Top 3 exercises to do at work

We all know that working at an office can take a physical toll on your body. That belly starts to come out and don’t let me start talking about the dreaded love handles. Since we, humans, are meant to be active beings, the sitting- at- a -desk environment doesn’t help us maintain a healthy  lifestyle.

Sócrates Olaya, a well known personal trainer thanks to his collaborations with Colombian beauty queens, actors and models,  gave the team of Latin American Post a few tips on how to achieve a healthy body without having to commute to the gym. It is not necessary to posses various specialized equipment to adequately workout and strive towards a healthier style of living.

Tip 1:

Olaya showed us that if you have a standard, plastic chair you can get your heart rate going. Securely place the piece of fortune and place yourself in the standard plank position which can be seen in the second picture up top. Slowly, bring one knee at a time to your chest and repeat the motion for about a minute. These are called “mountain climbers” since they resemble the actions that one may do while being out exploring the wilderness. Aside from helping you do some lightweight cardio, it works out your abs, back, and legs fighting off those pesky pounds.

Also, you may want to do some squats/ jumping jacks while you’re at it. Simply sit on the same chair you were just working out on, jump up and do a jumping jack. Repeat this motion twenty times and you will continue working out your legs, glutes, arms, and back. If you feel short of breath at any point during this exercise, take a break and make sure you feel well again before continuing. Once again, you can see an example up top in the third and fourth picture.

Tip 2:

If you have some space in your office, get down in a vertical plank position and do two sets of twenty pushups. Your feet should be shoulder length apart and your arms should feel sturdy so that you can adequately do this exercise. The picture up top shows the appropriate way of trying to stay active.

If you’re incapable of doing a pushup, you may also have your knees on the ground while still continuing to bend your elbows. This redistributes your weight so you don’t have to put too much strain on your upper body. You may find an example on how to do this in the sixth picture of the set up top.

Tip 3:

This one is the easiest in my opinion. If you have a wall (let’s be honest, we all do), simply put all your weight on your upper body while facing the surface in a slanted position. All you have to do is move two steps over, while still having your hands on the wall and your body adequately placed, and raise your knee to your chest at the end of each set. Repeat this motion twenty times while contracting your abs. Remember, the picture depicts how the exercise should be done.

LatinAmerica Post | Susana Cicchetto