Picture: Tom Allen for Harper's Bazaar

We meet Justin Gelband of ModelFit - a New York-based company which takes a bespoke approach to healthy living, designing personalised nutrition and fitness programmes for a healthier, happier and more energised lifestyle.

HB: Modelfit is about practicing smaller motions and movements - tell us more about the concept.

JG: People aren’t always aware of how they balance and stabilize their body. Most people walk straight (front to back), but no one really trains laterally (side to side) or reverse (rotationary). So what I try to do is train everybody in three ways of motion because it gives them the opportunity to see how their body works. At the end of the day, when you drop your pen at your desk or you’re in your car driving and need to reach behind your seat to grab your bag, those are the motions and movements that nobody trains for, but those are the motions and movements that can hurt you if you don’t do them right.

What are some little fitness moves you can do before you get out of bed in the morning?

Stick a bunch of pillows under your legs and do pelvis lifts, making sure that your back and shoulders aren’t lifting off the ground. Do 15, then turn to the right and left. That’s a good way to strengthen your pelvic region and wake up your body. Stretching in the morning is also really important. Keep a band or a towel next to your bed and put your leg in the air, wrap the towel around your foot, and pull your leg back toward you and to the left and right, and then bend your knee and pull it your chest.

When you’re sitting at your desk?

I taught the mayor [Bill de Blasio] this move: Put your hands on your desk and do little lift sets where you lift your body up through your pelvis and your thighs. It’s almost like doing a mini squat and you can change your foot positions to work out different areas of the legs. Or, push the chair back, put your hands on your thighs, and do toe taps to tone your lower legs.

On the sofa?

You can use the couch as a guide for just about anything. I wouldn’t do too many exercises on the couch because most are too soft and that can hurt your back, but you can get on all fours facing away from the couch and do toe taps with each leg from left to right on the edge of the cushions to tone your butt.

In the shower? 

The only thing I would recommend doing in the shower is arm stretches against the wall - you should never lift your feet off the ground. Face the wall and stretch your arms straight out, then bend from your elbow and push in from the back of your arm to stretch your triceps. 

By Alexandra Tunell, via HarpersBazaar.com

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