Even if you just start with the stretches and exercises you are well on your way to improving the health of your joints, better posture and burning extra calories throughout your workday. Have a think to your workday, and how much time you spend sitting in one place.
Even some of us who have active jobs or jobs that require us to spend time on our feet can sometimes be restricted to a desk and chair for three, four or five hours a day. The effects of sitting are far more serious than we imagine and even with regular exercise, the effects on our posture, body composition and lifespan can be affected in a big way.
Quite often we get stuck in positions where the chair is at a poor height, which can lead to slumping shoulders, and poor spinal position. A few simple changes to your day can make a big difference to your health for when you are stuck at the desk for long periods.
HAVE A FOAM ROLLER AT THE OFFICE
A small and not too expensive piece of equipment can help release tension through the thoracic spine and shoulder, which are put into some pretty compromising positions when sitting.
TIPS
- Lay with your shoulders on the foam roller
- Place your hands on opposite shoulders (give yourself a hug)
- Roll up and down for 30 seconds.
- You can then roll to one side and bias one side over the other, then moving to the other side.
DO SOME AIR SQUATS AND PUSH UPS
Every hour or two jumping up to do some squats and push ups can do wonders for your hips and shoulders that are stuck in poor positions.
THE AIR SQUAT
- Stand with feet shoulder width apart and toes slightly out
- Push your hips back and down, driving the knees out so they don’t collapse in towards the middle.
- Get as low as you can without losing your spinal position.
- Drive through your midfoot (keep heels flat) until at full extension
THE PUSH UP
- Start with your hands on your desk if you can’t do push-ups on the ground.
- Keep a tight belly and butt
- Lower yourself keeping the elbows in tight to the body and get your chest to the desk or ground.
- Push up back to the start position.
STRETCH
The couch stretch is one of the best stretches for improving the health of your hip flexors from lots of sitting all day. All you need as a wall space and a few minutes.
- Put your knee into where the floor and wall meet (put a pad under your knee if needed)
- Bring the other foot forward and try to get your knee at 90 degrees
- Keep a flat back and sit upright
- Squeeze your glutes and belly hard for 10 seconds, then relax for 5 seconds and repeat.
- NOTE: this is an aggressive stretch and you may not be able to sit upright straight away
- Hold this position for 2 minutes before moving to the other side.
REARRANGE THE OFFICE
Making some small changes to the office to encourage more movement can make a huge difference to your day increasing the amount of steps you take.
- Create storage shelves for personal belongings that aren’t within arms reach
- Filtered water fountains in central positions
- Standup meetings
- Go for walks for meetings when it’s just 2 people.
- Have a standing desk option
Even if you just start with the stretches and exercises you are well on your way to improving the health of your joints, better posture and burning extra calories throughout your workday. Small changes can go a long way to improving your health and activity levels throughout the day.
Try adding one of these in tomorrow and over time do more and more steps until you have a fully functioning active office space. If you are an employer these will encourage your employees to be healthy and active, leading to more productivity and a happier team.
If you have any questions about any of the tips in this article feel free to leave us a comment.