7 Stretching Exercises To Do At The Office

A stretching and exercise routine can be essential to prevent or relieve pain in those people who, due to their work, remain still or sitting for a long time.

The modern workplace means that thousands of people spend many hours of the day sitting in front of their computer without moving their body. While the position may be comfortable, holding it for a long time is detrimental to maintaining metabolic, joint, and muscle health. The problem is compounded by the fact that some end up tired from their days and do not have enough time to exercise. Therefore, in this article we suggest stretching exercises that you can do at the office in a few minutes.

Taking into account the risks involved in spending so many hours sitting,  several “work gymnastics” plans have been designed  with which you can activate the body from the workplace. Of course, it is not about moving a gym to the office, but it is a practice that helps relieve muscle tension, stress and other reactions linked to sedentary lifestyle.

The proposed movements are very easy to perform, do not take up much time and can be done even in small spaces.

Here we share stretching exercises so you can start dedicating a few minutes a day.

1. Back stretch

The back, especially the lumbar area, is one of the parts of the body that is most affected  at the muscular level after sitting for several hours in a row. The spine suffers and an uncomfortable tension appears that can interrupt the activities of the day.

With this simple stretching activity, relaxation is promoted and blood flow is increased for adequate oxygenation of the muscles.

How to do it?

1. First, sit up straight
2. Stretch your legs as far as possible, keeping your feet on the ground.
3. Then stretch your body with your arms up, squeeze your glutes, and extend your abdomen.
4. Hold for a few seconds, relax and repeat.

2. Leg raises

This leg stretching exercise is done with the support of the office desk. Relieves lower body tension and promotes blood flow to prevent inflammation and varicose veins.

How to do it?

1. First, raise your right leg straight until it touches the surface of the desk.
2. Lower it slowly and raise your left leg.
3. Repeat the movement alternately until you complete 10 on each leg.

3. Relaxation movements of the neck

Poor posture or being held in the same position for several hours causes the neck muscles to suffer and cause pain. With an adequate stretching every two hours you can avoid this problem and calm the feeling of fatigue.

How to do it?

1. Stretch your neck up and down as much as possible.
2. Return to the starting position and do it from left to right.
3. Repeat it five times.

4. Shoulder relaxation

A brief movement of the shoulders lessens the feeling of tension that occurs due to stress.

How to do it?

• Take air.
• Then lift your shoulders up.
• Then lower them by exhaling.

5. Stretching the wrist muscles

The wrists are exposed to tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome from the position to which they are subjected with the use of the computer. In order to reduce risk and reduce ailments, you can do a simple exercise to stretch your muscles.

How to do it?

1. First, bring your palms together with your fingers facing up.
2. Raise your elbows while maintaining the same position.
3. Then, without changing, bring your fingers forward.

6. Wrist and forearm stretch

With this activity you will not only relax the tension in the wrist, but also in the forearms.

How to do it?

1. First, raise one arm with the elbow extended forward and the palms facing up.
2. Then with the other hand, pull your fingers down and back for a few seconds
3. Then relax. arm and hand.
4. Repeat the stretch with the other arm.

7. Stretching the gluteal muscles

For obvious reasons, sitting in the office involves discomfort in the gluteal muscles. These can be relaxed just by standing up and walking, but we can also stretch them to keep them strong.

How to do it?

1. First, sit on a chair and cross one leg over the other, so that one of the feet is level with the opposite calf.
2. Then, with the arm on the opposite side, push the knee in the opposite direction and rest.
3. Repeat with the other leg, a total of five times on each side.

In short, you don’t need to adopt an intense training routine to benefit your body during work. Try to do it every day and you will see that they are excellent for keeping your body relaxed and free of ailments.