Quick Stretches and Workouts for the Office ...

Some of us spend eight hours or more at our desk and for the most part we are sitting in a chair without any form of exercise. While I know a full workout isn’t possible, we can do some simple stretches and exercises to get in a little activity in our normal sedentary office lifestyle. Here are some examples to get you started.
 
Let’s start with stretching your arms and back by doing the Reaching for the Stars stretch. Start by interlacing your fingers and reach up towards the ceiling as high as you can, keeping your palms facing up.  This helps to release a lot of tension that has built up in your arms, shoulders and back. Next for additional tension release in your shoulders, try doing Shoulder Shrugs move by raising both shoulders up towards your ears and holding for five seconds and release making sure to repeat a few times for full benefit. Next, try the Desk Crawl technique by extending both of your arms out across your desk and moving your chair back as far as you can to help stretch out your back and shoulders. Going down to your legs, try Loving Yourself stretch by bending your right knee to your chest wrapping your arms around it and pulling it as close to your chest as you can. Remember to do both legs and hold for 10 seconds each.

After getting in a little stretching, you can kick it up a bit and get your muscles working right at your desk. So go ahead and mute that conference call you have to be one and let’s get going . . .
 
To get your blood flowing, how about doing High Knee Lifts or Jogging in Place for 30 seconds repeating two to three times?  Next let’s work on the arms and abs a little by doing Push-Ups! No, you don’t have to get on the floor unless you want to. I would suggest keeping a yoga mat at your office to use if you are wanting to get on the floor. If you don’t, modify your Push-Ups by using the wall or the edge of your desk. Start with whatever number of Push-Ups you can do but make sure to put in at least three sets and build up to more. To work those leg muscles, trying doing Squats of at least 10 each time, three different sets.
 
This is a good start to getting a little exercise into your daily work routine. Taking the time to do such stretches and workout can also help with stress relief during a busy, hectic work schedule! Good luck and let me know how things go!

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