written by john c ashworth
Watch the live "Fitness Friday" episode on NBC15 on July 18th at 5:15 PM in Madison, WI
Click Here for the NBC 15 Video Archive Link to this segment
Alright, yes. I've heard all the excuses over and over again. "But, I don't like to get sweaty in my work clothes." OR, "I can't do that in my high heels." OR, "I don't have time, I'm at work all day."
The plain truth is that yes, we are all very busy every day taking care of our primary responsibility - work. And yes, this often leaves us with very little time at the end of the day for the fun stuff like working out. So, in the spirit of squashing any and all excuses, I thought I would share with you tonight five exercises you can do while you're still wearing dress clothes. An idea, by the way, that my 10-year old daughter Ana crafted for me for this segment.
I've chosen five moves that I believe can be performed wearing almost any type of 'dressy' outfit (men or women), and that at the same time will give you the biggest boost in heart rate and metabolism throughout your work day. There are two requirements, however, before we get started.
Requirement #1
You MUST shed yourself of the belief that a little sweat underneath all that cover is a bad thing. Because if you can't do that, than you might as well stay in your chair all day. That said, staying in your chair all day leads to weight gain, which leads to even more heat and uncomfortable feelings in all those fancy clothes, which ultimately leads to more sweat. Get over it.
Requirement #2
As usual, an open mind, but in addition to this, a willingness to bring at least one dumbbell to work, and hide it under your desk, while also maintaining a quiet focus each day on creating opportunities to break away from your work, and get moving.
OK, here we go...
The Five Moves:
- Walking - "That's right!" Simple. Get out of the office and go for a walk. And if it's winter time, create what I like to call your own personal office obstacle course and get to work on completing it at least once per day. Find stairs, back hallways, garages, or small rooms where you can sneak away and get your body moving and your blood pumping. Bring your dumbbell for added fun 🙂
- Stepping - YES! This is closely related to number one, and I've talked about this many times before. The benefits of finding a stairwell and climbing those stairs multiple times per day is immense. Research also shows that this kind of intense Heart Rate boost periodically throughout the day is one of the best things you can do to prevent an unwanted heart attack. Bring your own step if necessary.
- The Dumbbell Punch - this one is excellent because it not only will boost your heart rate and grant you a killer shoulder workout in 60 seconds or less, it might also help you relieve some of that office tension that tends to build up throughout the day. Imagine, for example, who might be waiting for you on the other end of that punch.
- Jumping Jacks - ladies, you may have to remove your high heels for this one (which will be good for your lower leg health anyway), and all of us will have to be careful not to raise our hands too high above our heads to prevent a tear in the dress shirt. But really, if you think about it, there is no reason why you can't jump around a little during the day. It will be good for your bones as well.
- Push-ups - Aaah, yes, our old and faithful friend, the push-up...either a full push-up on the floor, or maybe just against the edge of your desk or chair. A few push-ups every day will help you maintain good overall core and total body strength.
Now, before you go dismissing this as just plain silly, allow me to ask you one question...
How much stronger might you be today, if you had taken 10-15 minutes per day over the course of the last year to sneak this stuff in at work? It might not seem like much when you look at it here on the page, but added up over the course of time, it makes a difference.
The Japanese have a principle known as "Kaizen" or "Constant Improvement" through small, incremental changes implemented consistently over time.
Take action!
-John
