Here we describe a 4 minute workout you can do 2-3 times a day to stay fit despite having a sedentary occupation. If your working day is mainly spent sitting in the cockpit or in front of a computer studying, it is useful to have a short workout you can do to get the circulation and metabolism going. It will get your heart rate up without too much of a sweat. It will have the same physiological effect on your blood vessels as a full workout.
The Exercises
The workout consists of a set 4 exercises and you do 3 rounds of each set.
Exercise 1: Squats x 20
Exercise 2: Standing upright, tighten your abdominal muscles and swing your arms like a marching soldier. One up and down swing counts as 1. Do 20.
Exercise 3: Standing upright, hang your arms in front of you with the fists against each other and then bring the fists to touch above your head, keeping the arms straight as the arms move up each side in a semi-circle, bring them back down by reversing the move. This counts as 1. Do 20 times.
Exercise 4: Standing upright, start with your elbows bent and closed fists just in front of the shoulders. Pump your fists up towards the sky as fast as you can 20 times.
Repeat 2 more rounds of the set. You can increase the intensity by modifying each exercise:
Exercise 1: Jump squats x 20
Exercise 2: March your feet up and down on the spot as you swing the arms, for 20.
Exercise 3. Flap jacks with the arms swinging up until the fists touch with the legs jumping wide and arms back down with fists touching in front of the body as the legs jump narrow.
Exercise 4. As you pump your arms up, jump up and down as well, for 20.
You can warm up with the first set per original instructions and use the modified intenser moves for the second and third set.
After you complete the 3 rounds of each set, feel the tingling in your hands – this is a sign that the body is producing natural nitric oxide, which is good for your blood vessels and circulation, as well as your mitochondria, the powerhouse of all cells.
If you have some free time and want to do a yoga or dance class, try the specially selected videos found here.
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