front of your desk and put your hands on
the desk for balance. Lift yourself up onto the balls of your
feet. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, and then lower yourself back down
to the floor.
Desk pushup: Stand 4 to 5 feet away from your desk and put of
your hands on the edge of the desk. Relax your lower body and
using just your arms, lower your chest down toward the desk and
stop when your chest is about 3 to 6 inches away from it. Then
push yourself back up to the starting position again using only
your arms.
Seated triceps lift backs: Sit tall in your chair. Put your arms
down at your sides with your palms facing forward. With your
arms strait and elbows locked, slowly bring your arms up behind
you until you feel your triceps muscles tighten. Hold for 3 to 5
seconds, then lower your arms back to the starting position.
Seated bicep curls: Sit tall in your chair. Start with one arm
down at your side, palm facing forward in a fist. Put your other
hand over your fist and push against it for resistance while
bringing your fist up toward your shoulder. Once your fist is
close to your shoulder, lower it back down to the starting
position maintaining constant resistance with the other hand
throughout the entire movement. Complete all repetitions for
that set, then switch sides and repeat.
After you have completed each exercise for the amount of
repetitions and sets you can do, sit down and straighten your
legs. Now gently reach for your toes until you feel you can't go
any further, hold for 10 seconds (do not bounce), then return to
the starting position. Next, reach your arms out to your sides
as far as you can. Keeping them fully extended, bring them
slowly to the front and cross them over each other as far as you
can. Hold for 10 seconds, and then return them to your sides.
Now, reach your arms over your head as far as you can, hold for
10 seconds, and then return them to your sides.
Taking the time to do this simple but effective exercise routine
at the office will help to keep you toned and you can do it even
with the worst schedule possible because it can be done during
your lunch break and still leave you enough time to eat your
lunch. Enjoy your workout.
About the author:
Jim O'Neill is a certified personal fitness trainer and also
holds a sports nutrition certification. He has been helping
people successfully achieve their weight loss and fitness goals
for over 15 years by staying on the cutting edge of weight loss
and fitness technology. To learn more about how you can benefit
from his easy to use weight loss and fitness programs go to:
http://www.mrgymhealth.com
