Better Health & Living
Lose Weight While You Work
7 gadgets that will help you get fit on the job
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The average American spends 46 hours a week at work. For many of us, that means sitting—and spreading—as our bodies dutifully adapt to the endless hours of inactivity, coffee, and office snacks.
What if you could actually do a little working out at your workplace? You could whittle your waist without spending precious leisure time in the gym, says Mayo Clinic endocrinologist James Levine, M.D., Ph.D. “Thirty years ago, before obesity was headline news, nobody belonged to a gym,” says Dr. Levine, whose research shows a direct relationship between our growing waistlines and increasing chair time. “The real key to maintaining a healthy weight is integrating activity into your daily life, and the fact is, a large amount of your life is spent at work,” he says.
The New Workout Place
No one is suggesting that you start doing crunches during conference calls. But there are exercises you can do at work—many right at your desk—that will help you lose fat while you bring home the bacon, says Mackie Shilstone, performance enhancement director at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans and author of The Fat-Burning Bible. “With a few smart pieces of equipment, you can exercise your entire body, no matter how small your workplace,” he says. Here are some of our favorite on-the-job workout gadgets.
Portable Mini-Cycle
This sneaky stationary “bike” fits neatly under your desk so you can crank out a few miles while writing memos. Just turn a dial to ramp up the resistance, stomp away stress, and burn more calories. Or keep the workload light and spin away all day long. A built-in computer logs your time and speed so you can check how far you’ve traveled, as well as workout time and calories burned, at the end of the day ($90; www.sharperimage.com).
Thera-Bands
Nothing more than rolls of stretchy rubber, Thera-Bands are the only weight equipment you’ll ever need. Keep a roll in your desk and cut strips of different lengths—2 feet, 4 feet, 6 feet—to work your muscles virtually anytime, anywhere. Tie one end of a band to your desk and grab the other end to do biceps curls, shoulder presses, and rows. Loop a band around the soles of your feet and do leg presses. For a full-body workout, take an upper-body “band break” in the morning and a lower-body break in the afternoon ($10; performbetter.com).
Stability Ball
To activate and strengthen posture-supporting back and abdominal muscles, a large, inflated stability ball can be the perfect substitute for your office chair. Simply sit on the ball for 30 minutes twice a day. For an additional challenge, lift your right foot off the floor for a few seconds, then switch and lift the left, alternating for a few minutes. Most balls also include an exercise guide for more moves to try when you feel extra motivated. Choose a ball according to your height. The right size ball will allow you to maintain a 90-degree bend in your legs when sitting on it ($20; www.power-systems.com).
Pilates Mini-Ball
Like a miniature stability ball, this Pilates product lets you tone your thighs while you type. Just place the ball between your knees and slowly squeeze it until you can’t squeeze any farther. Pause; then slowly release the tension on the ball, and repeat throughout the day. To exercise your upper body, hold the ball between your hands, with your elbows bent and out to the sides. Contract your chest muscles and squeeze the ball as far as possible, hold, and release ($9; www.fitnesssource.ca).
Silly Putty
Seriously. Handgrip strength deteriorates with age, making it harder to lift weights and do other healthy activities. Plus, tapping on a keyboard for a living can lead to repetitive stress problems like carpal tunnel syndrome. Squeeze some Silly Putty while you’re on the phone or reading reports to keep your hands safe and strong ($2; www.crayolastore.com).
Pedometer
A recent study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that obese people take about 2,000 fewer steps each day than their peers of healthy weight. The easiest way to make sure you get the steps you need every day is by wearing a pedometer. Clip one on your waistband and aim for at least 8,000 steps a day, preferably 10,000. Wearing it at work will inspire you to sneak in steps by walking to your co-worker’s office rather than e-mailing, using the restroom on another floor, and taking quick breaks to stroll around the building ($22; www.rypsports.com).
Walking Desk
Mayo Clinic researchers recently reported that thin people are on their feet an average of 152 more minutes each day than their heavier counterparts. In response, they have developed a vertical desk that attaches to a treadmill or exercise bike so you can be in perpetual motion while being productive. The scientists say that if you were to stroll at just 1 mph (slowly enough to type, talk, and walk at the same time) from 9 to 5, with an hour off for lunch, you’d burn about 700 calories a day—enough to fry 50 pounds in a year! The walking desk is not yet for sale, but the clinic’s technology licensing people are working on it.
Frequent contributor and triathlete Selene Yeager will be first in line for that walking desk.
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