A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.

- John le Carre

Average Read Time: 00:04:28

I can’t tell you how many of my clients are workers who have made the transition from blue collar to white collar within the past two years. On average, a 170 lb person who is standing for 8 hours a day will burn 1100 calories. As soon as you make that transition to sitting, that means burning less than 900 calories. If you put that through the ol’ calculator, and nothing else changes within one year, you will gain roughly 21 pounds! No wonder I have so many of these clients!   If I can’t yell at you to pump out 10 more reps, I might as well give you a few solutions to help you get on track while behind the desk.

Note: I am not a fan of sweating while at work, so all of these solutions are very low intensity but add up to a solid workout.

1. Make a game of it

I will usually do this if I am working by myself. I have been caught doing push ups while I should be wrapping up a TPS report. So bloggers, entrepreneurs, and the like, this one is for you.

Squat mail

Every time you receive an email, fire off a few squats from your chair. If I do this, I will try to get 500 in a day. Don’t be intimidated. This means that if you receive 50 emails a day, you are only going to be doing rounds of 10 at a time. That is doable for anyone. Even my clients with artificial knees and hips can pull off ten!

Leg Extension IM’s and email writing

Every time you write an instant message, a twitter message, or an email, straighten your legs. Think of it as a weightless leg extension. Hold it for the entire message. After a few emails, you will be trying to fit your entire message into a few sentences.

Time waster dips and pushups

I am notorious for surfing Digg, CollegeHumor, and a few other time wasting websites. So make a deal with yourself. Before doing some time wasting activity, fire off 10 chair dips and 10 push-ups. Do this for every 10 minutes of mindless surfing.

2. I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more

I remember reading an article in Men’s Health about a writer who tried walking in the shoes of a member of the Amish community. Just as a side note, the average obesity rate in the Amish community is 4%, roughly eight times lower than the national avage. So they have to be doing something different.

The first thing he noticed was how much they walked in a day. He discovered that the average Amish took 18,000 steps a day.  Quite a few Americans can barely hit half that! (You can find the article here.)

Here are a few steps to take some extra steps:

Park far, far, away

You have probably heard this one before. Most likely because it works. Unless it is raining outside, you should be parking your car at the furthest point from the door. Do this for work, lunch, the gym, the grocery store and the mall. Just five places and you will be close to those Amish in no time.

Elevators are for people using crutches, walkers and wheelchairs

The personal training studio in my gym is on the second floor. My first client at that gym said that he got chest pains whenever he walked up the stairs. You know what he does when he sees me? He walks up the stairs.

The only people I have take the elevator are using crutches or a wheelchair. Now, I understand that some buildings are 40 stories high. If you are lucky enough to work on that top floor, then compromise and get off at a wrong floor. Take the stairs the rest of the way.

Water balance

If you are literally glued to your desk, then you will only get up for two reasons, peeing and grabbing a cup of coffee. Use a bathroom on a different floor or take the long way around everytime you grab a cup of coffee. This may be the only time you get out of your chair, so make sure you make it count and get some exercise.

3. Don’t just stand there grinning like an idiot!

As a teacher, my time is divided into about 25% teaching and 75% marking and prepping behind a desk. But, when I teach, I am moving around the entire classroom. I try to walk around everywhere, use some energy, and leer over students I think should stop talking while I am teaching them the functions of the pituitary gland.

If you have the opportunity to make presentations or lecture during your work day, make it count by walking around. Be dynamic and make the audience follow you. Just make sure that if you do stand on a chair that it isn’t on wheels. (My class certainly thought that spill was funny.)

4. Have an active lunch.

Ahh, lunch at the office. It splits up my day and I always have the opportunity to leave. Here are a few ideas on how to spend yours:

Enjoy a pick-up game

There is a basketball court right by work, and I can usually shoot some hoops while wearing a tie. It isn’t too intensive, but it can certainly get the blood pumping.

Sweat

If I am given an hour for lunch, I will head out for a 20 minute run or workout. That gives me 40 minutes to drive to the gym, shower, change and eat. You would be surprised what you can fit into 20 minutes. Need more time? Make a deal with your boss that you will come in an extra 30 minutes early or stay and extra 30 minutes late. As a bonus, that early or late time may give you a chance to skip traffic and get some work done while the office is empty.

Take a walk around the block

Even if I am in the city, I always enjoy a stroll outside. Now that the weather is getting nicer, bring your lunch and grab a bite on the grass or a bench.

If you can pull off these four ways to get some activity in your day, those 21 pounds will never end up on your gut. If anything, you will start to lose a couple pounds. Now stop wasting time, you owe me 10 dips and 10 push-ups!

