Remember when step aerobics were the big trend? Well, this is step aerobics taken to new heights. Fitness Trainer Steven Cabral shows us how to use a regular kitchen chair to get both the outer and inner thighs toned. The trick is doing a lateral step, rather than the standard forward step.

I have to admit, while watching the video, I was completely afraid that Sarah from Diet.com was going to fall on her fit behind. So, for safety's sake, make sure you have a spotter to assist when you're doing this exercise.



[via InDenialHealth.com]

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Tomorrow is the deadline for my book, The Everything Flat Belly Cookbook. I'm thrilled with Adams Media for hiring me to write it but on occasion, my body has been very angry at them for giving me such a tight deadline. This uber short deadline has caused little Miss Fitzness Trainer to sit for 12 hours at a time with my head buried in my laptop quite often. My brain is thrilled, but my back has been bummed.

The only reason I've survived is because I'm already really good at taking care of my body. I've never had to sit down for such long periods of time as a requirement of my job, but when the side effects of doing so set in ... I knew how to respond.

I imagine a lot of you are stuck at a desk for hours on a daily basis. I feel for you. I also have some ideas to help you survive it without all of the stiff, achy and strained body parts.

When I worked in an office, I was that girl who pushed her swivel chair away in favor of sitting on an exercise ball. To be honest, I don't know that I noticed a huge difference, but I actually found it to be really comfy and kind of fun. The only problem was when I'd get up from my desk -- it would roll away and get in the way, which is totally embarrassing if you're talking to a customer. Trust me.

Gaiam has come up with a solution -- the BalanceBall Chair, which, according to their website, "combines exercise and fitness with comfort and ergonomic support for an affordable price." At $99, it is pretty affordable, especially when you consider the fact that you'll get use out of it every day at work!

But how does it improve your fitness level? Well, for one thing, just sitting on a ball, rather than a flat seat, engages your core. Holding yourself straight requires all of the muscles through your core to remain active, whereas with a comfy seat, you might be inclined to slouch down. But that's not all.

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, My mom has learned that if she doesn't get healthier, she'll get diabetes! She wants to lose weight and all that, but her job has her up all night! She has to get some sleep during the day. Are there any really good exercises you can do in a chair, or ones that aren't too tiring for the days? Please help! Jerry

Hi Jerry. What a thoughtful child you are! You're concerned for your mother and you have great reason to be. Diabetes is a very serious disease, and if she has the opportunity to avoid it, she should. The night shift sounds difficult, but to be honest ... so is the day shift. Mom just sleeps and works at opposite times than you do.

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Compared to a job like deep-sea welding, working in an office behind a desk seems like a pretty safe career move. You might think that there's little chance for injury, but don't forget that there are still are a few dangers: Weight gain from inactivity, depleted eyesight, poor posture, and let's not forget probability of severe mid-afternoon fatigue.

Divine Caroline has some excellent rules for avoiding some of the dangers of the desk job:

• The 20/20 Rule - Save your eyesight by looking away from your computer every 20 minutes for 20 seconds at something three feet away.
• The Floating Mouse Rule - When moving your mouse, move your whole arm instead of just your wrist.
• The Mini-break Rule - take a 30 to 60 second break every 30 minutes -- use this time to take a short walk or do some stretches.

They have even more excellent tips to share ... click here for more info.

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Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

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When I worked in an office, I remember just being there made me tense -- and I liked my job.

If that sounds familiar, you should be looking for ways to cut back on stress at the workplace. While short breaks, time for fresh air, and a positive attitude can do wonders for your demeanor, occasionally you need to bring in the big guns -- like the Massage Office Chair, for instance.

The hurricane-like spiral shapes you see on back and seat are the massage points, meaning you can sit back, relax, and let that tension melt away...

I think the only drawback is that a chair like this must make it impossible to stop and get any work done!

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Although hula hoops are most commonly thought of as a little girls game they're becoming more and more popular as a means of fun fitness for adults. I think adults hula hooping is fine and dandy, but this Hula Chair just makes me laugh. I guess it goes along with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles that we'd want to hula while sitting down! I honestly have no idea if this gadget has any health benefits or not because I couldn't stop laughing long enough to find out. But I do know laughing is good for you, so if nothing else check out this video of the Hula Chair and get your dose of laughs in for the day.

Seriously!?


Via Shiny Shiny

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If you work in an office at a desk or spend time sitting for extended periods of time at your job you might be overlooking the importance of one of the major influences on your health: how you sit. I don't know that there's really any such thing as a "sitting disorder," (well, I'm sure there is somewhere) but the idea really is that so many Americans (me included) spend so much time in front of desks and computers that the importance of doing it correctly becomes paramount to our wellbeing and our health. It seems like something so simple and straightforward that it's almost a "given" that everybody knows how to sit, but how many of us end up with achy backs and sore necks on a regular basis? Something isn't right.

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This chair is called Land Ho! It is a large, rotation-molded seat made out of polyethylene, and it has a very unique feature. Can you see the little sprouts coming out of the top of the chair? The chair is equipped with a large planter as part of its construction, so you can sit with the garden, instead of simply being near it.

The design, as it is a work of art in addition to being both a planter and a chair, is probably very expensive, but that doesn't mean that you can't apply a similar technique at home. Adding some lightweight window planters to the back of a sturdy chair or, better yet, inserting them into a cutout on a wooden table, will make your yard look more interesting and increase the amount of greenery that you're able to have. And for us, a greener home is a happier home.

Plus, you'll get to feel like you're doing something productive every time you go to relax outside.

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