Over the past year or so, my office — like many — has put quite a bit of effort into creating a wellness program that encourages daily desk jockies to incorporate more movement into our lives. For me, that usually translates into gym and mat time while outside of the office. Even when I can squeeze in a great workout, it’s still unsettling to consider that we generally spend 8-10 times more time sitting at a desk that we do actually strengthening and doing good for our bodies.
To help alleviate that, I asked our amazing friend Tandy Gutierrez at PimpYourMat to show us some simple workouts that can be performed in average cubicle. She created this phenomenal video that not only helps you get a bit of a stretch into your day-to-day — but also breaks down the details of desk ergonomics and how to position your body to achieve the best posture and long-term comfort.
“At this point, we know sitting kind of kills a body — gravity, everything pulls down, we get lazy, it pooches stuff, it stretches things and it compresses,” says Tandy. To begin to couteract that, we need to sit right. And she has great tips for that, too:
- Your elbows should aline with the desktop when bent. Adjust your chair up or down to get there.
- And ergonomic keyboard can help to better align your wrists.
- Adjust your screen to be level with your line of sight. Using books or adjustable monitors to move your gaze to a level position.
- If you choose to use a stability ball for sitting, keep your booty level with your knees while your bent elbows aline with the desktop.
- Be careful to not flare your lower back. When using the ball, your core should engage to keep you properly aligned.
- Standing desks help to place your body in a more stable posture. Treadmill desks can provide additional engagement and activity throughout the day. For both, stand tall, align your spine and keep shoulders down.
- To solve hip or back issues without a stand-up desk, try the Kneeling posture below!
Got your positioning down? Good. Because the subtle desk workouts you can do from a good seated position rock. Try these tips from Tandy to give your body a boost.
Pilates Core Contraction — strength building
Sit tall with your back straight and your feet and knees level. Inhale and engage your core by scooping your belly button up, under your rib cage. Exhale to keep it there. You can do this anywhere, anytime. Keep your shoulders down away from your ears as you repeat the contraction.
Kegal Contraction — strength building
A Kegal squeeze engages the bottom of your pelvic floor — essentially the muscles you use when you want to stop peeing. Again, sitting tall, squeeze those muscles and lift them up. Then, hold them there while you exhale. Repeat.
Armpit Squeeze — strength building
Squeezing down in your armpit can help to activate your upper back and stabilize your shoulder girdle. It’s a simple movement that creates great strength and results in the arms. Inhale to squeeze your armpits and continue to engage downward while exhaling. Repeat.
Shoulder Squeeze — strength building
Again, toning and engaging the back, inhale to engage and pinch your shoulder blades together. Exhale to press them down and back. Repeat.
Shoulder Flossing — stretch
Consider adding a yoga strap to your collection of office supplies for this quick and simple deskside stretch. Hold the strap wide in front of you and sit tall. While keeping the arms as straight as possible, lift your hands up over your head and rotate your shoulders so that your arms move behind you. Then, bring them back. Repeat roughly 10 times. Completing this exercise daily can help to improve the health of your shoulders, upper back and neck.
Pranic Bath — stretch
Hold your pinkies and elbows together in front of your face. Move your hands upward and over your head. Behind your head, roll your wrists so your palms face outward as you push your hands up into the air. Then, open your arms down to your sides and move them back up to the starting position. Repeat.
Arm Rotations — stretch
Hold arms wide to sides with palms facing forward. Squeeze down in the armpit. Inhale to engage your core, exhale and hold the contraction. Then, begin rotate your arms so that palms face up and down. Do not rotate from the shoulder. Repeat for roughly 10 repetitions.
Arm Pulses — stretch
Turn the thumbs back as far as possible so that palms face upward. Squeeze belly button up underneath the ribcage. Open chest and pulse arms back behind you to open chest and collar bone. Repeat for roughly 10 pulses.
Seated Twist — stretch
With feet flat on floor, sit tall. Leaving hips facing forward in your chair, twist around your spine so that shoulders face to the side. Use your desk or back of your chair to help anchor and rotate.
Figure 4 — stretch
While seated, lift one ankle to rest on the opposite knee. Let the lifted knee fall open. For added stretch from this position, lean slightly forward with back straight to open hips. Reverse to balance on the other side of the body. Hold and repeat as comfortable.
Kneeling — strength building
Ditch the chair for a simple hamstring, hip flexor and booty strengther. Kneel on the floor at your desk (consider a yoga mat or towel under your knees for cushion). Then press the hips forward.
Modified Warrior — stretch
From kenneling, lift one leg to forward lunge while other shin remains flat on the ground. Press hips forward. Reverse and repeat.
Modified Hamstring Stretch — stretch
From Modified Warrior, extended lifted leg straight out in front of you. Flex foot and, with a straight back, lean forward. Switch sides and repeat.
Modified Down Dog — stretch
Standing a few steps back from your desk with feet flat on the floor, hinge at the hips to bring your hands to the desk. Holding your back straight, you can continue to work, or release the neck through the arms for a modified Down Dog stretch. You can also alternate bending the knees to feel more stretch in the hip or check out Tandy’s wacky rounding move in the video for additional stretches through the lower back.
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Like Tandy mentions, stretching and exercise can be an amazing substitute for coffee and soda when it comes to regaining your energy through the early morning or late afternoon. Try a few or test them all to see how being #onthemat at your desk can make a difference.
This post originally appeared on Prettyography.
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