• Bibi Magazine
• The At-Work Work-Out
• Khabar
• Manage Your Holiday Feasting
• Strengthen the Core
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Back Care
• Cholesterol Screening...the Next Level!
• Heart Disease Hits Home!
• Body Weight, Body Fat or Body Mass Index (Bmi) Which One Should You Weigh in On?
• Spice It Up!
• Deciphering Food Labels
• Avoid raising an overweight child
• This New Year, Resolve to Lift!
• Carbohydrates and the Asian Indian Diet
• Fats: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!
• Is Walking Enough?
• Fats: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
• Top Ten Reasons You Should Exercise
• What is Physical Fitness?
• The Top Ten Fitness Myths
• How to Lose Weight
• Rivaaj
• To Stretch or Not to Stretch and When and How to Stretch
• Muscle up Your Manly Metabolism!
• Teen Fitness
• Exercise after pregnancy
• Exercise During Pregnancy
• Why not a Personal Trainer?
• Break Your Fast
• Eat an Apple, Be a Pear!
• The Ten Commandments of Fitness
• Why Your Exercise Program Fails

The At-Work Work-Out

Written by: Aarti Patel for bibimagazine.com

9:00 am, 10:00 am, 11:00 am; you’ve been working at your desk for over three hours now, with shoulders hunched over as that same annoying pain begins to radiates from your neck to your lower back. Even though you’ve got deadlines to meet and projects to complete; sitting at your desk for a long period of time does not mean that you have to skip your workout routine. Fitness guru, Aarti Patel instructs us on how to incorporate basic exercises throughout your workday to achieve a stronger body while enhancing your physical and emotional energy without even breaking a sweat.

Neck Stretch: Stretches are a great way to relieve tension and loosen up tight muscles. Hold each stretch for 10 seconds and do three repetitions. Begin with sitting upright in your chair. Drop your head towards your right shoulder and hold. Use your hand to gently press down a little more and hold. Now relax, and repeat with the left side. Finally, drop your head forward and slowly rotate it in a circle clockwise and then counter clockwise three times.

Back Stretch: Push your chair away from your desk, still seated place one leg on your desk and gently lean your body forward and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat with the other side. If your boss happens to walk in at this moment you can always say that you’re cleaning off your shoe or tying your shoelace!  To stretch out your chest and shoulders, (still seated on your chair) clasp your hands behind your chair, rotate your shoulders back and now gently lean forward.

Desk Pushups: While standing, put your hands on the edge of your desk. (Make sure the desk is sturdy enough to hold your weight!)  Now walk backward and do pushups against the desk. This is a fantastic exercise to maintain upper body strength. You can start with 10-15 pushups and eventually work you’re way up to 25, 50 and even 100! Your co-workers will only think you’re trying to rearrange your furniture without much success.

Side Raises, Bicep Curls and Shoulder Presses: Purchase 2lb dumbbells and have them available at your desk or simply use a weighted object. Perform side raises by either standing up or sitting in your chair. Hold dumbbells in each hand by your side. Now raise your arms parallel to the floor. Hold for 2 seconds and lower. Repeat several times. Perform bicep curls by sitting in your chair.  Hold both dumbbells in one hand. Place your elbow on your knee. Lower your hand with the dumbbells and then slowly curl up. Repeat 10-15 times on each side. 

Tight Abs: When checking/responding to email, sit up straight in your chair. Now suck your stomach in and imagine that you’re pulling your belly button to the back of the chair. Hold this position for ten seconds, release and then relax. Repeat this until all your email has been answered, or perform this whenever you’re on the computer.

The Butt: Instead of clenching your teeth at a co-worker who makes you angry, how about clenching your buttocks? Yes, you heard right! The next time someone ruffles your feathers, don’t frown and get angry, but instead do some butt clenches. Tighten your buttocks, hold, hold, hold, and then relax. Butt clenches are also an excellent time killer when you have to make 429 copies at the copy machine. Your copies will be made and you’ll walk out with a tighter booty! Every time you’re on the phone get off your chair and do some squats. Walk one step away from the chair, spread your feet shoulder width apart and now lower your body toward the edge of the chair. Get back up as soon as your buttocks touch the chair. Start with 15 squats and work your way up. You can always tell that person who passes by your office that you can’t make up your mind whether you want to stand or sit.

Leg Work Lunges: Stand up holding 2lb dumbbells. Extend one leg forward, then with your back straight lower your body by bending your knees and making sure your knee doesn’t extend beyond your toes. The back leg should not touch the ground. Now proceed with standing up and bringing the forward leg back to a standing position and repeat with the other side. Start with 10-15 repetitions and work your way up. If you feel like you need a drink of water at this point, you can always perform walking lunges all the way to the water cooler! If you’re not already the most popular person at your office, you will be now.

Why not make a workout plan for work? Get your co-workers involved. Perform a different exercise every hour to two hours. It will only take about 5 minutes each time, and you will leave the office feeling energized and strong, leaving you with enough free time after work to enjoy your newfound confidence.

Aarti Patel has a B.Sc. in Health Information Administration from the Medical University of SC. She is certified by the American Council on Exercise as a Personal Trainer, Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant and Group Fitness Instructor. Please visit www.aartifitness.com for more information on fitness and exercise or call (404) 376-5655.