DEL.ICIO.USHEALTH / WORKOUT
No time to exercise? Stretch, do other moves as you go about day
For the Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Between work and family, and sitting in traffic going between work and family, it’s hard to find an extra 30 minutes to hit the treadmill. Sure, experts say you don’t have to do all your exercise at once. You can squeeze it into your day in three 10-minute sessions. But still, what can you really accomplish in 10 minutes?
Plenty, according to some local health and fitness experts. They say it’s possible to exercise in the places you spend the most time — at your desk, while waiting for just about anything and yes, even while you sit in that pesky traffic.
Phil Skinner/AJC STAFF
Sandy Hutto, an employee at Kimberly Clark in Roswell, takes breaks while working at her desk to stretch and exercise.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
- Topics: Atlanta hospitals | Weight loss | CDC | Cancer | Swine Flu
- Back to Health news
DOCTOR IS IN
 | Why worry? |
THINNER YOU
 | Lose weight. Together. |
Short sessions can work
“The biggest problem people have is that they sit at their computer all day and they don’t take a break,” said Christine Neely, a health and fitness specialist who conducts health screenings for Kimberly-Clark in Roswell. She encourages employees to take breaks to stretch their wrists, neck and chest. She also tells desk workers to do shoulder rolls and cat stretches for the back. “It usually only takes two to five minutes to take a quick stretch,” she said.
For cardio, Neely said even a short walk during lunch is beneficial. Need to get a little more intense with your brief workout? “I’ve even had people bring in a jump rope and their tennis shoes. You wouldn’t believe what you could accomplish by jumping rope in a short amount of time,” said Neely.
Sandy Hutto, a marketing analyst at Kimberly-Clark, is an avid exerciser but also sneaks in exercise throughout her workday. “I try to get up at least once every hour — but never go longer than two hours — to walk around. I actually stretch at least twice a day for 10 minutes,” she said. She also chooses the stairs over the elevator.
Get toned sitting in traffic
While driving and exercising don’t exactly mix, you could still do a few simple things while sitting in gridlock. Neely suggests small, stretchlike wrist rotations.
And squeezing your glutes shouldn’t distract you from the road. “Try to contract one side of your glutes,” said David Pasion, a physical therapist and manager of the Emory Physical Therapy Spine Clinic. “Basically, can you squeeze one buttock? More importantly, can you squeeze one buttock and avoid contracting your thigh? Give it a try; you might be surprised.” And while you can’t do crunches in the car, you can still work your abdominals. “Lightly draw your lower abdomen and hold,” said Pasion, adding that you should still be able to breathe.
Beverly Wittler of McDonough gets pretty creative in the car: “I do the twist when stuck in traffic,” she said via e-mail.
Don’t waste wait time
Waiting in line? Waiting for your food to warm up in the microwave? Just brushing your teeth? Pasion said to try balancing on one foot. “See how long you can do this. Fifteen to 30 seconds would be ideal,” he said. Pasion’s ideas about squeezing the glutes and contracting the abs are also inconspicuous ways to work out while waiting in line.
You can even make the most of a minimal wait. Geoff Bates of Roswell said he gets in about 50 push-ups just waiting for his water to warm up in the shower.
Carol Maybank, a mammographer in Atlanta, manages to squeeze in exercise in a matter of seconds. “While in the dark room processing my mammogram films, I have a few seconds in between films,” she wrote. “About a year ago, I decided that I was wasting valuable time so I decided to buy 3-pound weights and work out whenever I was standing around waiting for the bell to ring to put in the next film.” She does a series of waist bends, leg lifts and stretches, all while holding the weights. “If I don’t get a chance to exercise in the evening, I don’t feel bad because I have gotten something in each day.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO IN A FEW MINUTES
Kelly Pettit, owner of Body Fit Atlanta (www.bodyfitatlanta.com), a personal training and boot camp company in Dunwoody, encourages her clients to get in exercise whenever they can. “The more creative, the better,” she said. She shares her favorite tips:
• Take five-minute stair breaks at the office. Do five minutes in the morning, five in the afternoon and another five late in the day. “It is a great way to work on cardio endurance and toning our legs and rear,” Pettit said.
• For upper body, Pettit tells her clients to do 20 incline push-ups at their desks. Put your hands on the desk and keep your legs straight, she said.
• Do lunges and calf raises while on a conference call.
• During TV commercials, do ab work and push-ups. “Keeps you away from snacking,” Pettit said.
• Lynn Abney of Dunwoody, a client of Pettit’s, says: “I try to squeeze my stomach in and out when I’m thinking about it, and when I’m walking I pretend I’m holding a penny in my glutes.”
Tips from readers
• “While I blow-dry my hair, I bend forward and stretch the back of my legs.” — Vicki Van Der Hoek, Morrow
• “While riding an elevator, escalator, waiting on MARTA or anywhere standing, I squeeze my glutes.” — Janette Carrington, Marietta
• “At the grandkids’ hockey games, since we stand anyway, I try to be discreet but keep moving left to right.” — Beverly Wittler, McDonough
• “If flying in and out of Hartsfield, [I] walk from the ticket counter to concourse or concourse to baggage claim instead of taking airport trains. A stroll from ticketing to Concourse D is one mile.” — Tom Bickel, Decatur
Services »
