Archive for May 20th, 2008
May 20th, 2008
I promised, after writing about how sitting at work all day can kill your ability to burn fat, to brush up on exercises that could be done in the office. So, with the help of some internet searching at exercise.about.com and shelterpub.com to add to a couple of things I practice, here we go:
Of course, being able to get up and walk around for 10 minutes or so is preferable to exercise at your desk – even better if you work in a multi-floor building and you can use the steps to add intensity to your walk — but here are a few stretches and the body parts they benefit you can use if leaving your desk isn’t an option.
Chest — Sit up straight in your chair and clasp your hands behind your head. Pull your elbows back and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the middle of your back.
Back/shoulders — Give yourself a hug, literally. Wrap your arms around your torso and gently reach as far around as possible.
Neck — First, just alternate tilting your head left and right toward your shoulders. Then forward with your chin to your chest and backward looking up. Then combine it into all four directions.
Then, try this. Place the little finger of your left hand on the right side of your chin and turn your head to the left to just past comfortable. Push gently on your chin with the little finger to go a little further. Repeat with the little finger of the right hand on the left side of the chin.
Low back/hamstrings – Stay seated upright in your chair with both feet flat on the floor and knees a comfortable distance apart. Your hands should hang loose at your sides. Bend forward until your hands reach the floor and hold for five seconds or so. Then, tighten your abdominal muscles and slowly return to your upright seated position.
Assuming you won’t be bothering anyone and won’t send your cubicle or half the items in it crashing to the floor, you could also stand up wave your arms or rotate them in a circle as if you were and old-time pitcher in an exaggerated windup. You could march in place or squat as if you were going to sit in a chair but don’t actually do it.
One more thing. Don’t forget to exercise your eyes by occasionally looking away from the computer screen for a minute or so.Â
May 20th, 2008
One of HealthyRockford.com’s main purposes is to promote a healthy lifestyle.
To that end, we would like to publish stories about people who have found what works for them. We think those stories could inspire others to make or stick to changes that can improve their health.
Do you know someone who ran a marathon or who got in shape for some other athletic endeavor against great odds, did they work hard and lose weight, or are they still plugging away in a way that you think is awesome?
Tell us about the people who inspire you and how to contact them. We’ll take it from there.
Rather than put private information on this string, though, e-mail me at mdedoncker@rrstar.com.Â
May 20th, 2008
Get off your duff. It’s killing you.
That command was part of an illustration for an article by Jim Gerard in the March/April 2008 issue of the American Council on Exercise’s Fitness Matters magazine.
I found the article interesting because it talked about something I don’t think I’d have ever guessed about how the body retains fat when we are sitting down.
Gerard wrote about a study done by scientists at the University of Missouri, and published in November 2007, in which they found, to quote Gerard, that “When we sit, the enzymes that are responsible for burning fat just shut down. And not even a regular dose of exercise can combat the resultant weight gain.”
Some other findings Gerard wrote about are:
1. When a small amount of fat was injected into sitting animals it did not remain in the blood vessels that pass through the muscles, where it could be burned. Instead, it was captured by adipose tissue where globules of fat are stored.
2. After the animals had been sitting for several hours, lipase, an enzyme critical to the body’s ability to break down fat, was down to 10 percent of its normal levels.
Gerard also wrote that, according to Dr. Marc Hamilton, the research team’s leader, if a person doesn’t do enough non-exercise activities during their normal movements of the day “You can’t assume that exercise at the end of the day will wipe out the damage you caused the rest of the time you were sitting.”
Gerard’s article goes on to talk about a $4,000 piece of equipment called a Walkstation but, barring your company springing for something like this, it sounds more than ever like a really good idea to at least get up and move around at work to whatever limit your job will allow.
Parking as far from the building as feasible, walking around between assignments, swinging your arms, stretching, or taking a walk on your lunch break, are all ways you could keep the activity level up. I’ll brush up on exercises that can be done at the desk and write about that soon.
Oh, and until then, don’t forget to get in your actual exercise time.Â
