If the daily agenda is full of meetings, appointments and an ever-growing to-do list, there's usually little time to squeeze in a fitness routine. Being stuck at a desk all day can make you a super-productive employee, but isn't exactly helping you stay in shape. When those extra pounds start creeping around your midsection, it's time to take charge and help that six-pack make its debut!

Here are some healthy - and effective - ways to start trimming down, toning up, and working on that perfect figure while making your living

1. Think baby steps-Adding small increments of exercise throughout the day is a great way to keep that metabolism running high gear. Skip the elevator and speed-climb up the stairs for a quick lower body workout, make a few rounds around the parking lot during your lunch break, and run errands during a break without the car. Short bursts of activity can give you that much needed energy boost during an afternoon slump, and these can quickly add up to a full-fledged 'workout.'

2. Bring a lunch-Eating out can wreak havoc on your healthy eating plans, and even the most diet-friendly platter may be laden with extra calories, processed foods and salt. Pack a lunch each day so you can stock up on fresh fruit and veggies, lean meats and whole grains for your afternoon meal.

3. Do some chair exercises-Sneak some light dumbbells into your office drawer so you can squeeze in some bicep curls while talking on the phone, or do some abdominal crunches while sitting in your chair. Making sure you're working with good posture also helps; keep shoulders back, feet flat on the floor and breathe deeply to burn a few extra calories throughout the day.

4. Make up your own office circuit training routine. Got a minute? Do a few push-ups against your wall or with your desk to give your biceps and abdominals a workout (close the door if you have to). Calf raises, leg stretches and even a yoga pose or two can help you get centered and provide a boost of energy -sans the coffee.

5. Load up on water- When you're not drinking at least 8 - 12 glasses of water per day, dehydration can leave you feeling tired, lethargic and shift your metabolism into low gear. Keep a water bottle on your desk and fill it up throughout the day to meet your daily requirement. Water can also flush away toxins, making it easier to lose weight and stay in great shape.

6. Organize a fitness group-Staying motivated to workout during your lunch break, or after work, may be easier with some group support. Get together with some fitness-focused coworkers so you can all take a step towards your fitness goals.

Staying fit in the workplace can be a challenge, but adding activities and exercises into your daily calendar can help you achieve your fitness goals with ease. Get started on your workplace shape-up with any of these six strategies and work your way to wellness in no time!

Everyone has a body part that they would like to change given the chance. Whether you hate your thighs or your stomach or your love handles, there are ways to target your exercise regimen to firm up those areas you'd rather not show to the public just yet.

Everyone has a body part that they would like to change given the chance. Whether you hate your thighs or your stomach or your love handles, there are ways to target your exercise regimen to firm up those areas you'd rather not show to the public just yet, as long as you have the willpower to sustain a regular workout. Although you shouldn't neglect full-body exercise such as cardio, you can incorporate certain aimed exercises.

Abdominals

This area is perhaps the most frequently targeted as aimed exercise, and is also one of the most commonly neglected. Doing crunches once or twice a day is usually sufficient to keep this area in check, but it's important to exercise the right way if you want to see results.

Some people use equipment such as exercise balls and ab rollers to perfect their techniques, but according to Elizabeth Quinn, nothing beats the Bicycle Crunch. Simply lie on your back with your hands beside your head, and alternately bring your elbowsto the opposite knee. This type of aimed exercise targets all abdominal muscles, and will even start to chip away at those love handles.

Thighs

Women are probably the gender most often concerned about their thighs, and thankfully there are aimed exercises that can help slim them down and tone them up. Of course, most women don't want bulging thigh muscles that make it difficult to fit into their jeans, so the trick is to exercise without adding bulky muscles.

One of the most popular exercises for this area is the Sumo Squat, which is easy enough to do for beginners but can be made more difficult for advanced workout enthusiasts. Stand with your legs slightly spread, toes forward, and place your hands in prayer position in front of your chest. Then squat down as far as you can without allowing your knees to venture in front of your toes, hold for three seconds, and straighten back up. To increase the burn, you can hold a dumbbell between your hands rather than squeezing your palms together.

