Sitting at your desk for eight hours, five days a week, can lead to poor posture, leg cramps, back pain, and a stiff neck. In fact, all it takes is about 20 minutes of being relatively stationary for your muscles to tense up. Lucky then that all these problems can be ironed out by simple stretching exercises that prevent stiffness and relieve stress, all at the same time.
Stretch 1: Sit straight in your chair and stretch your arms to the ceiling with your fingers interlocked, and hold position for 10 seconds. This stretch increases blood flow and eases the muscle tension in your arms and shoulders, while also relaxing your fingers.
Stretch 2: To work the core and the arms, sit on your chair with your legs crossed on the seat and place your hands on the armrest. Clench the stomach, and with the help of your hands elevate yourself up from the seat; hold for 20 seconds. Caution: Make sure that the chair is sturdy enough to take the strain of your balancing act.
Stretch 3: Reduce the tension in the upper body by sitting up straight and pushing your shoulders back, as if they were trying to meet. Stay in this position for 10-20 seconds and repeat whenever your shoulders tighten up again.
Stretch 4: Stretch your leg muscles while sitting in your chair. Lift one leg, keeping it parallel to the ground and hold for two seconds; extend higher, engaging your thighs and calves for another two seconds. Do 15 reps of each leg to regulate the blood circulation.
Stretch 5: Ease up the lower back pain and hamstring tension by pushing your chair back to place one leg up, with your heel on the table. Bend your torso forward till you feel a gentle pull at the back of your leg and in your lower back. Hold for 10 seconds and then repeat with the other leg.
With these stretches in mind, instead of getting worked up, just workout that stress and be a happy camper even at the office. Stretching exercises release not just physical, but mental fatigue too.
