10 Reasons to Strength Train

http://www.healthierhabits.net/10-reasons-to-strength-train

30 Minutes of Exercise

http://www.healthierhabits.net/30-minutes-of-exercise

Burning Calories

 

http://www.healthierhabits.net/all-about-burning-calories

The Obesity Crisis

http://www.healthierhabits.net/the-obesity-crisis

5 or 6 Desk Exercises for Your Busy Office Life

For the majority of us, the “desk jockey” habits of office life consume our body’s health as we consume the dozen donuts left absentmindedly at the communal kitchenette. Our typical office day can last around 8 or 9 hours, leaving us sitting in a chair staring at a computer screen or paperwork. This lack of physical activity can take a huge toll on our backs, our wrists, our eyes, and even our legs. The many of us who are lucky to have these nine to five jobs are the ones stuck in such daily working routines of ill body health. Though office life can be blissful, it can also spell out a literal pain in the neck.
Sitting at a desk (even if it is in an ergonomic chair) for long hours can result in obesity and many other health problems. Here are 5 desk exercises to help you exert some energy and bring athletic activity back to your office life, and a 6th one for the more advanced exercisers out there that want to push the limits.

Lower Back Desk Exercise

A sore lower back is a very common problem for desk jockeys. It can be difficult to practice good posture for long hours. This leads to some relaxed slouching, which inevitably causes lower back and neck pain. You can do a simple stretch to help alleviate this discomfort. You can do this stretch either sitting in a chair or standing up:
Place your hands, palms down, on your lower back.
Point your fingers down and lean back.
Push your breastbone up towards the sky, keeping your elbows pointing straight back.
Hold for 15 seconds then relax.
Repeat the above steps twice.
This stretch will help you relieve the tension that builds up in your lower back. To avoid injury, remember not to bounce or jerk your muscles while exercising or stretching your back.

Calf Stretch and Quadriceps Desk Exercise

This exercise will help relieve the tired and lethargic feeling that invades your leg muscles due to inactivity. It will assist in eliminating leg cramps and muscle spasms. In addition, the quadriceps exercise will actually strengthen the muscle itself through an isolated isometric flex at the top.
Before attempting this exercise, ensure that you have enough space to fully extend your legs. Do the following exercise with your back straight and your feet planted flat on the floor in front of you.
Place your hands flat on top of your right leg.
Lift your right leg from your hip flexor and fully extend it straight from the knee.
With your leg fully extended flex your upper leg muscle and hold for 10 seconds.
Lower your right leg slowly, once again placing your foot flat on the floor.
Repeat exercise with the left leg.
Repeat the above steps twice.
You can also stretch out both legs under the desk for a minute. This exercise will enhance the blood flow to your legs and alleviate muscle cramps. While doing the above exercise you should feel a solid stretch in your calf muscle and a firm tightening of the upper leg quadriceps.

Shoulder Stretch and Desk Exercise

A simple exercise that can be done from behind the desk is the shoulder stretch/roll. This exercise will help you when those cases of copy paper and archived record boxes get a little heavy. It is also good for those with aching shoulders. Remember to sit up straight with your feet firmly planted on the floor when doing the following exercise.
Stretch your right arm in front of you and across your chest toward your left side.
Bring your left arm under and in front of your right arm.
Gently hug your right arm in towards your chest.
Repeat with the arms reversed.
Relax your arms, letting them hang down loosely at your side.
Slowly roll both shoulders backwards ten times.
Slowly roll both shoulders forward ten times.
These movements will help relax the shoulders and neck, as well as add flexibility and strength. In addition, they both can easily be done as a desk exercise.

Abdominal Crunch Desk Exercise

Even though no one likes to admit it, sitting for long hours at a desk can lead to a bulging waistline. This can be a cause of stress for many. You can combat this enemy with a simple crunch desk exercise done directly from your office chair.
Sit on the edge of your seat.
Lean back from the waist, keep your back straight.
Hold the seat of your chair with both hands.
Lift both legs up, keeping your knees bent while tightening your abdominal muscles.
Straighten your legs holding your heels a few inches off of the floor.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have completed 10 repetitions.
For most of us, abdominal exercises are not fun. However, if you can master this one you will be well on your way to developing a stronger and leaner midsection. This exercise will strengthen your core and help promote better posture.

Sit and Stand Up Straight

Many people are surprised when they hear that sitting and standing up straight is an exercise. Good posture itself is probably one of the most effective core strengthening exercises out there. This is due to the amount of muscles required to stabilize the upper body when keeping the back straight and the tummy tight. Here are some tips for better posture.
Adjust your chair and keyboard to promote a non-slouching sitting position.
Always sit with both feet firmly flat on the ground in front of you.
Stand up tall, with your shoulders back and your chin raised.
Practicing good posture will usually alleviate lower back and neck pain. It will help you feel more confident and in control of yourself. Sitting and standing up straight will continually build strength in your abdominal and lower back muscles.