Butt

If you don't like your view from the rear, it might be time to shape up that but. Aimed exercise for the buttocks can provide shape and toning, but again you don't want to build bulky muscle. For this reason, your exercise regimen should include strength training movements that are intended to tone down rather than bulk up.

A Kneeling Leg Press, for example, is perfect for the buttocks, and will also help to shape your outer thighs and even your abdominals. Start by kneeling on the ground with the heels of your hands directly underneath your shoulder blades and the fronts of your knees under your hips. Flex your left foot, keeping your eyes directly between your hands, and slowly lift your leg in the air until your knee is level with your hips. Hold, then slowly lower back to the floor. If you need an additional challenge, try squeezing a rubber ball at your knee joint.

There are thousands of other aimed exercises that can target different areas of the body, but make sure you're targeting the results you want. If your goal is to build muscle, try cardio exercise and weight lifting, but stick to strength training exercises if you simply want to tone.

Do you have what it takes to be the next Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan? Have you always valued your physical condition above all else? If so, you might have the makings for an incredible athlete, but sheer strength and endurance are just the tip of the iceberg. True athletes require several characteristics in order to succeed, particularly if they want to break out of the amateurs and go pro.

Determination

If you just kinda want to be an athlete, it is doubtful that you'll go far, because the competition is much stiffer than you realize. There are thousands of people all over the world who want to spend their lives playing ball or running marathons, so you have to want it more than they do. Your skills might be equal to those of fifty other people, so something has to act as a tie-breaker.

Focus, drive and ambition are all qualities of a successful athlete, combined with the necessary skill and talent to get the job done. Participating in local events, reading everything you can about your chosen sport, and spending more hours in the gym will give you a significant leg-up on the competition.

Logic

Although the "thinking requirements" vary depending on the sport you want to play, athletes must be able to think logically and objectively in order to succeed. For example, football requires that athletes map out strategies in their minds before they ever make it out onto the playing field; the same goes for baseball and hockey. Or, if you're a distance runner, you have to be able to plan your speed changes throughout the course, setting your pace so that you can make it to the very end.

Furthermore, athletes must be capable of making split-second decisions, particularly in high-impact sports where milliseconds matter. You can't be thinking about what your teammates would do or how your coach is going to react; instead, you have to trust your own instincts and do what feels right at the moment a decision is required.

Support
It is nearly impossible to become a professional athlete on your own, as much as you'd hate to admit it. Coaches, mentors, teachers, parents and friends all play a part in your success, and they can mean the difference between amateur and pro. Great athletes surround themselves with people who believe in their ambitions and with people who have done what they want to do before.

A mentor, for example, can keep you from making the mistakes that he or she made, and can give you advice for making something out of your career. Align yourself with positive people who have achieved the same goals you want to achieve, and you'll go farther than someone who wants to do it by themselves.

If you want to be a professional athlete, it is best to decide as quickly as possible and make decisions reflecting that desire. It is never too early to start planning for your athletic future, so even if you're on the high school basketball team, don't let coaches or parents tell you that you should leave your options open. Instead, go for your dreams and make something of yourself regardless of what everyone else thinks.

Pink, green, blue, yellow, white, black, polka dot, striped, plaid, generic, ski, knee high, diabetic... oh my gosh, the choices to buy socks are endless! This knitted or woven type of foot garment has been around then they were worn by the Roman comic actors. The word "sock" comes from the Latin word "soccus." This handy dandy cloth has been used since then to keep the feet clean, help with comfort from those hard-to-wear shoes, keep feet dry and warm, as well as add fashion sense. Unlike back in the 8th Century, our socks now have to match our outfit, add flare to our personality and aid certain medical symptoms.

