A colleague once said to me, “How strange! When I changed out my clothes for the season, even though I didn’t gain any weight, I could hardly zip up my pants.” It turned out that he had just gotten flabby. Sitting for a long time will result in a flabby lower belly, “elephant legs,” and big buttocks. Three exercises and acupoint massage can help prevent your lower body from getting flabby.
Prolonged Sitting in a Soft Chair Can Worsen Health
Sitting for a long time is harmful to your health, what I call “sickness from sitting.” Office workers, especially the executives, are so used to sitting on comfortable chairs in the office that are so soft that they sink into the chairs. However, such softness will make the body bend excessively, adversely affecting the internal organs.
Many modern-day women are prone to gynecological diseases, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, and cystitis. Modern-day men often suffer from prostate diseases, such as prostatic hypertrophy and prostatitis. This may be related to poor blood circulation caused by prolonged sitting.
Sitting for a prolonged period can also make the lower body soft and flabby. When a person sits down, both the qi and blood are blocked. Additionally, if the meridians are not running smoothly, qi in the internal organs becomes stagnant, and the blood flow in the lower body slows. The lower limbs are then more susceptible to swelling, and with the lower abdomen squeezed and protruding, fat starts to accumulate there. If this continues, one will age prematurely.
Therefore, I recommend you not choose extra-soft chairs for the office. Also, use any break time to exercise to slow the damage caused by prolonged sitting.
3 Simple Exercises to Prevent Lower-Body Flab
Follow these three exercises to keep your lower body toned.
1. Squat 10 Times Daily to Protect Joints and Burn Fat
Squatting is an excellent exercise. It can stress and train the whole body, especially the muscles of the lower limbs, help strengthen the core muscles, burn fat, and tighten the lower body. It also protects the joints and strengthens the sacral bones.
Note that a correct squat posture is needed to reduce extra pressure on the knees.
- Keep your hips and shoulders aligned, tuck your chin slightly, and relax the head and neck. Stretch the arms forward horizontally or hold a heavy object like a kettlebell.
- Inhale, push your crotch backward, move your hips down, and bend your knees accordingly. Keep your weight on the heels, with the upper body parallel to the calves.
- Exhale and stand up. Repeat 10 times a day.
Older people should not squat but sit on a chair and repeat a sequence of standing up, then sitting down. This can also be performed holding a heavy object.
2. Tiptoe to Tighten the Waist, Lift the Buttocks, Reduce Swelling
There is a saying: “The calf is the second heart of a person.” Proper tiptoeing can help the calf muscles contract, improve circulation, and improve swelling and varicose veins.
Standing on your tiptoes will tighten your waist, raise your buttocks, and strengthen your legs.
Tiptoeing can also stimulate the six meridians on the back and inside the calf, including the liver, spleen, kidneys, gallbladder, stomach, and bladder meridians. Therefore, it can dredge the meridians, strengthen the spleen and kidneys, and soothe the liver and gallbladder all at once.
According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the meridian is the energy channel of the human body, responsible for transporting qi and blood. These essential substances constitute the body and maintain all its physiological activities. The human body has 12 main meridians corresponding to 12 internal organs. Some points on the meridians with special functions are called acupoints. Stimulating the corresponding acupoints through acupuncture, massage, exercise, and so on can treat diseases of the corresponding viscera.
Keep your feet and head in a straight line and stand on tiptoes.
- After holding for a few seconds, relax and let the heels return to the ground.
- Repeat 30 times a day.
3. Alternate Lifting Your Legs to Relax Muscles, Refresh Mind
Lifting the legs alternately can relax the leg muscles, restore their elasticity, and improve leg swelling.
Sit on a chair and hold both edges of it.
- Raise one leg horizontally and keep it straight in that position.
- Lower it and lift the other leg.
- Repeat the alternation a few times.
Tap 4 Acupoints to Reduce Leg Swelling Fast
If you sit for a long time, your calves will swell into what I call “radish legs.” Tapping on these four acupoints can help quickly eliminate leg swelling and reduce the appearance of varicose veins. You can do this while sitting in the office or taking the bus or the subway.
1. Futu
Location: Eight finger widths above the kneecap’s upper edge, on the femur’s outer side.
Massaging the Futu acupoint can modify the thigh line and reduce leg pain.
2. Xuehai
Location: Two inches above the medial end of the upper edge of the kneecap, at the bulge of the inner thigh muscle.
Massaging the Xuehai acupoint can promote blood circulation, remove stasis, and nourish and invigorate blood. Once blood flow in the legs becomes smooth again, the legs will naturally lose weight.
3. Yanglingquan
Location: On the outside of the calf, in the depression anteriorly and inferiorly to the head of the fibula. When the knee is bent, there is a bony protrusion at the outer rear of the leg, which is the head of the fibula.
Massaging the Yanglingquan acupoint can relax the meridians and activate the collaterals, removing dampness and heat.
4. Sanyinjiao
Location: On the inside of the calf, four finger widths above the tip of the medial malleolus, in the depression at the posterior border of the tibia.
The Sanyinjiao acupoint is the intersection of the liver, spleen, and kidney’s three yin meridians. It can treat all gynecological diseases, especially swelling in women and endocrine disorders. It can also nourish the uterus and ovaries. However, pregnant women should avoid tapping this acupoint.
These acupoints can often be tapped gently with the fists, three minutes on each, for about 10 minutes. Doing it twice a day will help eliminate leg swelling.
Sitting for prolonged periods has become the norm for modern-day people. But spending some time moving your body and tapping these acupoints can help you keep a trimmer figure naturally.
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