
BACKGROUND
There are many things to place the blame on for packing on some weight. But one of the biggest and justifiable reasons for why Americans are so overweight is our sedentary lifestyle. In the age of computers and offices, many of us are sitting down on our bums for five to nine hours a day. That’s not including the time that is spent sleeping or sitting down to dinner in the evening. Other than our walks to and from our cars, the amount of movement we get in each day is nowhere near what it needs to be.
In an effort to help all of us in the workforce who lead pretty inactive lives Monday through Friday, “The Biggest Loser” trainer Bob Harper teamed up with MSN and created the “5 Minute Office Workout," a web series that provides fitness help for people at their offices.
In addition to office workouts, the website also features tools on how to pack a healthy lunch for work, question and answer with Harper and videos that show Bob performing heart-pumping exercises to get your blood flowing and your metabolism pushed into high gear.
PRO
- Promotes active lifestyle
- Bob Harper is a well-known and well-respected authority on fitness
- Available free online
- Break up the monotony of your workday
- Nutrition fact calculator
CON
- Must be disciplined to reap the benefits of the“5 Minute Office Workout,"
- When your workload gets heavy, there might be a tendency to forgo the exercise break to accomplish getting more work done.
- Lunch Box does not contain specific information on brand, portion size and ingredients on food items making final calculations on nutrition inaccurate
FOOD and RECIPE
Bob Harper “5 Minute Office Workout," also includes the Lunch Box which is an online interactive feature that allows you to determine the nutritional value of your lunch by selecting what you ate, packed or plan to eat. You drag and drop them into a simulated lunch box. The calories, fat and carbohydrate grams are then automatically calculated.
You can also modify your lunch box by removing or adding certain items in order to meet your nutrition goals. There is also a sample of Bob Harper’s lunch box so that you can compare yours to his or get tips from what he is eating for lunch. Since the Lunch Box food items are general, i.e. chicken sandwich, the nutrition calculations are likely to be inaccurate.
EXERCISE
There are 22 “5 Minute Office Workouts” where Bob Harper visits an unsuspecting office to teach employees how to get in a full cardiovascular workout without leaving their office. Each workout includes step-by-step instructions. You can also share your own favorite office workout with others through the website.
He suggests performing an exercise whenever you have a few free minutes. You can select from exercises that target your legs, abdominals, biceps, and back muscles. Bob Harper has also created exercises for new mothers who bring their babies to work and yoga-inspired exercises.
EXPENSE
Accessing the “5 Minute Office Workout” is a free service that only requires you create an account.
CONCLUSION
Bob Harper is one of the most popular fitness trainers today, who has changed many lives as one of the trainers on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” His latest venture is reaching out to the millions of Americans who lead rather inactive lives as they toil away at their office computers five days a week. With a variety of exercises to choose from that can be done in three to five minutes, Bob’s “5 Minute Office Workout” are quick and effective ways to get your heart rate up during the day without even leaving the office. You can then leave work each day feeling like you accomplished something for your health as well as your boss.
Common Misspellings
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