{"id":9564,"date":"2012-11-13T04:00:28","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145696.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=9564"},"modified":"2012-11-13T04:00:28","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T12:00:28","slug":"desk-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/articles\/desk-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Muscle-Building Desk Exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Gwen Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"desk<\/p>\n

We’re excited to share this guest post from Gwen Stewart of Outbounding.com! We knew that sitting at a desk all day was bad for our waistlines, but who knew it could so negatively impact our health? Check out her list of desk exercises to help combat the health effects of sitting all day.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hey there, 9-to-5ers. Did you know that sitting at your desk for long periods of time can be detrimental to your health? According to a recent article<\/a> published by Mayo Clinic:<\/p>\n

“…researchers have linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns including obesity and metabolic syndrome \u2013 a cluster of conditions that includes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luckily, there are many exercises you can do at your own desk to help tone your muscles and burn calories:<\/p>\n

1. Trade your chair for a yoga ball<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fitness experts advise using a yoga ball in place of your chair to improve your posture. With good posture comes increased core strength and an overall air of confidence as you’re walking through the office hallways.<\/p>\n

2. Triceps push ups<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a toned upper back, sit on the edge of your chair with your hands resting on the front, then push your legs out in front of you to make reverse plank pose. Your body, the floor, and the legs of the chair should make a triangle. Push yourself up and down while bending your elbows slightly \u2013 and repeat as many times as you can.<\/p>\n

3. Leg lifts<\/strong><\/p>\n

While sitting on your yoga ball (or a chair, if you’re not quite ready to make the switch), extend one leg straight out in front of you. Hold it in place for five seconds, move your foot back to the floor and rest. Then, repeat with your other leg. Alternate 4-5 times, trying to hold it just a few seconds longer each time.<\/p>\n

4. Chair lunges <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sit on the edge of your chair and rest your hands on the armrests if you have them. If you don’t, rest them on the seat of your chair. Lift your body up so you’re supporting yourself with your hands, then move your hips forward \u2013 just off the chair. Bend your elbows and lower your hips and bottom toward the ground. Push yourself back up and repeat the series 10 times.<\/p>\n

Helpful hint: If your chair has rollers, lock the wheels or if you can’t, push your chair against the wall. <\/em><\/p>\n

Click here for the second half of the routine<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Image Credit: Desk Exercises<\/a> photo via Shutterstock<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"sitting\"<\/p>\n

5. Desk pushups<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re trying to be discreet with your exercises, desk pushups aren’t the way to do it \u2013 but they are a great way to tone your abs. If you’re feeling confident, try this:<\/p>\n

Place your hands shoulder-width apart on your desk and point your fingers forward. Walk your legs back 3-4 feet while keeping your knees locked and feet together. Lean your hips toward the floor and keep your back as straight as you can. Bend your elbows and lower yourself toward the desk, hold, and repeat 10 times.<\/p>\n

6. Wall sits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tone your hips, legs, and glutes with this simple exercise. Lean your back against the cubicle or office wall and lower yourself to a \u201cseated\u201d position so it seems you\u2019re sitting in a chair, but supporting yourself with your legs. Hold for 20 seconds, or if you want an extra challenge, extend one leg straight out. If this is challenging for you, try taking your mind off of it by thinking about a work task or business idea.<\/p>\n

7. Standing leg stretch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kneel behind your chair with your legs hip-width apart and your hands on the back of the chair. Lift one leg behind you as far as you can, hold for 10 seconds, and rest. Repeat with the other leg. Do 10 total stretches on each leg.<\/p>\n

8. Take the stairs<\/strong><\/p>\n

This isn’t a desk exercise, but it’s one that you can easily fit into your work day, if your office is not on the main floor.<\/p>\n

Next time you have the choice between the elevator and the stairs, choose the stairs. If there’s an escalator in your office, choose the stairs. If you work on one of the top floors of your office, try it just once a day to start off \u2013 you can always increase later.<\/p>\n

These eight exercises will help tone your entire body \u2013 and will help making sitting at a desk all day just a little more fun.<\/p>\n

Gwen Stewart is a marketing guru for clients of Outbounding.com. She works far too many hours but has made a personal goal of eliminating Sunday from her work week. Her vision for the Fall includes one hour of yoga four times each week, homemade soup, saving for retirement, and time off work. She also believes that rhinoplasty<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Happy Woman at Her Desk<\/a> photo via Shutterstock<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re excited to share this guest post from Gwen Stewart of Outbounding.com! We knew that sitting at a desk all day was bad for our waistlines, but who knew it could so negatively impact our health? Check out her list of desk exercises to help combat the health effects of sitting all day. More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":9565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[6814,6815,162,163,6816,6817,6250],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/desk-exercises.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9564"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}