Did you know that Sitting is hazardous to your health?
It is.
Yet, so many of us have jobs that require us to sit.Â
Beyond the need for more physical activity in our lives, we need to actively counteract the physical affects of sitting.
The bad effects of sitting
Not only do you use less energy, but you increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Additionally, sitting wreaks havoc on your strength and flexibility. Sitting generally results in weak gluteals (Glutes or the muscles in your tush). Weakened Glutes will force your lower back to take up the slack and perform actions it was not meant to do.
Your hip flexors shorten and become weak. Hip flexors are the muscles that allow you to lift your legs. Sitting forces them to be in a relaxed, but shortened state and over time they become weak. The shortening of them will force your pelvis to tip in the wrong direction. Also putting extra force on your lower back.
Meanwhile, your quads and lower back get tight and work harder than they should. This is called lower crossed syndrome.
In addition to the issues presented above (which could contribute to lower back pain or hip pain), you can also get stiff neck or shoulders. This is especially true if you slouch or if your desk is not set up ergonomically. If you’re sitting for work or commuting, you’re also likely not in the most relaxed state. IF you’re like me, you may carry your tension in your neck and shoulders. This can contribute to headaches as well as general discomfort.
Counteract the effects of sitting
So lets look at some simple ways to get some stretching in during the day. These are things that can be done right at your desk, in the hall or while waiting for the copier or the coffee pot.
Keep in mind as you read through these that you want to work at your own range of motion. Stretching may be a little uncomfortable but should never bring pain. Note any areas of pain or tightness. If you feel pain, talk to your doctor. Pay attention to your breathing (you should keep breathing through all of these). If you find yourself holding your breath back off of the stretch a little and take a deep inhale. Exhale and go back into the stretch.
Starting from the top, and working down:
Neck Stretches.
Looking left and right
Start with looking left and right. Slowly rotate your head to look over one shoulder than the other. Keep it slow, stay at whatever range of motion is good for you. Don’t force it. This isn’t shaking your head “no” at your bosses request for another TPS report…
Side to side tilt
Tile your head side to side. Think about touching your ear to your shoulder without raising your shoulder to meet it. Take it slow. Enjoy the stretch. You can do one side at a time and hold it. Or do some slow “tick-tocks” back and forth. Do what feels good to you.
Forward and back tilt
Tilt forward and back. Go easy on the back unless your spine is warmed up. Look down, try to touch your chin to your neck. While looking down, go ahead and slowly look left and right. Look up and notice if there’s any stiffness. Try to close your mouth (clamp your teeth together), it will deepen the stretch in the front of your neck.
Smell your Armpit
One of my favorite stretches is one I call “smell your armpit” stretch. Tilt your head forward and down toward your armpit. You can place the same hand as armpit gently on the back of your head to increase the stretch. It’s a little more rotational than the above stretches. Play with the angle and see where you need it most.
Shoulder and Chest Stretches.
Shoulder Rolls
Do some shoulder rolls. Try pulling your shoulders forward, and then lifting them to your ears. Then roll them to the back thinking about pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades (That might be really difficult) and then push them down away from your ears as possible. Do a few rotations in this direction, then try the other direction.
When you’re done, do one more in the forward, up back and down, and see if you can leave your shoulder blades down and slightly pulled together just a little longer. You might find yourself feeling taller.
Extension stretch
Clasp your hands in front of you and round your back. You should feel it between the shoulder blades as you pull them apart.
Slowly raise your hands above your head. Keeping your arms as straight as possible, and your hands together, pull your shoulder blades back and down while doing this.
If you’re up for it, try pulling the arms behind the head and bending backward in the upper spine (between the shoulder blades. This may be quite difficult if you sit or type a lot.
Chest stretch
Use a doorway to stretch your chest. Hold your arms out to your side and bend your elbows at a 90 degree so your hands are up and palms facing forward. Place your forearms on a door frame and lean forward. If you don’t have a doorway that was built for your width, you can do one arm at a time in the same position on a door frame or corner of a wall. Rotate away from the arm on the doorframe. Do both sides.
Arm Stretches
Biceps stretch.
Make a fist with your hand and hold it palm down. Place the thumb/forefinger circle against the corner of a wall, credenza or door frame with your arm straight. Rotate away from your hand with your body. You may feel this in the front of the shoulder and all down your arm to your writs. That is good. This one puts it in your biceps a little more than just putting your palm flat against the wall.
