We frequently get the question of how to work fitness in when you have a desk job. The desk job can pose some challenges especially to the back, neck, and wrist areas. In the video below, Terry shows some simple isometric and tension exercises you can do to increase strength, circulation, and help fight some of the problems of being sedentary most of the day. Taking walks and standing up frequently are other great ways to mix it up while at the office.

Let us know any ideas you have or ways that you incorporate working out at your desk!

We have some highlights for you today from “How To Exercise Without Moving A Muscle -Isometrics For Everyone” by Victor Obeck.

“The word isometric comes from the Greek iso, meaning ‘the same’, and metric, meaning ‘length’. Isometric contraction refers, therefore, to the tightening of a muscle without changing its length.”

“There are some people in the field of physical education who will tell you that if you get enough isotonic exercises, you do not need isometrics. I disagree–and for very good reasons. For one thing, isometrics exercise muscle fibres that would otherwise remain idle. For another, they tone up muscles far more efficiently than do isotonics–they do a better job in less time. And lastly, how many people do you know who have the time to devote to a complete regimen of vigorous exercise? You can run through the whole set of isometric exercises in 90 seconds a day–in your spare time. But a full set of the necessary isotonic exercises may take up to ten times as long–and usually you can’t be doing something else at the same time.”

Online viewable book available at Transformetrics.com>Classics

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Continuing our series from Checkley’s Natural Method of Training, we have some more highlights for you today.

Checkley’s Natural Method of Training
By: Edwin Checkley
Second edition, published 1922, excerpts from pages 124-125.

“I hope I have made it clear that the carriage and management of the body, between periods of specific exercise, is of more importance than the exercises themselves. and above all that proper breathing is the very cornerstone of physical strength. Our habits do more to form our bodies as well as our minds than the conscious efforts at improvement. So that, if we can get in the habit of taking long breaths, and then gradually increase the length of our respiratory movement, and the volume of air thus taken in at a breath, we shall obviously do more than if we arranged to merely exercise the lungs at stated times.”

Over the years, many people have asked me why I think push-ups are one of the best all-around exercises for fitness and strength. Here are ten solid reasons.

1. In the multi-variations that are possible, push-ups work every major muscle group in the entire body and on both sides of the body—no other exercise can do this!

2. Push-ups are totally free! You already have everything you need within arm’s reach (pun intended) to achieve a world-class body sculpting strength and fitness training program.

3. Push-ups can be done virtually anywhere—all you need is a few square feet and you’re off to the races.

4. Push-ups solve time-constraint issues. Once you’re in the groove, you’ll be able to perform an entire workout in less time than it would take to drive to a gym and change into gym clothes.

5. Push-ups have almost no risk of injury. This is especially true as you integrate a number of variations into your routine that challenge, sculpt, and strengthen your entire musculature from multiple angles.

6. Push-ups are the key to a sound and healthy heart and a powerful pair of lungs. They integrate both cardio endurance and cardio interval training into one series of exercises.

7. Push-ups build lithe, perfectly sculpted muscles from your neck to toes. The result is a sculpted physique that is always proportionate to your body’s natural frame, muscle and bone structure.

8. Push-ups are the key to dynamic lifelong weight management, because as they build muscle, they automatically accelerate your body’s fat-burning engines. One pound of muscle burns 35 calories a day, in contrast to just 2 calories burned by one pound of fat per day. Your muscles thus reset your metabolism, burning fat twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

9. Push-ups are the foundation of a fitness lifestyle that will keep you young, vibrant, energized, and totally strong for life!

10. Push-ups reinforce your personal willpower and self-determination to do and accomplish great things. They are the ultimate self-fulfilling prophecy for lifelong strength and fitness.

By: John Peterson
http://www.transformetrics.com