Sitting all day? Lower back pain from weak glutes? Try this: stand up, hands on desk, legs 6 inches apart & knees slightly bent. Keep one leg firm on the floor & swing the other leg backward, keeping it stiff & toes pointed to the ground – feel the muscles on the back of the leg and bottom of your butt contracting on the leg you’re swinging. Go slow & hold at top for 1-2 seconds, repeat 12-15 times each leg.
Try these tips to get more exercise during the day: Take the stairs whenever you can & try 2 steps at a time or criss-cross the legs across and in front of the other as you ascend the stairs. If you drive to work, park far away from the entrance, during lunch go for a walk around the block or building. While sitting at your desk you can tap your feet. All of this can burn more calories trough out the day.
Take the Betz Method Phone Challenge: every time the phone rings at your desk, stand up, place your hands on your desk about shoulder width apart, feet about 2-3 feet away from the desk and legs spread, now do desk assisted pushups until you pick up the line or try to go for the length of the phone call (on speaker or headset). To make it more challenging place your feet further away from your desk.
To strengthen your abs while sitting at your desk, contract your mid section, exhale & hold for 6-8 seconds, repeat 4-6 times. While sitting, keep back upright, shoulders back & down, contract midsection & lift one foot of the floor, bringing the knee as high as you can, hold up for 1-2 seconds & then switch legs, do 10-12 times. Now, the best exercises to actually SEE your abs are interval sprinting and dieting.
Another office ab exercise: sitting crunches! While sitting, feet flat on the floor, knees and hips bent at 90 degrees, put your left hand behind your head & your right hand on the arm of your chair or your hip, now bring your left elbow across your body & your right knee across toward your elbow, try to touch them hold for 2 seconds and exhale, repeat 10-12 times & then switch to opposite arm and knee.
During the day at your desk, stand as much as possible, tap your feet and every hour stand up, take a wide stance, feet parallel, bend your knees a bit, tighten your glutes and bend back slightly, lock your fingers and start to lift your arms over head and bring the back of your hands to the back of your thighs. Take several deep breaths. You will help get more air into your body and BRAIN.
While sitting at your desk, keep your shoulders back and down, head up high, looking straight ahead. Keep one leg on the floor, knee bent, the other leg extended straight out, pull the toes toward your knee and lift this leg as high as you can. This will help loosen up your ham strings while working your stomach muscles. Repeat 10-12 times and then switch legs and repeat for 3-4 sets.
How about some seated calf raises? In your chair, knees & hips bent, push your toes into the ground lifting your heels and for more resistance, cross your legs. Another good variation is just to tap your toes 10-12 reps fro 3-4 sets, just by tapping your toes through the day you will burn more calories than sitting still. See how many you can do in say 30 seconds to start and then keep adding time.
Push Prayers! Sit or stand but always keep your shoulders back & down with your eyes on the horizon, put your hands in front of your chest palm to palm, now press your hands together & squeeze your chest muscles, keep the pressure and now do 10 circles to the front, 10 circles to the rear, clasp your fingers and pull. Think of using your back muscles, do 10 circles to the front & then 10 circles to the rear.
This is great for left brain-right brain connection. I do it every week with my son’s soccer team (yes I am a soccer dad just like everyone else!) Stand up, bring your hands up, elbows bent at 90 degrees. Now bring your left knee to your chest and touch your left knee with your right hand. Bring your right knee up and touch it with your left hand. These diagonal patterns help stimulate the brain.
Standing up, hands by your sides, try to bring your left heel to your butt and tap it with your right hand crossed over behind your back and switch right heel to left hand, alternate and repeat for 20 contacts.
This exercise stimulates the meridians of the face & helps you WAKE UP during a long day at the office. Open your hands, palms facing you, using your pointer, middle and ring fingers, tap gently over your eyes, above your eye brow for 10 counts, below your eyes on the side of your nose for 10 count, above your upper lip for 10 count, your chin & finally on the side of your head, go all around the sides of your head.
Here’s an advanced exercise for the back of the arms while at your desk: turn away from your desk so your rear is close to the edge, place your hands on the desk, feet on the floor. Now bend your elbows toward the desk as you also bend your knees to lower your body. Repeat this exercise until you feel like you won’t be able to get back up. Once you can do this 20 times, elevate one foot off the floor.
Golf and tennis fanatics! This is a quick and fun grip exercise. Go to the copy machine and grasp a unopened ream of paper, place the thumb on one side and all four fingers on the other side (pinch grip). Now, just squeeze for hand strength and switch. To make this more challenging, put a glossy magazine on either side, this will make the ream of paper want to slip out and you therefore have to increase your grip.
How about some Office Paper Curls! Take the unopened ream of paper and pinch grip it by placing your thumb on one side and fingers on the other, you can do this sitting or standing – place your arm straight at your side now bend your elbow toward your upper arm. Don’t go too fast, repeat for 10 to 12 reps and switch arms.
Grab a ream of paper firmly with both hands, place it overhead palms facing each other and your upper arms close to your ears, now bend your elbows letting the paper go down toward the back of your head, keep the upper arm close to your ears, now extend the elbows back to the starting position. Repeat for 10-12 reps, 3-4 sets.
Standing at your desk, place one arm on the desk, bend over slightly with slightly bent knees, in the other arm, grip a unopened ream of paper, this arm is next to your torso bent at 90 degrees. Move the ream of paper backward, straightening this arm for about 1 second and then return to starting position. Do 10-12 reps then switch arms and perform 3-4 sets.
Either sitting or standing at your desk, pinch grip the ream of paper, bend your arm in front of your body and hold the paper by your shoulder, now press the paper to the ceiling, by extending your arm, taking 1 to 2 seconds and then lower the ream taking 3-4 seconds, perform 10-12 reps then switch arms and repeat for 3-4 sets.
Another great shoulder exercise for the office to try is sitting down at your desk, grab a ream of unopened paper with both hands out in front of you and simply raise and lower the ream with both hands from knees to eyes. You can progress to one arm and then one arm to the side raising the paper from hip to shoulder.
Desk Squat Time! Stand at your desk, feet straight, eyes on the horizon. Let your hips move back as you bend your knees. Go down to a comfortable point and then stand back up, remember to take about 3-4 seconds going down and about 1-2 seconds coming back up, perform 15- 20 reps and 3-4 sets. You can place your hands on your desk for balance.
A squat variation is as follows: spread the legs, point your toes outward so you’re standing like a penguin, the descent on this is just a knee bend, go down in 3-4 seconds, but as you come back up, really think about using your inner thighs to lock out your knees. Repeat for 15-20 reps and 3-4 sets.