Tied to the Desk - Ways to Get Exercise When you job has you sitting all day

THE DESK JOB BLUES

For the past two days I have been sitting at a computer all day.  So I have had to get a little creative when it comes to getting my body moving.  Do you have a desk job that requires you to sit for a good portion of the day?

Between Real Estate and my blogging, I find that I sit quite a bit.  I have to make a conscious effort to make sure I am getting the exercise I need.

Here are some things I have found helpful to do:

1 - Use an exercise ball and I try to sit on that for part of the day

2 - get up and move every hour - this keeps me from getting to sore and gets the circulation moving in my legs as well

3 - dumbbells - I have a set of weights at my desk and use them often - I also have a little stress ball to squeeze - helps with the sore wrists and carpal tunnel symptoms

4 - there are some exercises you can do at your desk - arm lifts, leg raises, squats, butt squeezes

5 - I try to stand and get up more often instead of sliding my office chair around - get up instead of sliding and stretching

6 - keep an exercise band at your desk and use it often

7 - get a timer or use one on your computer to set 5-10 minutes an hour to get up and move

I have read that when people use the computer, play videos games, watch TV or work at a desk without frequent total body movement the enzymes that are responsible for helping burn fat slow down.

So make a real effort to move around - in fact I am getting up now - you too - get up now and walk around for a few minutes.

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My first day at Curves

Well today was my first introduction to Curves.  I bought the Deal of the Day with Groupon which gave me 2 months for $25.

On my first visit today they asked all the informational and medical questions.  It was optional if I wanted to weight in or be measured. I chose to weigh in to compare it to my scale and home and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my scale is quite accurate (although, only if you stand on the scale backwards).  I did not chose to get measured, since I was recently measured.

The manager then showed me around and had me try out each machine.  There are ten of them set up in the circle with the steady pad in between each machine.  There is catchy music playing and every 30 seconds the voice comes on and says something like - it is time to switch machines.

So you do the strength training machines for 30 seconds and then you stand on the pad between the machines and walk in place or jog or any exercise you wish.  Going around one time on the 20 stations took 10 minutes, so I did 3 rotations for a total of 30 minutes.

You are allowed to go as many times a week as you would like, but they recommend 3 - 30 minute sessions a week.

All of the women, approximately 4, who were there at the time I was were slim.  You could look at this two ways, I guess. 1- curves is successful and people get in shape or 2 - only slim people workout there.  I will keep you posted on the different sizes and shapes as I continue with my two months.

Overall it was a good workout for me.  Even though I have been working out with a trainer for the last couple of months twice a week, I have sore muscles tonight.

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