Desk Fit Tips

One of the greatest part of my job is that I get to work while watching sporting events.  Right now my life is all about Training Camp and the Olympics.  Having worked for FIFAWorldCup.com back in the day, I am fairly obsessed with international sporting competitions.  It seems to highlight our commonalities instead of our differences.  It also highlights for me that I am seriously out of shape.  I've been thinking a lot about bringing in a stability ball to use instead of a chair but am worried that it might do some damage ergonomically.  So what's a girl to do?  Well, according to sharecare (and the good people from the National Academy of Sports Medicine), there is a lot of very unique things I can do at my desk!  More importantly, most of these are suggestions I can do without raising coworkers' eyebrows:

Seated Exercises
Abdominal Draw-In:
Sit up tall with your back off your chair. Suck your belly-button in towards your spine about 1" and hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat for 20 reps. This exercise targets your lower abs.

Seated Marching:
Sit up tall in on the edge of your chair and lift up each foot from the floor as if you are marching in place.

Seated Isometric Bicep Curls:
Sit in your chair and place your forearms under your deck with elbows bent 90 degrees. Try and perform a bicep curl against the resistance of you desk. You arms won't move but pushing against a solid object will get your muscles to work in what is termed an isometric contraction. Hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat 15 times.

Standing Exercises
Chair Squats:
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart in front of your chair as if you are going to sit down in it. Bend you knees as and begin to sit down as if sitting into the chair. Right before you touch the seat, 1 - 2 inches above, stop and stand back up. Perform 15 reps.

Balance and Shift:
A great exercise to do when talking on the phone at your desk. Stand on one leg for 5 seconds and then shift all your weight to the other leg and balance for 5 seconds.