Crouching Tiger Sitting Twister Exercise

Sitting for so many hours in a day greatly impacts our flexibility.  This simple exercise helps hold back the ever tightening demons of aging and helps to improve our flexibility despite the fact that we remain motionless for long periods of time and often fall asleep at our desks when the boss is not looking.  Slumping over our desks, our faces mere inches from the puddle of drool slowly leaking from our distended jaws, is poor for our posture and results in cramping and the loss of flexibility.  Do this exercise and see the difference for yourself.
Sit on the edge of your seat.
Lean forward from the waist, keep your back straight.
Take hold of your left leg with both hands.
Lift your leg up, keeping your knee bent while tightening your abdominal muscles.
Gently pull your leg behind your head and lock it in place by hooking your heel on your neck.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 for your right leg.  Hold for 2 minutes.  Then disassemble yourself slowly and carefully as to not suddenly release your legs into your keyboard or screen.  Repeat 10-15 times.
For most of us, stretching exercises are not fun.  However, if you can master this one you will be well on your way to developing a flexibility rarely seen in the office.  Really.

Conclusion

These office exercises are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to developing a healthy lifestyle. Make sure you get up and walk around a few times a day. Start taking the stairs instead of the elevator. If the commute to work isn’t too long, riding your bike or walking to work a couple of times a week will do you some good as well.
Trying to exercise at your desk might feel a little awkward at first, so try the routine at home until you get it all figured out. Don’t worry about what Bob might be thinking when you begin to practice them at the office. As he watches your confidence and health improve, he might even be motivated to try the desk exercises for himself. You could end up creating a much healthier office life for all of your colleagues.

Your Personal Cancer Prevention Plan

While government, science, and advocacy groups all need to be involved in the mission to create a cancer-prevention agenda, individuals should be as well. Obesity, poor diet, and lack of exercise account for almost one-third of cancer fatalities in the United States, so healthy behavior will lessen our risk. Here, an action strategy you can start today.
Follow the Cancer-Prevention Diet
Buy organic. Exposure to certain pesticides is linked to at least nine different cancers. Buy foods with the USDA-certified organic seal.
Make fruits and vegetables daily companions. Consume a range of fresh, colorful produce. Berries, cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage), tomatoes, and dark-green leafy vegetables are especially potent cancer fighters.
Add fiber to your diet. Every 10 g of daily fiber intake reduces the risk of colon cancer by 10%. Good sources include whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Aim for 25 g daily.
Eat more fish. Fish that are low in saturated fat and high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, Atlantic mackerel, Arctic char, and sardines, reduce inflammation, which is linked to cancer.
Drink green tea. Green tea contains catechins, antioxidants in a class of compounds called polyphenols, which may protect cells from DNA damage, strengthen the immune system, and activate enzymes that curb tumors.
Get enough vitamin D. Higher blood levels of this vitamin are associated with lower rates of colon, breast, ovarian, renal, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Have your blood level tested, and discuss supplementation options with your doctor.
Flavor your food with turmeric. Another polyphenol, this Indian spice has anti-inflammatory properties.
Avoid red meat. Beef, pork, and lamb are linked to cancers of the colon, prostate, pancreas, and kidney.
Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a risk factor for oral cancers; cancers of the esophagus, liver, colon, and breast; and possibly pancreatic cancer. Women should have no more than one drink daily; men, no more than two.
Don't eat trans fats. Trans fatty acids, used in baked goods and deep-fried foods, raise the risk of prostate and invasive breast cancers. Don't buy anything containing partially hydrogenated oil, code for trans fats.
Create a Cancer-Fighting Home
Keep out toxins. Clean with products that use organic ingredients; filter tap water; and look for cosmetics, moisturizers, and hair-care products without parabens, chemicals that have estrogenlike properties that may stimulate hormone-related cancers.
Avoid BPA and BPS. Research suggests there are links between cancer and BPA and BPS, both of which are found in plastic bottles and the inside coating of cans. Look for cans labeled BPA-free and plastic containers with the recycling numbers 1, 2, or 4.
Minimize dry cleaning. Perchloroethylene, a dry-cleaning solvent, causes cancer in animals. Find a dry cleaner that doesn't use it, or air your clothes out after bringing them home.
Keep your cell phone away from your face. Mobile phones use a form of electromagnetism that has been classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." When on your phone, use a headset, speakerphone, or Bluetooth device.
Be a More Proactive Medical Consumer
Get cancer-prevention vaccines. Everyone needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine, which helps prevent liver cancer. The HPV vaccine, which protects against many viral strains that cause cervical cancer, is advised for all females ages 11 to 26 and all males ages 11 to 21.
Be screened appropriately. The colonoscopy is the gold standard for detecting colon cancer; the Pap test, for cervical cancer; and mammograms, for breast cancer.
Limit exposure to medical radiation. Ask your doctor why a test is recommended and whether there is an alternative that does not use radiation.