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Images by chefranden, will_hybrid, yourdon, annia316, jamesjordan, and *sean

Comments: What do you do around the office to ward off the pounds?

Related posts:

1. Blog Action Day – Using the tools you were given

Average Read Time: 00:02:19

You’re lazy, a slacker and a sloth. You’re someone who hates the gym and prefers to spend your free time behind a computer, TV, or some video game console. I can relate.  I love watching House or The Unit, surfing around on Digg, and was once a huge Counter Strike fanatic.

If you fall into this boat, you are not alone and I have the answer for you to get the bare minimum amount of exercise.  Just enough so that you don’t become obese and die prematurely.

So what’s the bare minimum?

My friend Paul pointed me towards an article from the IASO (International Association for the Study of Obesity). The article pretty much outlines the thoughts of what experts felt was the bare minimum amount of activity not to transition from being overweight to obese. They broke down the bare minimums into two situations.

Situation 1: Your job requires you to sit all day long

These are the people who fly a desk, operate a chair, or work out of bed, Hugh Hefner style. Anyone who fits into this category needs moderately intense activity of approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day. Bare minimum.

Situation 2: Your job allows you to get up and move

If you’re on your feet moving all day long, stocking shelves or are a mail carrier, or a server, then this is you. You need closer to 20-30 minutes per day. Bare minimum.

Note: An easy solution to cut back on your needed exercise time is obvious here. Get an active job. If this isn’t possible then find activity in your job. Walk to a washroom on another floor, take the stairs or park further away from the office. Every little bit counts.

What exactly is moderately intense activity?

This depends on what kind of shape you are in, but here are a few examples:

• Running / Walking on the treadmill at 3.5 – 5.0 miles per hour
• Doing some rock climbing
• Playing some squash, tennis, racquetball
• Weight lifting
• A pick-up game of soccer, or basketball

As a general rule, if you are sweating and a little out of breath by the end of your workout, then you have done a moderately intense activity. If you can read a good novel while exercising, then you are probably going too slow. If you throw up or pass out, slow down a touch, you are probably going too hard.

As well, this can be split up in the day. Because I work in a gym, I try to get 10 minutes in here and there. Sometimes I like to go for a swim in the morning and then hit the gym for a little while in the evening. Do what works best for you.

What happens if you jack up the intensity?

The experts said that if your intensity goes up, then your duration of exercise can go down. But at an absolute minimum, I would try to stay in the gym or outside for at least 20 minutes.

Stop procrastinating. Now.

I’m giving you the bare minimum right now. This is what you need to prevent heart disease and diabetes and to stop from becoming overweight. You don’t need a CrossFit workout, High Intensity Interval Training or to bench 300 pounds. You just need to be active.

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

P.S. The study found kids need more daily exercise than adults, so throw them outside for at least an hour a day.

Images by i_am_drunk, aaronescobar, and thatguyfromcchs08

Comments: Do you have a minimum amount of exercise you like to put in everyday? Let us know!

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Every year in California people gather for the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference, whose mission is to provide “ideas worth spreading”. These are a few of my favorites regarding health, diet, exercise and nutrition.

1. Aimee Mullins – Running (20:43)

This is an interview with Aimee Mullins who is a double below knee amputee. She is a paralympic sprinter and she talks about her path to her career.

Favorite Moment: Listening to her story about her first paralympics race. It starts at about 09:50 if you don’t have time for the whole thing.

2. Dean Ornish – Your genes are not your fate (3:35)

Dean Ornish gives a brief presentation about the fact that your brain cells (as an example) can actually increase just from living healthier, eating better, exercising and loving more.

Favorite Moment: Listening him deliver the message that cannabinoids (constituent of marijuana) can actually increase brain cells.

3. Dan Barber – A surprising parable of foie gras (20:24)

Dan Barber is a chef who tells a story of a farmer in Spain who has created the most humane way to make foie gras. It is a beautiful story which will make you reflect on where your food comes from. One of my favorite TED Talks.

Favorite Moment: Hearing Eduardo Sousa explain why the geese come to his farm. He tries to give them what they want.

4. Peter Reinhart – The art of making bread (15:35)

Peter Reinhart, a baker, tells of the challenges of making a great tasting whole grain bread. From the wheat seed to the oven, I love hearing the step-by-step process of how bread gets made.

Favorite Moment: In the end, on how he tells of bread as a symbol for life and transformation. This guy just loves what he does. I also like how he explains that bread is just really a solid beer, or beer is just liquid bread.

