Desk Excercises

As earlier mentioned, not much on Dispatcher and Weight(y) issues to research. And I'm good at finding obscure articles. So, I am posting some excercises we Dispatchers can do at our desks, even if connected with our umblical cord headsets. Looks like this would be good for stress relievers too.

Abdominal Hold
The abdominal hold can be performed discreetly at your desk and has varying levels of difficulty. The easier version requires a chair and begins by sitting upright with your shoulders over your hips. Take a deep breath, then slowly exhale engaging the stomach muscles by visualizing your belly button pulling toward your tailbone. Continue your slow breathing while holding your abs in this flexed position, slowly bring your right foot off of the floor for a count of 10, then switching to your left foot. Repeat this movement four to five times, then on your last exhale relax the stomach muscles. To increase the intensity of this exercise "Fitness" magazine recommends sitting closer to the edge of your chair, placing your hands on the edge for balance and slowly bringing both feet off of the ground. Make sure your chair is stable for the advanced version.

Sitting Twist
The sitting twist is an excellent way to work your obliques, the muscles that form the waist. Begin this exercise by sitting up tall at the edge of your chair with your shoulders square over your hips. Place your hands behind your head so your elbows are pointing out to the sides. Keeping your hips facing forward, slowly twist your entire torso, neck and head to face toward your left side. Bring this movement back to center and then twist to face the right side. Repeat this movement 10 to 20 times on each side. To make this movement more advanced when you turn toward the left side, slowly raise your left foot off of the floor and bring your left knee to meet your right elbow. Repeat the twist to the right, bringing your right foot off of the floor and bringing your right knee to meet your left elbow.

Deep Breathing
Not all stomach work needs to be about shortening and contracting the stomach muscles, according to "Yoga Journal" magazine. Deep abdominal breathing clears the nostrils, ears and other air ducts in the head, similar to a sneeze, which activates the deepest abdominal muscle, the transversus. Deep-breathing exercises can be performed easily at your desk. Begin by sitting upright in the center of your chair with your shoulders upright over your hips. Slowly inhale through your nose, drawing all of your breath in while relaxing your belly. Once you feel your belly is full of breath, gently exhale through your mouth, gently pulling your belly button in toward your back. Continue this exercise for about one minute.

Hamstring Curl
Perform the hamstring curl by standing at your desk and holding onto the desk or a wall for support. Lift your right foot slowly toward your buttocks. Keep the knee on your supporting leg slightly bent during the hamstring curl, without locking the knee. Lower your right foot slowly and repeat curl about 12 to 15 times. Switch to your left leg and perform the same number of repetitions.

Stretches
Perform a side bend neck stretch by tilting your head to one side for 15 seconds and repeating the tilt three times on each side. Perform a diagonal neck stretch by turning your head slightly to one side. Look down and hold the position for 15 seconds. Repeat the movement three times on each side. The executive stretch requires you to lock your hands behind your head and move your elbows backward as far as you can. Inhale, lean backward to stretch your muscles and hold the position for 20 seconds. Exhale and return to your starting position.

Shoulder Rotations
Relieve strain and tension in your neck and shoulders by performing large forward and backward rotations every couple of hours. This takes only a few minutes but offers effective stress relief caused by tension in the arms, shoulders, upper back and neck area. Sit straight in your chair with your arms down by your sides. Circle your arms forward 10 times, then backward 10 times.