JUMP UP AND SHOUT

Well, you don’t have to jump. But a bit of movement at your desk job would be nice for health purposes. Sedentary desk jobs are slowly destroying the health of cubed workers around the world. In a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise, a pedometer on 98 workers in ten different occupations found that secretaries took just 4,327 steps, teachers 4,726 steps and lawyers 5,062 – all far short of the 10,000 estimated steps required for good health. Try standing the next time you’re on a phone call, it can be an effective way to fight the (office) bulge.

MELT YOUR MIDSECTION

Want to know the real secret to a South Beach body? Wake Forest University researchers discovered that people who diet and exercise shrink their abdominal fat cells twice as much as those who diet only—even when they lose the same amount of total weight. When scientists analyzed the body-fat distribution of study participants who had dropped an average of 22 pounds, they observed that those who included exercise in their weight-loss programs were able to specifically target belly fat. “Abdominal fat cells may have different amounts of metabolic enzymes than other parts of your body, causing them to be more responsive to exercise,” says lead author Tongjian You, Ph.D.

The V Up

1) Start position: Lie back onto floor or bench with knees bent and hands extended towards ceiling. Head should be in a neutral position with a space between chin and chest.

2) Leading with the chin and chest towards the ceiling, contract the abdominal and raise shoulders off floor or bench. Also raise legs up towards ceiling and attempt to touch your hands to your feet.

3) Return to start position.