Forearm Stretch
Hold your arm out straight in front of you and grasp your fingers with the other hand. First, pull your fingers to the floor with your palm facing up. This stretch should get the underside of your forearm. Hold or move in and out of the stretch as you feel works best for you. Then flip your palm to face the floor and pull the fingers down, trying to touch your forearm with your palm. If you do, probably you need to have that looked at. You may need to hold the back of the hand to get a good stretch. You should feel it in the top of your forearm. Start with straight arms, but play with bending them to see how it changes the stretch.
Torso stretches
Sidebody stretch
While sitting or standing (depending on how discreet you need to be), reach one hand straight up and lean to the opposite side. The higher you try to reach, the more stretch you should feel in your body. If you’re seated. Try to keep both tush cheeks on the seat. If you’re standing, play with your weight shift and shift more weight into the side being stretched to get a deeper stretch. You may even feel it down the side of your leg.
Seated child’s pose
While seated, fold forward over your knees. You may feel this in the back s of the legs, or you may feel it somewhere down your back.
Deepen the stretch by widening your knees and tilting your pelvis forward (imagine it’s a bowl of cereal and you’re trying to spill it out the front). You may feel more lower back or upper back of leg (Hamstring).
Sanding extension stretch
While standing with feet about hip distance apart and weight evenly distributed between your feet, push your hips forward. You can place your hands on your hips or the small of your back. Try to keep your pelvis from tipping forward or back.
Hip half moons
Wanna get wild and crazy? Blend the side bend with hip pushing out motion with the extension stretch. Start with your hips pushed to the left, move hips to push forward, then to the right. Make it a nice smooth half-circle motion. Then go back through the front to the left side.
Hip/Glute stretch
While seated, bring one leg up and rest the ankle on your other knee. Keeping a tall posture, try to press the knee of the lifted foot to the floor. You should feel a rotational stretch in your hip. If you do, good, stay there. If you need a deeper stretch, start folding forward without rounding your spine. Think chest forward and head up.
Legs and feet
Standing Quad stretch
Standing on one leg, bend the other leg at the knee to bring your heel toward your tush. Grab that ankle with the same side arm. Use your other arm to hold onto an immovable object for added balance. Align your knees and pull your ankle as close to your bum as you can. If you want more stretch, pull your knee slightly behind the other leg. You may feel this anywhere from your quad to your hip flexor, to the front/top of your foot.
Hip Flexor stretch
It’s hard to get a good hip flexor stretch without kneeling. But first try this: From the above quad stretch, pull your foot further away from your bum and try to pull your knee up behind you to the same level with your pelvis. (Without bending forward.).
More hip Flexor stretch
So, the easiest way to get a pretty deep hip flexor stretch is a kneeling lunge position. Place one knee on the floor and the other foot on the floor in a 90 degree position. Press your hips forward till you feel a stretch. If you need to, walk the planted foot forward.
I get it, you might not be that keen to be kneeling on the floor in your office with your “good clothes” on. You can try the same stretch but with a straight(er) back leg. It will take more strength to stay in the position, and you may not get as deep of a stretch, but I’m going to stick with the “some is better than none” adage here.
Calf stretch
Sand with one leg behind the other, and press the back leg’s heel to the floor bend the front knee to increase the stretch of the back leg. If you can’t get a good stretch here, try it facing a wall where you can really lean forward.
Still no stretch?
Place the toe of your foot against the wall and try to pull yourself toward the wall.
Another option (if you have stairs) is to keep your toe on the step and slightly drop your heel down. Do one at a time on this.
Hamstring stretch
With the feet apart like in the calf stretch, place your weight on the back leg and slightly bend it. Then try to lift your toes off the floor. The more you can raise those toes toward your knee, the deeper the stretch.
Shin Stretch
Let’s give the shins some love. While standing, place your weight in one leg. Take the other leg and place it slightly behind you with your toes down. Try to get the top of your foot (your shoelaces) to touch the floor. You may want to hold on to something for balance. And you may find it hard to get into this stretch. Most of us sit all day with our feet neutral or slightly flexed this will help loosen up the shin a little so you can point your toes better.
That’s quite the list of stretches you can do! If you’re super pressed for time, focus on the ones that work the front of your body as well as where you might hold tension. Aim for a 5-10 min stretch break every hour.
To help you stick to it, pick a few you want to do, write them down and set a timer. Keep track of what you do when and hold yourself accountable for getting them done. Your body will thank you.
Leave a comment below if you have additional stretches you like to do at work.
Need additional exercises to add to your day along with your stretching? Click here for some ideas.