Exercise for Office Workers

Sitting is as deadly as smoking. Research on sedentary behavior shows that we office workers face serious health risks from sitting all day, regardless of how thin we are, how fit we are, or how active we are outside of work. We have to figure out how to add routine movement to our office workday or risk early death. We have to stay fit at work.

We should also do exercises to counteract desk posture and to maintain a good level of overall fitness. We have to stay fit for work.

The articles listed below will help you incorporate exercise into your work day and give you ideas about how to tailor your workouts at the gym and at home to address the postural and other issues raised by an office job.

Stabilize Your Shoulders for Better Desk Posture

August 31, 2009

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to stabilize shoulders so that they can best serve you at your desk. The rolled-forward posture that typically accompanies desk work leads to pain between the shoulder blades, sore necks, headaches, and other afflictions. Tucking your shoulders back and getting them to lie down on your torso [...]

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A Simple Stretch for Your Tight Hips

November 13, 2008

After a long stint at your desk, you stand up and feel tightness deep in your hips or you get a sharp pang in your low back. Odds are good that a tight psoas muscle is the culprit. Sitting all day shortens the deep muscles that flex the hip and trunk. When you stand, the [...]

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Relax Back into Your Height

November 6, 2008

Today we will dance. Or at least move, doing an exercise that a dance teacher taught me years ago. This exercise is one of my favorite ways to restore my height after a long stretch sitting at the desk. Especially one of those marathon writing sessions where I’m so engrossed in my work that I [...]

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Extend Your Office Life with Strong Forearms

November 3, 2008

A while back I asked, Are You a Flexaholic? The pattern of flexor muscles overpowering extensors happens throughout your body, including your forearms. This exercise to strengthen your forearm extensor muscles can help restore balance to your forearm and wrist. I’ll write more in the future about different options for gizmos – including weights, resistance [...]

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Give Your Balance a Boost

October 30, 2008

Working the muscles in the side of your hip can help improve your balance. These muscles are also often left flabby by prolonged desk posture – this exercise can help tone them. Side Leg Lift Stand up straight with your feet slightly apart. Keep your feet, hip, and shoulders aligned throughout – don’t let your [...]

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Ease Neck Pain with a Nice Stretch

October 27, 2008

Neck pain at work can often be related to tight muscles on the front of the neck. The biggest of these anterior neck muscles is the sternocleidomastoid. The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle is often shortened by a desk posture that pulls the head forward and down. Stretching the SCM can help correct this poor postural pattern. [...]

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Strengthen Your Toes to Wake Up Your Feet

October 20, 2008

Last Friday I gave you a list of ideas for a nice foot massage. Now that you have pampered your feet, let’s give them a little workout. The towel scrunch is a classic exercise for strengthening the muscles on the bottom of your feet. Sit in a stable chair on an uncarpeted floor. Place a [...]

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Stretch Your Forearms

October 13, 2008

The muscles that flex your forearms can adopt a shortened position after a long stretch of desk work, especially when it involves the computer and keyboard. This assisted-stretching technique can relax your forearm muscles and bring more ease to your wrist movements (there are also video instructions below). Hold your left arm straight out in [...]

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Take an Office Hike Today

October 9, 2008

The human body is designed to move. Movement is how we keep our circulation flowing, our joints mobile – and it’s how we get from one place to another. Walking is a great way to get moving at work. It’s free, it’s weight-bearing (which is good for your bones), it burns calories, and it’s aerobic [...]

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Get Your Legs Moving

October 6, 2008

Sitting all day can leave your legs feeling listless and neglected. Wake them up with this classic exercise. The Squat Push your chair back from your desk about 18 inches. Stand up with your feet about hip width apart and your toes pointed just a bit outward (not straight ahead). Sit back down in your [...]

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