Monday, May 21st, 2012

Fitness Tips — August 25, 2010 6:00 — 0 Comments

Fitness: Beat back drain of desk job

Banish the workday “blahs” with these tips from the editors at Fitness.

Little daily habits can sap your workout mojo more than you know.

Do these easy 9-to-5 tweaks from the pros at Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, Ariz., to save your energy for that after-work sweat session.

- Power Suck: Sitting for hours slides your tush down in your chair, forming a C-curve in your back, says Mike Siemens, clinical director of exercise physiology.

Pick-Me-Up: every hour, stand up, put your hands on the small of your back and gently arch as far as you can for one second, leading with your head. Do six to eight reps.

- Power Suck: Hunching over to text or read the cell phone screen pulls your neck out of alignment – a kink that can cause neck pain and fatigue.

Pick-Me-Up: Placing a thumb on your sternum, make an L by pointing your index finger up. If your chin touches it, move your head back. Do six chin-to-finger-and-back reps hourly.

- Power Suck: getting a candy fix within 90 minutes of gym time will send energy levels crashing 10 to 20 minutes into your workout, Siemens says.

Pick-Me-Up: Don’t go more than three hours without eating, and make your pre-workout snack a mix of protein and carbs, like peanut butter on apple slices.

- Power Suck: Stress can cause you to breathe shallowly, depriving you of energizing oxygen, says life-management therapist Peggy Holt.

Pick-Me-Up: when tension starts to build, spend three minutes taking slow, deep breaths and use all your senses to visualize something soothing, like lying on the beach.

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