The Office Workout

No time for the gym? Try these 21 ways to get fit without leaving your desk!

1. Get a Jennifer Lopez butt
Stand behind your chair: legs together, feet facing forward. Slowly raise your right leg behind you, tightening your buttocks as you do so. Go as high as you can without arching your back, then return to standing. Repeat 12 - 15 times, then change sides. It's much easier than most bum exercises. Just make sure no-one's standing behind you.

2. De-stress with cybercats
Keeping a cat is great for reducing blood pressure and de-stressing. Rather than trying to sneak Patch into the office, download a cyberkitty at www.catslikefelix.com - he'll keep you company sans furballs.

3. Bag yourself Gisele-like boobs
Sitting down, extend your arms in front of you. Bend your right arm and put your right hand in your left-elbow pit and position your left arm so your left hand cups your right elbow. Press your hands into arms, feeling your pectoral muscles tighten. Hold a couple of seconds then release. Repeat 10 times. It's the pectoral muscles behind your breasts that keep your breasts lifted. Do this exercise regularly and you'll be amazed at how much more toned they'll look."

4. Wave wobbly arms goodbye
Grab a stretchy jumper in your left hand and drop your left hand over your left shoulder and down your back. Bend your right arm up your back and grab the bottom of the jumper. Straighten your left arm so you stretch your jumper - feel the back of your arm tighten as you do so. Hold for a few seconds, then return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times, then change sides. Just don't try this with your workmate's new cashmere sweater!

5. Chill out
Forget about sweating it out on the treadmill - popping ice in your glass of mineral water is a great way to burn off the calories. Your body uses more calories when the water you're drinking is cold because it has to wotk harder to keep your body temperature.

6. Get mystic
Buy a piece of clear or rose quartz for your desk. Placing it near your computer will soak up the stress-causing electromagnetic emissions it gives out.

7. Select your calves
Sit down, take your shoes off and put your fleet flat on the ground, lift your toes and balls of your feet and drop back down as if you're pedalling a bike. Repeat 10 times. Then, keeping your toes on the ground, lift your heels 10 times.

8. Firm your chin
Place your hands behind your head. Stick your chin out and feel the muscles in the back of your neck tighten. Hold for a couple of seconds, return to start position, then repeat 10 times.

9. Bye bye to flabby thighs
Sit with your legs slightly apart, roll up your coat or a chunky jumper and put it between your thighs. Bring your knees together, squeezing your inner thighs as you do so. Hold for a couple of seconds and release. Repeat 12 - 15 times.

10. Daydream your way to happiness
Get that post-gym high by drifting off for a few minutes. Daydreaming increases immune-boosting chemicals and puts you in a better mood, according to UK scientists. Just make sure you don't get carried away and end up falling into a long, deep sleep!

11. Eat!
Not only will missing lunch mean you'll be reaching for a Kit-Kat come 3pm, it'll also make you more stressed. UK scientists discovered that people who skip lunch are more likely to make mistakes and have a shorter attention span. Avoid the three Ss - sugar, salt and stimulants (tea and coffee) - which will make you feel lethargic. Also avoid bread, which is really hard to digest. Instead, go for a chicken or hummus salad or sushi, which are all packed with nutrients. As tempting as it is to reach for the chocolate, try not to - your blood sugar level will peak and then drop so you'll feel really tired afterwards. Opt for fruit instead, such as strawberries, which contain more vitamin C than oranges.

12. Drink to your health
Drink fruits and vegetales the minute they're juiced and you'll get 9 percent of their nutrients compared to only 35 percent if you eat them raw. So pick some up on your way into work!

13. Waist away
Sitting up straight, put your hands on the back of your chair behind your bum. Gently pull your tummy in, and twist your body to your right so you're looking over your shoulder. Breathe in, breathe out and try to twist a little bit further. This is a great exercise for loosening up your lower-back, which can suffer when you've been slumped at your desk and for toning your oblique muscles, which give your waist definition.

14. Head off hand strain
If you've handled your keyboard more than your boyfriend lately, stand up and place your palms on your desk. Press firmly for five seconds, then release. Repeat four times.

15. Boost your orgasms
Sitting in your chair, squeeze your pelvic area as if you're trying to stop yourself peeing an you're sucking up water inside yourself. Hold for a couple of seconds, then release. Repeat 10 times. As well as improving the appeareance of your tummy, strengthening this deep layer of abdominal muscles gives you more control during sex and bigger orgasms.

16. Banish that eye-ache
Stop eyestrain (and subsequent headaches) by giving your eyes a mini-workout. Look as far as you can to the right, then to the left. Then look up, then down. Finally, close your eyes, place the palms of your hands over your eyes, resting your fingers on your forehead for a few minutes. This will give your eyes a break from the harsh office light and the heat of your hands will bring blood flow to your eyes, which alleviates tiredness.

17. Have some daily male
Don't grumble next time your boss makes you organise a parcel of courier - hand it over personally to the courier and you'll feel the troubles of the day drift away. Why? Men's sweat contains a pheromone that makes us less tense and nervous, according to research. (Of course, this probably only works if he looks like Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp.)

18. Beautify your biceps
Put your hands palm upwards on the underside of your desk, with your elbows bent at right angles. Push up firmly against the desk, feeling the muscles in your upper arms contract. Hold in this position for three seconds and then release. Repeat 15 times.

19. Energise yourself
Why tire yourself out on the rowing machine when sticking a Peace Lily on your desk can perk you up as well? Not only are they great for filtering and cleansing pollutants in the air, they also increase oxygen, which will make you feel more energetic.

20. Get a model midriff
Forget sit-ups, tone your abs by sucking your bellybutton in towards the base of your spine. Hold for a count of two, then release. Repeat 12 - 15 times. Sit up straight while you do this exercise and you'll be improving your posture at the same time.

21. R-E-L-A-X
If you're feeling under the weather, staring out of the window at trees will speed up your recovery, according to research in the US. If stress is the problem and the view from your desk is grey rather than green, draw a green circle on a piece of paper and stare at it. Focus on the dot, concentrate on your breathing and try to slow it down. Try to transport yourself away to a beautiful beach or the countryside. You'll be amazed at how much calmer and in control you'll feel afterwards.