Undoing office body damage

By Daisy Carrington, amNewYork Deputy Features Editor | daisy.carrington@am-ny.com

November 21, 2007

Lunges (John Wendle)

If there's one thing guaranteed to undo any good workout routine, it's your work routine. Face it. While you may dedicate as much as three hours to blasting away your fat with crunches and push-ups, the eight hours you spend a day slumped over a computer is guaranteed to thwart your valiant efforts.

"Working in an office environment can be very tough on your body in some very specific ways," says Sara Hatfield, a trainer at the Fitness Collective in Park Slope. "Sitting all day can cause tight hip flexors and over-stretched, weak butt muscles," she warns. She's devised a routine to undo some of the damage inflicted by the daily grind.

1. Walking lunges
Stand in an upright posture. Take an exaggerated step out with your right foot. Slowly drop your hips while bending your back knee to a point where it is just above the ground. Keeping your core tight, press up through your front heel and swing your left leg through to land softly for a lunge. Keeping your weight driving down through your heel will ensure that your knee stays behind the front toe and in a safe place, plus it works your booty and hamstrings a little more. Do 10 lunges forward, turn, and do 10 more back to your starting position. Perform three to four sets.

2. Rhomboid pinch
Stand with your knees slightly bent and your core engaged. Hold surgical tubing or a resistance band in front of your chest, keeping your palms down and your elbows up and out to the side. Squeeze the muscles between your shoulder blades to bring your elbows around behind. Try to make your shoulder blades "kiss." Return to start. This exercise counteracts all the hunching you do at the computer all day. Perform three to four sets of 20 reps.

3. Squat
Stand with your feet parallel and shoulder-width apart. Be sure that your toes are pointing straight forward. Push your hips to the rear as if you are sitting in a chair. Your lower legs should remain almost motionless as your hips reach back and descend down to the bottom. Keep your knees behind your toes and drive your weight down through your heels. Maintain the same posture that you began with, looking ahead and keeping your chest open. Then squeeze your glutes as you straighten your legs and come back to standing. There's nothing better for conditioning the legs and booty. Perform three to four sets of 20 reps.

4. Downward-facing dog push-ups
With your feet facing forward, place your hands on the floor in front of your feet, pressing your heels into the ground and raising your hips to the ceiling. Place your palms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull your belly button up toward your spine by engaging your abdominal wall. Descend until your elbows are bent at about 90 degrees, then straighten your arms and return to the starting position. Go as far down as you can without dropping yourself on your head, keeping your body in a V-shape. This alternative version of a push-up focuses on the upper back and gives you a great calf stretch while you work. Perform three to four sets of 10 reps.

5. Wrist/chest opener
Reach your hands around behind your back at shoulder height and try to touch the fingertips behind your back. Extend your fingertips and look up at the ceiling, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Continue to breathe and hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds. You can do this at your desk during the day or even on the subway platform while you are waiting for the train.