5 Exercises You Can Do At Work

Just because you're stuck at work doesn't mean you have to neglect fitness.

Fitness starts with a solid core. Just ask Bicycle magazine's writier, Selene Yeager. The "Fit Chick" columnist is an American Council on Exercise certified trainer, the author of "Ride Your Way Lean," and incredibly active by most standards. However, like many of us, Yeager also spends considerable time behind a desk. And it's there, working on the computer or talking on the phone with clients and colleagues that we fall into a serious fitness trap: inertia.

"That's a huge problem right now. A lot of people think that, in itself, is what's causing so much of the obesity, health and metabolic problems we have," she said. "Say, you go to the gym in the morning, and run for 30 minutes, and then yousit for nine hours. That one burstof activity doesn't undo the damage of such a prolonged stretch of being sedentary."

Avoiding inactivity is especially inportant for you core. If you sit up straight in your chair, with your feet flat on the floor, you're more likely to engage your abdominal muscles. But if you slouch -- and let your skeletal system support your body weight -- you can go the entire workday without firing up your metabolism. Here are five great ways to get a quick core workout while at work, recommended by active people, including Yeager.

1. Core Leg Lift
Office work often resembles Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion: An object at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by an external force.
One of Yeager's favorite office exercises is the core leg lift, which works the deep abdominal muscles, the quadriceps and the hip flexors. To try it:

• Sit up tall in your seat. Contract your abs and lift one foot off the floor aboutsix inches, so the knee comes straight up with the foot directly underneath (maintaining a 90-degree bend in the knee).
• Hold for 10 seconds and slowly lower it while relaxing your abs.
• Repeat with the opposite leg.
• Alternate throughout the exercise.

2. Chair Suitcase
The chair suitcase exercise targets all the main abdominal muscles except the obliques. You'll need to:

• Sit on the edge of the chair seat and lean back until your upper back touches the back of the chair. Tuck your tailbone under, and hold onto the arms of the chair for support.
• Bring your knees up -- with yourshins parallel to the floor -- so that your torso and thighs make an "open suitcase."
• Close the "suitcase" by bringing your chest and knees toward one another.
• Open and close for 10 to 20 repetitions, two to three sets.

The sole caveat, is to maintain good posture and keep yourback straight, supporting your upper body on the arm rests.

You never want to arch your back, as soon as your back begins to arch, it means you need to take a break.

3. Wall Push-ups
Forget expensive exercise equipment and fussy props. a Wall is all you need for thisexercise. Doing a push-up against the wall is notas hard as a regular push-up, but it still gives your biceps, triceps and pectorals alittle workout. Contracting your abdominals and back muscles during the exercise helps strengthen your core muscles.

To make the push-ups harder, move your feet farther away from the wall, or do them on the edge of your desk.

1. Stand facing the wall, feet shoulder-width apart and about one foot (0.3 meter) from the wall.
2. Place your palms on the wall at about shoulder height.
3. Keeping your legs and back straight, bend your elbows and lean toward the wall as far as possible.
4. Push yourself away from thewall to the starting position.
5. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

4. Ab Curls
Having strong abdominal muscles isn't just about looking good at the beach. There's a reason why your abs are referred to as "core" muscles. They're the fulcrum around which your body works. they help you sit up, bend over, liftyour legs and twist your body.

At the office, all these functions are crucial. Without them, you couldn't bend over to pick up a paper clip from the floor or twist in your chair to pull a file from the drawer. Most importantly, your abs hold you upright in a sitting position. Without them, you'd have to be strapped into your chair or you'd slump over onto your desk. So take good care of them by doing these ab curls once a day.

1. Sit up straight in a stable chair without wheels. Contract your abdominal muscles.
2. Cross your arms over your chest and curl forward.
3. Hold for 3 seconds.
4. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

5. Lift the Weight Off Your Shoulders
The shoulders are the part of the body where most people holdall their tension. For some reason, we think that the tighter we hold these muscles, the faster we'll work. Unfortunately, holding the shoulders in one position for a long time can compress nerves and impair circulation.

This exercise strengthens and loosens these muscles, all the better to hold up that hard-working noggin. Add some weight by holding a full water bottle in each hand, or use small hand weights. This exercise works best in a chair that has no armrests.

1. Sit up in your chair, back straight and abdominal muscles contracted.
2. Lift your arms out to the sides until they're parallel to the floor. Hold for 3 seconds. Lower arms.
3. Lift your arms out to the front until they're parallel to the floor. Hold for 3 seconds. Lower arms.
4. Repeat eight to 10 times.