Most people today spend too much time tied to desks, buried in emails. Our modern lives have been engineered so that we can spend most of it sitting down. Unfortunately, sitting is literally killing us.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 3.2 million deaths can be attributed to lack of physical activity. Our sedentary lifestyles are responsible for increasing our risk of diabetes and heart disease as well as a loss of muscle and bone strength. Perhaps even more alarming is that people who exercise regularly are probably still not getting enough movement in their lives to counteract the deleterious effects of sitting too much.
According to this article, with a little more activity throughout the day, we can actually reverse the inevitable weight gain associated with such a sedentary existence.
There are countless ways to sneak more activity into our day, aka exercise hacks. There are exercises to do at our desk, such as chair exercises and stretches we can incorporate into our daily routine.
Here are 10 stretches you can do at your desk:
1. Rubber Neck – Sit up tall and drop your right ear down towards your right shoulder (you don’t have to touch it!) and hold for a few seconds and repeat for the left side.
2. Reach for the Stars – Interlace your fingers and reach up towards the sky, as high as you can … keeping your palms facing up towards the ceiling.
3. Look Around – Turn your head the left and try and look over your shoulder and hold for a few seconds … repeat on the right.
4. Bobblehead – Drop your chin down towards your chest and GENTLY roll your head from side to side.
5. Shrugs – Raise both shoulders up towards your ears and hold for a few seconds and release. Repeat a few times for good measure.
6. Chest Opener – Bring your hands behind your back, press your palms together, sit up tall and hold for 5–10 seconds.
7. Seated Toy Soldier – Sit up tall and extend your right arm all the way up towards the ceiling. Straighten your left leg out and raise it up as you bring your right arm down and try to touch your left foot.
8. Knee Hugger – With a bent knee, lift your right leg up and grab it with your arms and pull it in as close to your chest as you can. Hold for 5–10 seconds and make sure and do it on the left side, too.
9. Reach and Bend- Extend your right arm over your head and reach out as far as you can to the left and gently bend over. Hold for a few seconds and do it the other way.
10. Knee Press – With your right ankle on your left knee, gently press against the right knee a few times. Of course, after you’re done with the right side, be sure and give the left side some love, too.
