Sit and Workout

One of the newest-to-me sites is Greatist. They have all sorts of great health and fitness tips. I am still using the exercise ball when watching television or just sitting around (well, instead of just sitting around) and was wondering what else I could be doing.

Greatist had some ideas! They're using them as ways to exercise at work, but I'm using them as exercises to do instead of sitting idle in front of the television.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. If your computer chair swivels, this is a good one! Sit in the chair with your feet hovering over the floor- if you are doing this at your desk, hold on to the edge with your fingers and thumb; if you have moved the chair in front of the television, just use your arms for movement--use your core to swivel from side to side. 
2. You can do this one sitting anywhere! Just put your feet flat on the floor and tap your toes speedy quick. OR, to intensify this one, stand up in front of something (like a small trashcan) and touch your toes to the rim repeatedly-- like a soccer drill! 
3. Stand up and do calf raises. 
4. While sitting down, squeeze your rear, hold for 10 seconds or so and release. Repeat. 
5. Another sitting down one! Just straighten one leg (or both) and hold it (them) there for 5+ seconds. Lower the legs without letting the feet touch the floor and repeat. If you're doing one leg at a time, alternate the lifting.
6. While sitting, put a beach ball (or pillow or whatever you can find) between your knees and press your legs together for a minute (yes, 60 seconds). Repeat. 
7. Backwards push-ups. Sit in a sturdy chair and sit on the edge with your hands on either side of you gripping the side edges of the chair. Take a step of two  away from the chair and straighten your arms to lift your body. Then bend your arms to a 90 degree angle allowing your rear to dip down below the seat of the chair. Hold and re-straighten- like push-ups! Repeat 10-15 times or as many times as you can stand it. This is great for those bat wings ladies! 
8. While sitting in the chair- do some fist pumps! Just punch your fists into the air in front of you like a boxer. Gets out frustrations and tones your arms. Try doing it during the commercials
9. Stand up and hold your arms by your sides with your palms facing behind. Then just pulse the arms backward for 5-10 seconds. Release and repeat, keeping your arms long and straight. Try doing this through the commercials. 
10. While sitting or standing, raise your shoulders up towards your ears and hold them there for 5 seconds. Relax. Repeat for 15 reps. If you want more resistance, hold your hand weights (or water bottles, whatever) in your hands.

There's always a way to get moving. Even when we're sitting down! There's no reason to just sit and not burn calories! These are easy enough to incorporate into our daily lives whether we work outside or inside the home.

Let's get moving y'all!