We all know the importance of exercise. But how many of us are stuck behind a desk most of our working week, peering into a screen, typing away, talking on the phone- sometimes for hours at a time- and never really move out of one posture all day!
We don’t think about it while we are working, but most of us who do desk work can all attest that we feel the aches and pains later, either when we finally decide to move from that desk posture or later in the evening when relaxing at home. And many of us try to counteract all that sedentary work life with being a “weekend warrior”, taking up running, walking the dog, swimming or gym work, all in the hope of maintaining some level of fitness and health. But no amount of sporadic exercise can prevent all of the stress and strain you are putting your body through on a daily basis at work behind your desk!
So, what you really need to try and do is EXERCISE AT YOUR DESK! The exercises don’t have to be fancy. In fact, many can be done without even getting up from your chair- but the key is to do them regularly. The general advice is to move or stretch for every 30 minutes of sitting. The stretches only need to take 15 seconds to do in order to have a positive effect. The best way to discipline yourself when you’re sat at your desk working is to set a timer on your screen or phone that alerts you every half hour to move!
For a great upper body stretch at your desk, see the video below. This is just one of many you can do, and varying which one you do is important to target different areas and improve your posture throughout. Please refer to our other blogs or Facebook page for more desk exercise videos.
Any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at PhysiOptima.
