If you sit at a desk all day you might fall victim to the dreaded "secretary spread" -- a widening of the posterior and hips due to frequent inactivity. For time-strapped women, it's hard to squeeze in a daily workout after eight hours of office work. There are exercises that you can perform while sitting at your desk or on a short break. If you worry about receiving funny looks from your co-workers, perform your exercises in a bathroom cubicle, empty meeting room or outside of the building.
Buttock Squeezes
Step 1
Sit up tall with a straight spine.
Step 2
Engage your core muscles by drawing your belly button in toward your spine.
Step 3
Place your feet flat on the floor.
Step 4
Squeeze your butt muscles with as much force as you can.
Step 5
Hold for 10 seconds and release.
Step 6
Practice butt squeezes at your desk periodically throughout the day.
Modified Chair Pose
Step 1
Push your chair away from your desk and stand with your feet together directly in front of the seat.
Step 2
Engage your core muscles by drawing your belly button toward your spine.
Step 3
Lift your chest and raise your arms above your head, palms facing each other.
Step 4
Bend your knees and sit back deeply as if you were about to sit on the chair. Hover 1 to 2 inches above the chair.
Step 5
Hold chair pose for 30 seconds to one minute. Perform chair pose several times during the day.
Plie
Step 1
Pull your chair away from your desk and stand behind it.
Step 2
Hold on to the back of the chair with one hand.
Step 3
Position your heels together and turn your toes out slightly.
Step 4
Bend your knees and sink into a deep squat. Your knees should open out to the sides as you squat down.
Step 5
Pulse your butt muscles for one second at the bottom of the squat.
Step 6
Press your feet into the floor and rise back up to the starting position.
Ball Squeezes
Step 1
Place a ball -- tennis ball or larger -- between your knees.
Step 2
Hold the ball in place with your knees throughout the day to engage your leg muscles.
Step 3
Periodically squeeze the ball with your knees, engaging your butt and thigh muscles. Hold the isometric squeeze for 10 seconds before releasing.
