Exercising, some people hate to do it, others strive to do it. My personal opinion on exercising is a nice medium, right between hate it and love it. Sometimes I really feel like I could do out and exercise while other times I just don’t want to go to the gym. Me personally, I am the type of guy that has a hard time gaining weight. So during the winter I find myself packing on the weight and doing a lot of muscle building routines. When spring times comes around, I start running a little bit and am easily able to loose the fat that I gained over the winter. But one thing that I do notice is my mood. When I don’t work out for a longer period of time I feel myself getting angry more, I feel myself getting irritated at smaller situations more. I remember not working out for a long period of time over the holiday season, and I would get upset so quickly at the smallest things. I tried to figure out why I got so upset, and I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t working out as much. I realized that I became addicted to the endorphins.

So you might be thinking why this would pertain to you. Well if you are the type of person who sits behind a desk all day (developing Web sites, playing with graphics, or working with CAD), you are the type of person who would benefit most from those endorphins. Sitting behind a desk all day can make your back strenuous, as well a build up of energy that could make you uneasy. We are going to cover a couple of exercises that you can do just to start releasing these happy mood endorphins to help you get through those rough projects.

The simple push up

Everyone should know how to do a push up. Just doing 10 push ups while at work while no one is looking, will generate a quick adrenaline and endorphin rush. This is a good exercise to do for both men and women. If you are the type of person who doesn’t work out often, then stay to around 10 push ups. If you work out often, try and go to around 30 push ups. Remember to keep your elbows straight, your fingers pointing forward and your lower body and legs to be completely straight. Don’t drop your knee while doing a push up, keep it slow and clean.

The diamond push up

The diamond push up is a designated more for men, but women may feel comfortable doing these as well. Be aware that this style of push up is a little more difficult than the simple push up explained above. Position yourself like you would if you were doing a normal push up, with your legs completely straight, and your back sturdy. Take your hands and position them in the middle of your upper body, then connect your first fingers and your thumbs, creating a diamond shape with your own two hands. Keep your hands in this position and then do a push up. For men, this is going to be difficult to do if you do not work out often, try and do 5. Women, play this one by ear, try and do 1 or 2.

Leg up hammer

This workout will get rid of that lower abdominal padding you might have gotten by sitting behind your desk. Take note that this workout might look a little odd if you have an employer walking around. Some employers might encourage it while others might find it odd. You can do this work out at home as well. Lay on the floor, having your stomach pointing towards the ceiling. Position your legs together, keep them completely straight and start to bring your toes to the ceiling. Your legs must stay together and end at your toes pointing towards the ceiling, this will create a perfect 90 degree angle. This is hard enough as it is, but if you want to tweak this just a little bit, raise your toes even further towards the ceiling, it will make your butt somewhat raise into the air. If you are going to push it that far, be sure that you concentrate on not straining your back. This can be difficult for men more than women. Men try and do 10, women try and do 15.

What do you do at work for simple relaxations? Do you light a candle, incense, or take a 15 minute nap? What does your boss allow you to do?