Workout at Work- It works!
You’re doing a great job at work, but a bad job on your waist. You work 50 hours a week or more and spend the other half of your time commuting to and from your humble home- the office. As your time dwindles your waistline flourishes and before you know it you’ve expanded your clothes size while trying to expand your horizons. Read on if this describes you and find out how nowadays offices can become mini fitness havens.
Walk inside a typical office you’ll see Jack in accounting e-mailing Jill in sales…Jill’s desk is the next cubicle over. Co-workers send each other e-mail files instead of bringing over a printed copy to one another, and office meetings are conference calls put through to another office one block down. Technology has made many folks in the office immobile- that would make anyone gain a few pounds. In an effort to get to work on time the diligent worker will skip breakfast, get hungry en route and consult a drive thru or jam a donut down at work in favor of not completely starving themselves, but inhaling 700 calories down in one to two gulps. When the worker gets home late, they just eat something quick, easy and calorific. All is not lost, you can saw goodbye to a sluggish metabolism from sporadic meals and latent moments at the office will be deceased.
It’s called the work workout and makeover challenge, we made that up, but here are some helpful ways to get healthy at work and maybe even get your boss on board. Some office bosses have actually financed corporate gym passes or a teacher to come in and instruct half hour fitness sessions there’s a need for workplace health and everyone is on board it seems. Health departments for governments the world over have even funded healthy workplace iniatiaves that go towards workplace improvements like fitness classes, walking and biking clubs and stress reduction programs. Employer- sponsored weight-loss programs give the modern day worker more incentive to achieve good health, but it can start simply, with you.
Be the person to come forward and ask your boss for a little release of endorphins and guarantee it will boost work productivity- an office treadmill, walking club or group fitness session will do.
The Desk Workout - The typical desk workout can take about five minutes. Try these:
Torso twist ( sitting and keeping your hips straight while turning your chest left and right, keep the belly tenses back as you do)
Wall push- ups (arms shoulder distance apart treat the wall like the floor and press- 10 will do)
Jump rope- bring a jump rope to the office and jump twenty times, bring out the kid in you.
Seated abs- sit in you chair with your back away from the support and practice lifting one leg at a time and holding it as you work- the foot should hover about 2 inches off the ground and you should feel it in your lower belly, switch feet and march!
Eat breakfast - Don’t let your commute kill you. Even if it’s a breakfast bar and orange juice, skipping breakfast can slow your metabolism and when it slows down it wants more, and in large amounts, so quell the need to binge with breakfast.
Start an office fund and have everyone contribute to healthy snacks, including fruit, vegetables, low-fat yogurt, low-fat whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pretzels, and trail mix. If no one’s on board do one big shop a week and get your own, others will follow. If you snack on trail mix one handful is 75 calories), then you might not crave a muffin and mocha ( 800 calories).
You have two feet and a heart beat- get walking! Instead of sending an email, instant messaging coworkers, or phoning them-get up and visit them in person. Take the stairs and wear leg weights. Drink lots of water, keep a large bottle filled at your desk all day and keep on chuggin. Water cleanses the body, suppresses appetite and helps you sweat out toxins from air, food and the environment.
Stress – Be in charge of your own Stres-stiny- stress in the workplace may causes many people to crave the quickest carbohydrates (including sugar) they can grab. Stress can also leads to an after work drink to take the edge off and put the pounds on. Alcohol is loaded with sugar and calories. There’s also a sneaky little hormone called cortisol and it spreads when there’s stress. Fighting traffic and stressing about your work “worth” elevates cortisol, which affects the way you digest, and how quickly your body heals from illness. So, step one is being aware that you’re stressed (heart rate up, breath shallow, sleep minimal) and take a deep few breaths, learn a meditation technique (they can be quick and easy) and watch sugar, it elevates cortisol levels.
Replace Your Chair with a Balance Ball – or take away your comfy chair with a seat back and get a good height stool to perch on. Forcing your body to balance strengthens your core muscles and helps burn more calories.
