So I was at work for hours longer than I wanted to be, and I was desperate for some gym time, having missed half my workout that morning (thanks to my husband's car battery dying). Does this ever happen to you? I hate it. Missing a workout makes me feel sluggish and icky all day.
So while I was at work, I decided to make the most of my shift during the down time and work out there. Hopefully you all can use these ideas where you work when its a little slow. Here's what I did:
1. Plies/Squats: When no one is in the restaurant, there is a lot of counter space to use as a "ballet bar." I would go through my plies and squats like this:
-While holding on to the counter with one arm, stand with your feet turned out, about hip width apart or in "second position." Squeeze all muscles in lower body and abdominals as you bend your knees (keeping knees in line with toes" and then straighten up slowly. By the end of 30 reps, your derrière will bee feeling some serious burn. Try to do 3 slow sets of 30 before your manager comes back from the bank, lol.
2. Static bicep/tricep workout: Hold your arms straight out to the sides for as long as you can in one shot. I usually go for 2-3 minutes straight, then let them down to rest before going for another. Holding up the weight of your own arms is a killer toning workout, and its how dancers have long and lean arms (we hold our arms out, up and strong throughout our entire barre/class). Try it anywhere, anytime. Its a great toning exercise that you can do at work so long as you don't care if your coworkers give you silly looks for a minute lol.
3. ABS! - This one definitely makes you look silly, but when your abs are burning and getting toned, you wont care. Hold one arm behind your head and stand firmly on one leg (the same leg as the arm you're using). Then bring your opposite leg into your chest, crunching inward with your abs (like an angled crunch while standing. Repeat on other side. Try for 3 sets of 25-30. It's good times, and something that you can do in an empty office or a bathroom at work in no time at all.
Its not a complete workout by any means, but it's a great supplement when you just don't have the time or space to exercise properly. It gets me through. Do you have any other ideas?
I'm totally with you on this. I get easily irritated when I can't swim! Not being able to swim while I was sick/in hospital and recovering was really hard on me. NOTHING compares to the feeling of jumping into a pool & crawling a few laps... or the feeling of "flying" through the water during butterfly swimming!! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing those exercise tips!