That's Fit

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.

You exercise, you eat right, you get a good night's sleep, and you try to stay organized; you're doing everything you can to manage your own stress. But what if you work with someone who isn't managing stress well?

Regardless of where you might work, there are a lot of reasons for stress in today's workplace -- threats of layoff, increased workload due to reduced staffing, and so on. When you add in all the non-work-related causes of stress, it's no wonder some people aren't managing the pressure well. And, no matter how well you handle stress, when a co-worker is stressing you'll be affected by it.

So what can you do to help a stressed out co-worker? As long as you don't take on the reasons for their stress (e.g. taking their workload), it's a good thing to help out. And, if you happen to be the boss, it's imperative that you do so in order to maintain a positive workplace and to prevent productivity from slipping. Some ideas:

Wellness programs are gaining popularity with employers (about 1/3 of companies in the U.S. now offer them) and for many, it's a real blessing, after all who wouldn't want a free gym membership sitting out there that they can use or not, or free health screenings and flu shots available right on the job site?

Do you have a soda habit? I went through a period when I used to work in an office and I would drink cup after cup of loaded coffee all morning and bottle after bottle of Diet Coke all afternoon -- talk about sugar and caffeine overload! I have since pretty much cut out soda (and am still working on cutting down on so much coffee) but it wasn't an easy transition. For me the habit-breaking point came when I moved into a home office that (thankfully!) didn't come stocked with a Diet Coke vending machine calling my name from across the room.

We've all experienced "brain failure," that embarrassing moment when you can't remember something totally mundane and regular -- like how to spell a simple word or where you parked your car. Having a better memory is something pretty much everybody would enjoy, especially when it comes to doing your best at work. Giving your noodle a boost is something you can do in as little as 30 seconds, so there's really no reason you can't fit an exercise or two into your daily routine. Try one of these exercises from Natural Health to get started:

Smarts: most of us think we have them but surprisingly, few really do. Although it's true that your intelligence is in good part determined by factors out of your control (like genetics and whether or not your parents let you eat lead paint chips as kid), it's also true that you have more control over your brain power than you probably think. All kinds of daily decisions affect how well your brain works and how "smart" you are, including everything from what you eat to how you act to what exercises you choose for your workout. Are you maximizing your mental potential? If your coffee cup is too big or you often try to multi-task while working out you probably aren't. The following is a list of a few of the ways you can make the most of what you've got in the smarts department (don't worry, they're all pretty easy!).

Does your job seem scarily similar to the employment experience of the characters in the film "Office Space?" Does your boss call emergency meetings to address the lack of emergency meetings that have been called lately? Are the directives you receive sometimes more complicated than a space shuttle launch sequence?

If so, this utter confusion, brought on by a lack of control and creativity in the workplace, is both counterproductive and detrimental to your health, say researchers from the University of Texas.

In a study of more than 2,500 survey respondents, researchers discovered that an enjoyable experience at work causes people to feel healthier and have fewer physical problems than workers who don't enjoy their jobs. Creativity and control of daily work, according to researchers, play particularly important roles in determining a worker's level of happiness with their job.

Maybe you can use this study as leverage with your boss during your next review.

You're probably doing your best to squeeze healthy eating choices and exercise into your work day, but are you doing it for all the right reasons? The majority of people are motivated to exercise and eat better by the desires to look better, feel better, and live longer, but did you know that adopting a fit lifestyle can actually help your career? Yep, hitting the gym can improve your work performance right along with your bench press stats.

We're all stressed way too much -- I don't think anybody disputes that. Our schedules are too busy, our jobs too demanding, our family times too rushed. And although it seems like we're always talking about how we need to take it easy and relax,how often do we really make good on that? One bubble bath once every six months just isn't going to cut it!

The best stress relief happens when it's built right into your life, and the trick is to form a set of habits that you do on a regular basis without really thinking about it. You don't have to think "this action is meant to decrease my stress" in order to reap the relaxing and re-energizing benefits from it. Here are 5 ways to build stress-relief into your life:

Is sitting at a desk all day making you fat? Fitness isn't out of your reach when you're at work -- you just need to be aware of your abs.

In a survey by CareerBuilder.com 49% of office workers said they had gained weight because of their jobs, and 28% of those people reported putting on more than 10 pounds (ouch!). Do you fit into one (or both) of those two groups? 49% is scarily close to a majority! It's no wonder so many of us struggle. Want some help? Try these 8 tips and tricks for losing weight (or at the very least keeping it from creeping on) while at work:

Out of sight, out of mind!
Apparently cutting down on how many times you grab a piece of candy from your (or your coworker's) candy dish at work is as simple as using an opaque candy dish with a lid. If you can't see the candy inside you're less likely to crave a piece of it (71% less likely!).

Would you consider your job stressful? Do you blame your career for any of your skin problems and signs of aging? Are you having a hard time finding a skin routine that really works?

I realize that stress comes from all different areas in life, but I swear that 90% of mine has always come from my work. I'm 30 years old and just started to finally get really serious about skincare, and I would love to know just how many of my wrinkles were first formed somewhere back in my employment history. I just know that those 12-hour nursing shifts and that boss who used to turn bright red while yelling out commands must account for at least half of them!

The health of our planet is interconnected with our own personal health, so whether we like it or not, committing ourselves to a healthier, fitter lifestyle also means committing ourselves to a healthier, greener lifestyle. And although the whole "green thing" is starting to catch on in people's homes, it doesn't seem to have the same steam when it comes to workplaces. It's not clear whether it's because people think environmentally-friendly efforts at the office are someone else's problems or because they are simply discouraged by their employers lack of commitment, but whatever the reason, the environmental gap between home and office is shockingly large.

In a poll, 85% of people said that when they're at home, they turn their computer off when they're not using it as an effort to conserve energy but on the flip side, only 53% of those same people shut their office computers down at the end of each day. And that's just one small area -- the numbers are just as bad (or worse) for things like shutting off lights in empty rooms and avoiding excess waste when it comes to coffee and donuts.

A good percentage of today's career opportunities involve at least some traveling, and whether it's required or voluntary, fun or a drag, close to home or across the world, if it involves overnight stays and hotel rooms, it's most likely going to have an impact on your exercise schedule. And that impact, for most business travelers, is a bad one. How many of the hotels that you've stayed in have had nice workout facilities with enough equipment, and enough of the right equipment for you to keep your home routine going seamlessly? For me, just being in a different place with a different atmosphere is enough to make jumping on the treadmill for my usual routine hard.

As if you needed more reasons to get on the bandwagon and start living a healthier lifestyle, now you can count your exercise efforts towards furthering your career because exercising makes you a better worker.

According to researchers, employees who get exercise during the day feel more productive, are in better moods, are less likely to snap or yell at coworkers, and generally feel more satisfied and less frustrated with their jobs. And to make that news even better, it doesn't matter what kind or how much exercise in terms of getting positive work benefits all and any exercise is created equal.