Keeping loose and active behind your desk

By Sean Pickup

Still finding yourself stuck behind your desk at home? Struggling to find time in the day to exercise and stretch? Stress no more because we have come up with a few exercises and stretches that you can do from your work chair while you work.

Sitting behind your desk for long periods of time causes muscles to become stiff which is only being made worse by this cold. This stiffness can lead to pain, discomfort and even injury when we do try and exercise again.

Finding time during your work day to just walk around the house, stand up for a few minutes and even stretch will help release the tension in your muscles which will also help with your stress levels.

Taking the time to do these few stretches and exercises will help ease the tension in those muscles and release those feel good hormones in the brain which will decrease overall stress levels and make the work day go by just a little bit faster.

Exercise:

Standing up – the first exercise is the simplest but probably the most important. Taking 10-15 minutes out of every hour just to stand up and stretch the legs, will help decrease the risk of heart disease and obesity as well as helping prevent any unwanted neck and back pain.

Seated bicycles – In a seated position with your back up straight and feet on the floor, your hands behind your head. Lift one knee up and bring the opposite elbow down to meet it in the middle. Bring both your knee and elbow to the starting position and repeat 10 times before swapping sides.

Leg lifts – In a seated position wit your back up straight, lift one leg, squeezing the guad muscles (keeping it straight) up until you feel the back of your leg (the hamstring) come off the chair. Hold the position for 20 seconds before lowering and swapping legs. Repeat each leg 5 times.  

Desk Push ups – Before you sit down after your 15 minute standing break, you can do some push ups on your desk to keep your upper body strong.
Facing your desk, lean forward onto the edge of the desk with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Lower your body down until your chest touches the desk and then push yourself back up until your arms are locked. Keep your body in a straight line. Do this 10-15 times depending on how difficult you find it.

Stretches:

Figure 4 stretch – In a seated position with your back up straight, place on foot on your opposite knee (like you are crossing your legs). Gently push down on the knee that is raised until you feel a pull in your glute. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Upper back stretch – Sitting up tall in your chair, extend both arms out in front of your body, putting one hand on top of the other. Reach your hand out further until you feel your shoulder blades moving away from each other. Once you feel the top of your back stretching, gently bend your head forward and hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

Seated Hamstring stretch – Sitting up tall at the edge of your chair, straighten one leg out and place your heel on the floor. Gently lean your torso forward until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg. To make the stretch more intense, you can pull your toes towards you. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

A sedentary lifestyle is a major problem now days – especially with peoples’ occupations and working hours lending them towards sitting in front of a computer all day. To reverse these type of injuries and aches or prevent them from occurring at all, contact us today and let us help you.