Office exercises for Your Entire Body
Sitting day after day in the office can be mentally and physically taxing. We’ve talked about it a few times before here at the DIY Nation but it never hurts to have more stretches and office exercises that you can do to help maintain your posture. Check it out!
Office Exercises To Get You Going
Our bodies were designed to be active, so it’s understandable that science now shows sitting to be harmful to our health.
Part of this comes from the lack of blood circulation that comes from sitting through the day along with the effects of poor posture, especially over a long period of time.
For example, when you sit too long, the blood has a hard time circulating through the body, which is why so many people experience swollen legs or ankles after sitting for long periods of time.
When you slouch, not only is their unneeded pressure on your back and joints but your body is also forced to adapt to these conditions that it wasn’t designed to experience.
Ultimately, your shoulders, your hips, your back, and your ankles take a lot of the impact.
So if you’re experiencing any sort of pain in those areas or would just like some quick stretches to help your body move and groove and ultimately feel better from head to toe, here are a few corporate fitness tips to get you started:
Hip Exercises
Leg Hugs
Sit back in your chair and extend your right leg out. Slowly lift your right leg toward your chest. Grab hold of the leg around the knee and pull the leg toward your body. Hold for 10 seconds and release. Repeat on both sides 5 times.
Leg Raises
Start with both feet flat on the floor. With your back straight, bring one leg up so that it’s parallel to the floor. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times. Make sure you do the exercise with both legs!
Back Exercises
Torso twist
Sit up with your back straight. Slowly turn to the left and grab hold of the back of the chair with your left hand. Continue moving to the left as far as you can comfortably go. Slowly return to a neutral position, facing forward. Repeat 2-3 times on each side.
Give yourself a little love
Start out with a big hug for yourself, with your right hand on your left shoulder and your left hand on your right shoulder. You can move your back and shoulders around to help loosen up and release any tension.
Stand and Sit
Stand up and sit down repeatedly, without using your hands or arms. This simple exercise can help your whole body in a lot of ways; you’ll strengthen multiple muscle groups at once!
Shake it Off
Slowly move your head from side to side like you’re nodding “yes” or shaking your head “no”.
Shoulder Rolls
Roll both shoulders forward in a circular motion for 30 seconds. Reverse directions and roll the shoulders backward for 30 seconds.
Shoulder Shrugs
Slowly lift your shoulders up towards your ears and hold them as high as you can go. Slowly drop the shoulders down to their normal position. Repeat 10 times.
Ankle Exercises
Point and flex
Hold one leg straight off the ground and point your toes. Flex the foot and point your toes up and hold. Point your toes forward again and hold. Repeat for 30 seconds.
Circle it up
Move your toes in a circular motion for 30 seconds. Go clockwise for 30 seconds, and then counter-clockwise for 30 seconds.
The Next Step
One great addition to all of these exercises it to get up and walk around every 30-90 minutes. This not only helps break up the day, but also helps your body stay active and helps the blood to circulate properly.
Simple exercises like these are a great start and will definitely make a massive difference, especially when you do these exercises consistently over time.
If you have access to a foam roller or a hard mobility ball (a lacrosse ball or a softball would also work), you can increase your results in the same amount of time. Fair warning, these mobility tools can be painful, especially if they’re not used properly.
Foam rolling helps the body release knots and “trigger points” within muscles by helping release muscle fascia that may have become tight.
Wrap-Up
Naturally, you want to make sure you’re exercising with proper form.
There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube or apps you can download that will walk you through each individual movement, step-by-step.
These types of video tutorials can be incredibly helpful because you not only have a clear example of what the movement should look like, but you can also pinpoint specific movements and routines that can help relieve pain that is specific to you.
If you have back pain or are working to recover from a specific injury, you can pick a routine that can help relieve your pain.
- Sit All Day? Try These Simple Office Exercises - July 16, 2015
