Body Weight Training

     Body weight is not just something that we try to maintain but it is also something that can assist us. True, the more that you work out the less body weight you have but it provides us with at great resistance for helping produce and/or tone the muscles.

     I don't make it to the gym because of the lack of time. Now there are those that say if it really means something I will make the time to get to the gym. That theory does not work for me though. I am a busy person who works 50 hours per week, I am a full time student, I volunteer with a local Naval Sea Cadets Unit, and I have a wonderful wife and 3 wonderful kids that I want to spend time with. I use body weight training so that I am not traveling to the gym or spending money on expensive weight equipment.

     I also use body weight training when I have just a few minutes to do an exercise. One of my favorite places to train is actually at the office. I spend most of the 50 hours each week sitting in a chair staring at a computer. I love my job but know that the longer I sit here without some extra work I will blow up like a balloon. To help break up the day and give my eyes a rest I will do several exercises here in my office or somewhere in the building.

     To give myself a break from the computer screen I will take push-up and squats breaks. I decided to keep a yoga mat hanging on the back of my door. This way I will not be laying on the floor and can feel confident that I will not get overly dirty while exercising, plus I do not know or even want to know what has been on this carpeting. So I put out the yoga mat. I will crank out about 10 to 20 push-ups and 20 to 40 standing squats every hour or two. When you look at a 10 hour shift that adds up to a lot of reps. For example if I just do push-ups every two hours with 10 push-ups that comes to 50 push-ups ... and 100 squats at a minimum.

     When I want a break from the office I will walk over to the tallest building on campus and walk the stairs. I do not walk every set of stairs but I typically will start on the second floor and climb to the 12th floor. If I really wanted to I could go from the ground floor and go up to the 14th. For now I am happy doing the ones that I do since getting back into exercising after my broken foot. I am hoping to add sit-ups to my routine starting next week. 

     For me I tend to push myself but usually not to the point of getting sweaty. It usually takes much more for me to get to that point. If you are worried about a little stink my suggestion is keep and hand deodorant on hand. 

None of these exercises take a lot of time, just a few minutes here and there. The benefits of doing office exercises are the extra strength that you are building, not sitting too long which can allow for weight gain, and finally it relieves fatigue. It has become a refreshing break that my body is starting to crave during the day. Helps get the blood flowing which gives you more energy to make it through the day.

No excuses. Get up and take care of yourself. It is the only body that you will have.