Today's workday workout is lower body focused, mainly on the quads and glutes. These squat variations are quick, but man do they work! Luckily today's workout is only done one time through (most of the Fitness Friday mini workouts are done 2 or 3 times through), so this will only take you about 4 minutes to complete. Try it out on your lunch break with a coworker, or when you need an energy boost mid-afternoon. Let's get that body movin' and out of that desk chair today! Ready?!

Fitness Friday 3/4

Today's Fitness Friday mini workout is only done one time through for the full workout, but try to fit it in at least 3 times today. Try to take as little of a break as possible between exercises.

Squatted Step Touches (1 minute) - get low in a squat with your chest up and gaze forward. Staying in that low position throughout, step to the right with the right foot, and bring your left foot over to meet it. Now step to the left, and bring your right foot over to meet it. Alternate that step-touch pattern for 1 minute, maintaining the low squat position.

Square Pattern Squats w/ Lunges (15 seconds each) - This series of moves is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Bear with me - it's a long explanation (click here for a pictorial description of this one from a previous workout post.) Picture an imaginary square on the floor. In each corner, you're holding a low squat with your legs and feet together. The horizontal sides are wide stance squats, and the vertical sides are lunges (the leg that's forward in the lunge is the one that's on the outside of the square). Each position is held for 15 seconds, for a total of 2 minutes. So, for example, start in the top right corner of the square and hold a squat for 15 seconds with your feet and legs together. Next, step out to the left into a wide stance squat and hold for 15 seconds. Now bring the right foot in and hold a low squat for 15. Step back with your right leg and hold a lunge for 15. Step your left foot back into a low squat again and hold... so on and so forth until you complete the full square and wind up back in the top right corner (or wherever you started). Feel the burn!

Wide/Regular/Narrow Squats (1 minute) - start in a wide stance, feet wider than shoulder width. Do 1 squat. Bring your feet closer together (about hip width apart this time) and do another squat. Now walk your feet in so they're close together, knees touching, and do 1 squat. Now reverse that patten. Keep the pattern going (narrow/regular/wide/regular/narrow) doing 1 squat in each position for 1 minute.

That's it for the workout, but remember to do this 2 more times throughout your day today!

Readers: chat with me! Do you exercise at the office? What do you like to do? Does your workplace ever hold any type of exercise or fitness programs for employees? What do you do to get more activity during your workday? Up to anything exciting this weekend?