Exercising during Lunch Hour
Lunch hour can be a welcome break in many positive ways. You need relief after working four or five morning hours, whether it's sitting at a desk, driving a fork lift, on an assembly line or standing behind a store counter.The hour not only gives you the opportunity to enjoy a midday meal, but also use the time to do some healthful exercises. Consider some of the benefits you can gain from those activities.If you’re so busy that you can’t leave your space, take your 30 minutes for lunch, then spend the remaining 15 to 30 minutes exercising in your office, work station or hallway. If you can go outside, find a quiet spot nearby to do basic fresh air exercises suggested below.1. Stand up and extend your arms straight out to the side. Then rotate them in small circles for at least a minute. This exercise will help take out the morning hour kinks from your arms and shoulders, as well as get your blood circulating, especially if you've experienced hours of seated inactivity.2. Stretch out your legs and knees. While sitting or standing, lift one leg at a time, and bring your knee up as close to your chin as you can, and hold it with your hands for five seconds. Do ten with each leg to unlimber your work-stressed neck, back, thighs and knees.3. One of the simplest exercises that can be done at any time of the work day is wall pushing. Face a wall with arms outstretched together and press the wall, palms flat. Lean in until your face is at the wall, then push your arms out full length as hard as you can. Do this simple resistance exercise 20 times during the lunch hour wherever there’s a handy wall. You can also do it when you have just a five-minute rest break between long, sedentary business meetings and conferences.Of course, the most effective and enjoyable way to exercise during lunch break is if there’s a gym in your company building or just a few minutes away. If you also have access to a locker room, shower and gym equipment, make it a daily habit to devote 30 minutes of your lunch hour to appropriately healthy activities.There are many benefits of exercising daily during lunch breaks at work. It will help your body keep fit, as well as prepare you to tackle those tough tasks waiting for you to take on in the afternoons.
