Last month, we shared tips to make your work-from-home (WFH) workspace ergonomically safer. Along with caring for your body while seated whatever your set up, minimizing pain and injury takes additional movement and stretching. Here’s five suggested exercises to help you limber up your whole body as you go through your day.
Calf Stretch
While sitting in your chair, raise your heels leaving just the tips of your toes on the floor. Feel the stretch in your calf muscles and hold for 10 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the stretch 8 more times.
Leg Lifts
With both your feet flat on the floor, alternate lifting your right and left legs until you touch the underside of your desk or table. This will work both your thigh muscles and your core. Repeat 8 times with each leg.
"Minimize pain and injury with movement and stretching through your day."
Clenches
Sit straight in your chair with your feet on the floor. Pull in both your abdominal muscles and your glutes, holding for 10 seconds. Do 5 sets of eight repetitions, relaxing for 30 seconds between each set. This exercise is firming – and with consistent performance – slimming.
Shoulder Raises
Raise your shoulders toward your ears, alternating left and right five times each. Hold for 10 seconds each time, then relax. Then shrug both your shoulders, rotating them forward 5 times, then backward 5 times. This will help loosen tension in your neck and upper back.
Wrist Stretch
This is especially important if you spend a lot of your workday at a keyboard to combat the cumulative stress on your hands, wrist joints and arms. Bend your wrist back, palm up, and gently press with your other hand until you feel a stretching through your wrist. Only apply enough pressure to feel a stretch, not to cause any pain. Bend your wrist the other way, with your palm down, and apply the same gentle pressure for a slight stretch from the back of your hand to your forearm. Repeat 5 times for each wrist.
Here’s a bonus exercise if you spend a lot of time in your work chair – get out of your chair and walk! Ideally, you’ll want to get up for five minutes out of every hour of sitting. The health benefits of moving your body go far beyond getting out the kinks – it also reduces your risks for several chronic conditions.