One of the most made-fun-of and problematic aspects of socks is that deadly, gagging, smelly sock syndrome that can develop! New technology has developed a treatment in which socks are now being made with a specific ingredient called silver nanoparticles to kill the bacteria associated with smelly feet. Talk about a great idea, one that everyone's family and friends can benefit from! Some companies are experimenting with copper in socks as well
to control and prevent bacteria and keep your feet cooler, drier and healthier.

For all of you athletes out there, Smartwool is shedding light on the world with socks that are engineered to have a complete compression system, bacteria-fighting agents, moisture absorption and some say it's so wear and tear resistant that it's almost bombproof! (However, you'd be wise to check that one out before testing it yourself!)

Socks have now been designed to go along with the seasons also. You have got your heavy socks for the winter and light socks for the summer. You can even choose from ankle-high socks to under ankle-high socks to even socks that go all the way up to your knees! Knee-high socks aren't a personal favorite, but they are very popular among athletes and girls. In the fashion world, when a girl is wearing a short skirt, choosing these knee-high socks will not only keep her bare legs warm but create a matching and colorful fashion statement.

And last but not least, we can't forget the most entertaining use of socks that kids around the world love... sock puppets! Any old or new sock with a pair of googly eyes or a simple face drawn on it will make a child laugh and giggle. Just add a funny voice and you'll have a new best friend for you're child. If you make one for both hands, you'll have yourself a puppet show!

There are so many different sock colors, shapes, sizes, lengths and uses out there that it is impossible to name them all. Socks have been around for a very long time, and due to their overwhelmingly popular use, socks will not be going out of style any time soon.

Sources:

www.wikipedia.com

www.sciencedaily.com

Everyone knows that when you stay fit, you feel and look better. But as a working adult, staying fit can be a real challenge. It's not just about squeezing 30 minutes of cardio into your day - it's a way of living that focuses on staying active, eating well and living a balanced lifestyle. So, while you do need to make a commitment to staying fit outside of work, there's a lot you can do to meet your goals by staying fit at work, too.

Take a Look at the Way You Work

A big part of staying fit at work is recognizing the activity level your job requires, and how you respond to it. Do you work strictly at a desk, or do you run errands? Are you standing in one place all day, sitting down or moving around? Do you wait until you have a huge pile of stuff to fax, copy or turn in before you get up to do it? Just being aware of what your job requires and how you work within those requirements is important.

Once you've done a quick job check, try to make some changes. Get up and do work as soon as it needs to be done. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Use 30 minutes of your lunch to eat and 30 minutes to take a brisk walk. It'll improve your mood and your health.

Help for Desk Jockeys

If you're pretty much tied to your desk, you can still help yourself stay fit while at work. First, check your posture. It's amazing how much poor posture can affect the way you feel. Sit up straight, with your shoulders slightly back. There are also stretches you can do at your desk during the day. I came across this brilliant little program called StretchWare, which reminds you to stretch at intervals throughout the work day and gives you brief stretching routines to choose from.

Watch Your Mouth

I mean, of course, what kind of food goes into it during work hours. Those brownies that Suzanne from accounting baked for the office? They'll make you just as fat as the brownies you eat at home. Eating out for lunch can also be expensive and unhealthy, and everyone has had frenzied workdays where they've scrounged lunch out of the vending machine. Try bringing your own snacks and lunches to work. If you only eat what you bring, you can keep track of what you're eating, how much and what's in it - all things that are important when it comes to eating well. Oh, and the soft drinks? Limit yourself to one or two diet drinks a day if you must, but it's better to take advantage of the water cooler instead. It's healthy - and it's free!

There are a lot of little changes you can make to help yourself stay fit while at work, before you get home to the dishes, the bills and the kids. There's nothing as satisfying as making your health a priority. By upping your activity level, scattering stretches throughout your day and paying attention to what you eat, you can build a great foundation for fitness in your day-to-day living.