BEAT THE AFTERNOON BLAHS FROM BODY DESIGN

Submitted by Allison Olmstead

Susan Tobiessen, the founder of Body Design, OrangeCounty’s wellness and fitness center, has over 25 years of experience and education in weight training, Pilates and sports medicine. She offers these easy tips to get focused and stay energized at the office:

1. Feel the sunshine: Go outside. Even if you go out for lunch, take at least five minutes to get some fresh air in the afternoon if you are feeling drained. A simple walk around the building may be all that you need. And, if you can, bring a colleague to do some business brainstorming.

2. Just breathe: Sometimes getting re-energized is as simple as remembering to breathe. Concentrate on counting to 6 slowly as you inhale and then do the same as you exhale so that you fill your body with oxygen.

3. Do the 7th inning stretch at your desk. While sitting in your chair, bend forward to touch your toes. Hold for a count of 10. Then reach your hands up in the air above your head while concentrating on your posture. Think about reaching your hands as high as they can go.

4. Do the twist: Twist your torso to right, holding on to the side of your seat with your left hand and the back of the seat with your right. Focus on a point behind you, hold for 10 seconds and then repeat to the left.

5.Make sure you eat. If you starve yourself all day you’ll have low energy and tend to over-eat in the evening when you burn few calories. Beware -- a trip to the vending machine doesn’t count. A better way to feel more productive at work is to keep stash of nuts and fruit that you can grab at a moments notice when you need a little lift.