Exercise at your Desk
April 7, 2020
I want you to think about how much time you spend seated at your desk. Do you ever contemplate incorporating gentle exercise into your day, waking your fatigued muscles?
It’s important that you find a way to create movement within the office environment, taking regular breaks – at least hourly. We recommend incorporating these simple movements into your day, helping avoid strain on the musculoskeletal system and prevent longer term injuries.
1. Keyboard Calisthenics
Firstly, place your hands in a prayer position, wiggle your fingers in all directions and stretch. Squeeze fists tight stretching your fingers wide. Next, interlace your fingers and rotate hands.
2. Kick-Back
Whilst sitting at your desk, interlace your fingers behind your head, relaxing your elbows and shoulders. Breathe and gently stretch your elbows back.
3. Chair Twist
Cross your left leg over your right and place your right hand or elbow on the crossed knee. Gently turn your body to the left and look behind you, switch legs and repeat the other way.
4. Sitting Tall
Place the heel of your hands into your lower back, drawing your elbows back and down. Keeping you head and neck steady with chin tucked in, lift your chest out towards the ceiling, holding for 5-seconds.
5. Shoulder Shrug
Keeping your shoulders back, lift them towards your ears breathing in slowly. Tighten the muscles in your shoulder, holding for 5-seconds. Breathe out as you drop your shoulders, repeating 3-times.
6. Side-to-Side Turning
Slowly rotate your head left, then right. Take care to keep your eyes on the horizon and aim your chin at your shoulders. Use your eyes to focus on something in the distance – Repeat 3-times.
These exercises will reduce the risk of developing computer related aches and pains. They will also increase circulation, send more oxygen to the brain and help you stay alert.
Ensure these exercises have the optimum effect by adopting a healthy sitting position. This is achieved by:
Your head being balanced on its vertebral column and your neck muscles relaxed. Adopt an open posture, your chest leading and shoulders back creating the correct balance between neck, shoulders and upper limb muscles.
The lumbar spine is upright and knees are below the level of the hips, increasing the angle between the trunk and the thigh which encourages the spine into an upright posture reducing disc pressure.