Working Out at Work with Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Continuing my guinea pigging of workouts you can supposedly do in your cube or office, today I went through a small routine by Tracey Anderson, found in Bloomberg BusinessWeek‘s September 22 “How To” issue. If you don’t have a copy, you can view most of the same article here. Keep in mind that the purpose of these routines is not to get you in the kind of shape that Ms. Anderson is in, but rather for your good general health – as recent studies have discovered that even a small amount of sedentary time is very bad for your body, regardless of how fit you already are. And obviously that is definitely not good news for us desk jockeys.

This workout has little going for it compared to the Washington Post workout I reviewed last week. With just four moves, it’s decidedly faster than a full set of WP moves. Which is a good thing, because presumably you have to get actual work things done in the office, too, right? But the moves don’t include the number of reps to start out with. I found I was more likely to injure myself or bump into something with these moves – the first one in particular means balancing yourself on your rolly chair with both legs off the ground. The second exercise means you better wipe down your germ-laden workspace before planting your snoz on it. The third one is confusing – what is a “flick kick”? (“I don’t know, is it a kind of movie?” said my sister when I texted her with this question.) I did find the last move pretty satisfying; it’s a good stretch, and anything that gets us moving more during the day is a good start. With this one, that’s about all I can ask for.

That I May Serve

On Thursday afternoon, a person connected to a recent armed robbery in Radford entered the Virginia Tech campus and murdered Virginia Tech Police Officer Deriek Crouse, 39, and then ended his own life. Officer Crouse was an Army veteran who joined the VTPD force in October 2007. He lived in Christiansburg with his wife and their five boys and according to this article, was considered a good-natured “jokester” and “a stand-up guy” who was very well-liked and respected by his neighbors and friends.

Virginia Tech students have started the Hokies for Crouse fund, which has since partnered with the official Crouse memorial fund at the National Bank of Blacksburg. All money donated to this fund, either through the site or by check to the bank, goes directly to the Crouse family. Along with starting a drive to raise more money for the memorial fund – at this writing, it already has over $33,000 – the students are looking to collect Christmas presents for Mrs. Crouse and the children.

Our Virginia Tech university motto is “Ut Prosim” which means “That I May Serve.” Officer Crouse lived out that motto well. Now let us do the same. I am very proud to be a Hokie and I am not surprised to hear VT students are pulling together to support the family of the officer who served them.

Here is how you can help:

*You can visit the Hokies for Crouse website to make a donation directly through PayPal, which is a very safe and easy way of transferring funds while keeping the sender and receiver’s account details private. (I have used it for over 10 years.)

*If you live in Blacksburg or nearby, check out that same Hokies for Crouse site to learn about presents for the Crouse family. You can bring them by the VTPD station. According to the site, Lt. Jackson of the VTPD suggests gift cards.

*You can email police@vt.edu with condolences for the family and for the VT Police Department.

*You can visit Officer Crouse’s memorial page here.

*You can mail a check to Officer Crouse’s Memorial fund at the National Bank of Blacksburg. The following information is taken directly from the Virginia Tech website:

Memorial fund established for family of Deriek Crouse

A memorial fund has been established to support the needs of the family of Deriek Crouse, the Virginia Tech Police officer who was fatally shot Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011. Those wishing to contribute can mail checks, payable to “Deriek Crouse Memorial Fund,” to the address below:

National Bank of Blacksburg
Attn: Dana Sutphin
P.O. Box 90002
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9002

Those seeking more information about the fund should call 540-552-2011 and ask to speak with Dana Sutphin, branch manager.

Expressions of support or condolence for the Crouse family can be sent to police@vt.edu.

Working Out at Work with The Washington Post

One of the latest fads, although I hope this one has more staying power than others, is the office workout. In the past few months I have seen articles in magazines and newspapers on this very topic along with new products designed to facilitate such workouts, such as “standing desks”. I have even heard of meetings conducted while everyone is on a treadmill. (That is pushing it too far. The only thing that could possibly make a boring meeting even MORE torturous is bringing a treadmill into the equation.)

A few months ago, The Washington Post presented 12 office exercises tested by their infographics department. The result is this clever presentation on their website, complete with awesome (and somewhat funny) drawings of office workers demonstrating how to do each exercise. You can read pros and cons of each move and rate whether or not you would actually do this exercise in your own office. There is also a small link you can select to download and print a useful cubicle poster of the exercises.

Me being me, I had to guinea pig these things, just for you! And now I do them most days of the week. I’m kind of cheating as far as the embarrassment factor goes because my cube has a privacy door on it and not a ton of people work on my floor anyway. But ultimately I found this routine pretty easy to do, although I would recommend changing out of your work shoes into sneakers first. It involves a lot of marching and stepping, so if you’re in a quieter atmosphere, your cube mates will probably hear your repeated steps and wonder what you are doing. And if you work in a cube with a low-wall, people will see your arms swinging around on some of the moves. (Consider grabbing an empty conference room if you’re in a busy area and just can’t stand people looking at you during the day.) Regardless, this is a quick workout that will keep you energized and is a good way to take a brief break. It’s even kind of fun. Just be very careful when doing the ones that require you to lean on your desk – sometimes cubicle tables are too flimsy.

Bonus points if you attempt to make the same faces shown on the people in the WaPo article as you do each exercise.

The Beautiful Wonderland of Busch Gardens Williamsburg

In a recent post, I told you about Howl-o-Scream 2011 and all the fun we had at that annual Busch Gardens spooktacular. But now let’s talk about the rest of the park – the parts you can find any time it’s open! Busch Gardens Williamsburg (which is actually in nearby James City County) has won the Most Beautiful Amusement Park Award from the National Amusement Park Historical Association for 21 consecutive years, beating out even Walt Disney World for the honor. One visit and it’s easy to see why: the park is beautifully landscaped, and while dedicated to groundbreaking, award-winning rides, it also takes care to preserve its other best assets. On my first return visit to the park in something like 19 years, I was pleased to see that the general layout and decoration had not changed too terribly much, and that the great new (for me) rides that had been installed fit right in. This was so refreshing as all my other childhood and teenage favorites have either now changed almost to the point of being unrecognizable, have taken out some of their absolute best rides for no apparent reason, or are gone altogether.

If you’re planning a trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the first time, I can assure you that you will love it…