A.D.I.D.A.S — JamieCohen.net

All Day I Do Air Squats

In his breakthrough best-seller, Four Hour Body, prolific author & experimenter Tim Ferriss begins with a travel anecdote about how he was caught by his friends doing 'air squats' in a bathroom stall to stay in shape while traveling overseas.

Since first reading this story, not only has my conscious concern and interest in health and well-being increased but so has the time that I spent sitting down commuting or in front of a computer. To combat the rise in sedentariness, and since I have not made the leap into a full-sized standing desk (I have a small standing corner desk but it's only big enough for a small laptop or keyboard), I got into the habit of doing air squats. All. Damn. Day.

Just put on the tea kettle? 5 air squats. Just washed my hands after using the restroom? Quickly! 5 more air squats before going back to wherever! Waiting for the bus? Why not squat? On a call? Stand up and squat! Just finished staring at my screen hunched over and working way too hard on a simple blog post? Jump/drag/stumble out of the chair and bust out a few quick air squats. Feels much better.

Basically, anytime I have a few moments waiting around or am about to physically move from one scenario to the next, I do a few quick air squats to pump my blood and use forceful breathing while doing so as a quick mental refresh. This sends positive signals to my brain and body and also helps me move on from one task to the next. I don't keep track anymore, but for an added bonus, see how quickly you can make it to 50 or 100 air squats in a day.

Finished reading the article? Leave a comment, then get up and do a few quick air squats! You'd be surprised at how easy these are to incorporate in your day!