5. Dean Ornish – The world’s killer diet (3:35)

Dean gives a brief talk about how cardiovascular disease is spreading to everywhere in the world, not just North America. He states an Asian diet is considered a healthy diet and a good fix for us. However, because Asia’s trend seems to be heading towards North America’s diet, we may have a global problem.

Favorite Moment: When he states that “This may be the first generation in which children lead a shorter life than their parents.” That one hit home.

6. Ann Cooper – Reinventing the school lunch (19:42)

Ann Cooper should change the way you think of your school lunch lady. She does a great job explaining how to introduce good food to their diet, as well as provide cooking classes and nutritional education in the classroom.

Favorite Moment: Ann explains how she goes beyond the cafeteria to educate students and start them on a healthier path.

7. Mark Bittman – What’s wrong with what we eat (20:08)

NY Times food writer Mark Bittman speaks about what is wrong with our diet. He simply says we eat too few vegetables and too much meat. We eat too much fast food, and too little homecooking.

Favorite Moment: When Mark brings up the global effect of bovine flatulence. Funny, but a serious problem.

I am a big fan of the TED Talks. Feel free to go to www.ted.com and check out some of the lectures from a variety of amazing speakers.

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Stay tuned next week when we do Sunday’s Seven exercises you should do every single day.

Comments: Any thoughts on these presentations? Have another favorite? We would love to hear from you!

Related posts:

1. Blog Action Day – Using the tools you were given

I have had enough of these low carb diets. They have their place, but they aren’t for everyone. Low carb is not your only solution to losing weight. We all know that Italians love their pizza, their pasta, and their wine. So at first glance, Italians are carb-loving alcoholics. But the fact is, the secret to their diet does not reflect the food that they eat, but how they eat it.

1. No substitutes

Ever been sneered at for using garlic powder instead of a clove? How about Prego instead of actual garden fresh tomatoes? Well I have. You have to be picky with those ingredients. Traditional Italians don’t use anything processed and certainly nothing from a can. Most likely it is going to come from a jar-the jar they put their tomatoes in at the end of the summer, which they grew in their own garden. This brings me to reason number two.

2. Make your own

Why would you buy tomatoes or grapes if you could just grow your own? It is cheaper, healthier and gardening is good exercise. Don’t have a green thumb? Yeah, I don’t either. Start out with trying to grow a couple herbs in your windowsill. My rosemary sits right next to my cactus  that I water once a week. Hey, you have to start small.

3. Tomatoes

Try having pizza, lasagna, or pasta without tomato sauce. Yeah, I can’t imagine it either. Tomatoes are a staple, and a damn good one. Even though tomatoes are about 95% water, they have a couple grams of fiber and are loaded with lycopenes, which are known to fight cancer, improve cholesterol, and protect your skin from UV rays.

4. Olive Oil

Open up an Italian’s pantry. I bet you not only find one bottle of olive oil, but you find 5. There is just something about this olive oil, and it is in everything. If you have been keeping up with the literature, don’t turn your nose at these healthy oils. Try substituting oil for butter on a ciabatta loaf, or on your next pasta. When oil is paired with simple carbohydrates, your blood sugar doesn’t spike as rapidly and can help with preventing adult onset diabetes better than a low-fat, low-carb diet.

5. I’ll have what he’s having

If you haven’t already heard by now, drinking a glass of wine a day is good for you. Wine is high in polyphenols, antioxidants, and flavinoids. And this is also what makes Italians healthier than the average person. For the most part, they pretty much stick to coffee, espresso, water and wine. On rare occasions they may have pop or juice and it usually costs more in Italy. So you don’t have very many liquid calories showing up there.

6. Three squares a day

Everything seems to revolve around food. Just as we have finished lunch, they seem to get ready for supper. No matter what, breakfast gets eaten and lunch is usually a fairly large extravaganza, typically lasting from lunch till about three in the afternoon. Supper can be a lighter repast, filled with more pasta and vegetables. As well, every meal is a family affair. You always sit down with your family for supper, and I’m not just talking about your immediate family. Your Nono and Nona (Grandmother and Grandfather) are at your table too, same with your Zios and Zias (Uncles and Aunts). If every meal is a social event, you tend to eat slower and pace yourself through a meal which can help against overeating.

7. Stroll after supper

Italians aren’t known for their kettlebell techniques, or interval training. But they are healthy, often walk every night, and make sure they do some type of exercise. I like the HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) like everyone else, but walking does have its benefits. Think of this the next time you decide to drive to the gym so you can get on the treadmill.

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Stay tuned next week when we do Sunday’s Seven top health-related TED talks.

Image by Tetine, Gio JL, h.koppdelaney

Comments: Are you Italian, dated an Italian, or really like the Ninja Turtles? Anything else to add to the list? I would love to hear from you!

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