7 Moves to Combat Office Bod

Office Bod is what happens when your biggest form of activity from 9 to 5 is strolling to the office kitchen and grabbing a bite. The combination of sitting for longer hours and lots of snacking causes your body to change in pretty unappealing ways. Think hunched-over posture, a flat behind, and a paunchy midsection.

It’s not just a superficial thing; recent studies have proved that sedentary lifestyle increases the rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease. If you sit for between eight and 12 hours, your risk of type 2 diabetes increases by 90 percent. The World Health Organization says that globally one in four adults is not active enough.

Ten years ago even, leaving the office for lunch or stepping out for an errand were pretty normal. Now that whole work culture has changed and it’s affecting our health and our bodies. The lunch hour has become a relic. Going on an errand in the middle of the workday is seen as an interruption. Plus, we are all addicted to our screens.

So how do you combat office bod? A couple of weeks ago, I talked to three experts for tips. They suggested moving more for starters (10,000 steps a day should be your goal). Other tips: Take calls on the go, work at a standing desk (if you can), get up to walk every hour, and swap packaged snacks and sugary drinks for water and fresh fruit and vegetables.

It turns out, one of the biggest keys to fighting Office Bod is strength training. “It will help your body burn calories more efficiently than if you were just doing cardio,” says Anita Golden, fitness manager at Crunch. Her ideal workout balance is 20 percent cardio and 80 percent strength training (which includes lifting weights and doing resistance training). Along with moving more throughout the day, Golden believes 45 minutes three times a week is the minimum you should be doing to stay fit.

Golden devised the Anti-Office Bod workout for Yahoo Beauty targeting the areas most affected by sitting. “You lose all definition in your butt and abs from being slumped over,” says Golden. Along with 20 minutes of cardio, Golden says you should do four sets of 12 reps paired with about 50 seconds of rest. Golden says the moves should provide results in a few weeks, assuming you are also changing your diet. “If you know that your job requires you to sit for long periods, you need to adjust your nutrition accordingly,” cautions Golden. “Your lifestyle is a big determinate of how quickly you will see results.”