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OT - Tone-up Tuesday

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Stuck at your desk on a looooooong call? Arse aching and legs/back stiff, but some folks can't seem to STFU? Frustrating, to say the least. Sitting all day may be just about the worst thing you can do to your body. Your muscles burn less fat and blood flows more slowly. To top it off, there’s greater risk of high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and extra belly inches. Even if you make time for daily workouts, sitting slumped in front of a computer the rest of the day can undo many of those benefits. Regularly getting up out of your chair and moving around helps to offset some of these issues. Ideally, you should get up every hour (at the least) and walk around - walk stairs if you can. But it’s not always possible if you’re practically chained to your desk. Here are ways to burn calories at your desk!

TIGHTEN YOUR ABS

Act like that guy on the beach trying to impress the ladies. SUCK IT IN!! Hold 5 seconds, release, and repeat 10 times. As it gets easier, increase your hold time.

TIGHTEN YOUR ABS ADVANCED

Sit tall on the edge of your chair and cross your arms over your chest. Inhale and squeeze (flex) your abdominal muscles lightly. Without relaxing your stomach muscles, exhale slowly, squeezing your abs in tighter and turning your upper body to the right. Inhale and twist back to center. Then repeat to the left. Work up to 3 sets of 20 alternating reps.

TARGET LOWER ABS

Lift your feet a couple inches off the ground, kick them out and bring them back down. Repeat as many times as you can.

TONE YOUR LEGS 1

Straighten out your legs until they’re parallel to the ground and focus on tightening your quads (the muscles in front of your thighs). Hold a few seconds and slowly lower back down and immediately repeat. For greater resistance, rest one foot over the opposite ankle for added weight as you straighten your leg. Plus, practice rolling up onto the balls of your feet while squeezing your calves. Hold and release as you bring heels back to the floor.

TONE YOUR LEGS 2

Starting with both feet flat on the floor, do leg lifts, starting first with the right leg and then the left. Lift each leg until it touches the underside of your desk. Do ten sets of eight reps to strengthen your thigh muscles and your core.

WORK YOUR CALVES

Give your calf muscles a work out by raising your legs up on the very tips of your toes while remaining seated. Your calf muscles should start to burn after a few seconds. Hold for ten seconds and then repeat eight times.

BUNS OF STEEL (no, we're not talking about stale baked goods!)

Clench your buttocks and hold for ten seconds. Do five sets of eight reps. The beauty of this exercise is that you aren’t getting up and no one knows that you are secretly fitting in a workout.

STRENGTHEN YOUR ANKLES

Rotate your ankles in both directions for five seconds. Do five sets of eight reps in each direction. This exercise can strengthen the flexibility of your ankles and make you less likely to suffer from sprains.

WORK YOUR ARMS

Stretch the muscles in your right arm by reaching as far to the left as you can with your right arm while supporting it in the crook of your left elbow and then hold it there. Feel the stretch for five seconds. Do eight reps before switching over to your left arm.

DO A LITTLE DANCE

If you don’t mind a few odd looks in your direction, this is a fun one. Think of a danceable tune and bob your head, shrug your shoulders and get your groove on. You’ll not only burn calories but it could put you in a better mood!

Comments

Aniki-Moderator's picture

I should save this as a pic and make it my background screen.

Nah. I'd never see it as I typically have anywhere from 10-20 screens open at one time. Sad

ProbablyAlreadyInsane's picture

I didn't even think of printing it out! I'm doing that! I have a bulletin board that's empty even!!!

DPW's picture

To add to your post Aniki...

And to reward our husbands for their great parenting and prevent urinary incontinence issues in us old gals, try kegels!

LOL

Aniki-Moderator's picture

DPW, I've been doing kegels at my desk for YEARS. I might be able to crack a walnut shell by now... Dirol

thinkthrice's picture

I got a balance board to go with my standing desk. So far lost 19 lbs...still have a ways to go.

As an old post-menopausal woman with a metabolism like a slow-moving rock I constantly confound my very young 20-something extremely fit coach with my plateaus