Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Workplace Workout: Neck Exercises, Shoulder Shrugs, Thigh Stretches, Leg Squats

Advertisement
Advertisement

In this fast paced life, most of the people spend long hours at their work place and don’t find time to exercise before or after work, and in addition to having spend long hours at work they also have to spend time commuting long distances to get to work leaving them with no time to keep themselves fit by engaging in some workout.

Accompanying this stressful schedule is unhealthy fast food, which has kind of become a norm for everyone. So, obviously a person is likely to gain weight if the calorie intake is higher than what you can burn with sedentary job and high calorie food.

Exercise plays an important role to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are few exercises that you can perform at your work place. These exercises are very helpful to relieve job-related stress, increase your energy level and finally, make your life healthier.

Neck Exercises

Neck exercises are very important to keep your neck muscles strong and prevent any injuries. Neck exercises can be helpful if you are suffering from neck pain, stiff neck, arthritis in the neck, and headaches. Neck exercises increases flexibility and range of motion of neck joint and also increases blood circulation to the muscles.

1. Neck Flexion Stretch:

In sitting or standing position, bend your neck and bring down your chin to the chest. Hold the position as long as you feel comfortable. This exercise is good for those who suffer from hypertonic paraspinals in the neck (means tightness and pain in the back of the neck). Then slowly extend your head backwards as far as it goes. Repeat 5 times.

2. Neck Lateral Flexion:

In sitting or standing position, tilt your head slowly toward your right shoulder and hold the position for 15 – 20 seconds. Do the same on other side. Repeat 5 times on both the sides.

3. Neck Rotation:

In sitting or standing position, rotate your head to the left as far as possible to bring your chin over your left shoulder. Hold the position for a couple of seconds. Do the same on the other side. When you are doing this exercise, your shoulder should be in normal position – don’t bring up your shoulders.

Watch 3D Video Of Exercises to Help with Stiff Neck

Shoulder Shrugs

Advertisement
Advertisement
Workplace Workout: Shoulder Shrugs Exercise
Advertisement

Just pull your shoulders as high as you can and roll them forward 10 times and backward 10 times. This exercise strengthens the upper trapezius muscle and other muscles involved in neck extension.

Advertisement

Thigh Stretches

Workplace Workout: Thigh Stretches Exercise

Sitting on office chairs for long time can tighten your thigh muscles and can lead to back pain and knees pain. Doing thigh stretches can help improve circulation, increase flexibility, and reduce stress of the muscles. Sit on edge of your chair (as shown in the image). Grab your left ankle and pull it upward toward your buttocks. Do the same on the other side.

Leg Squats

Workplace Workout: Leg Squats Exercise

Stand in front of your chair and extend your arm parallel to the ground and repeat sitting down without actually touching the chair and then stand up. Do this as and when your work schedule permits you to do this exercise. Legs squats are great exercise for total lower body workout. It helps to tone and strengthen the legs. It also strengthens the core muscles and makes strong lower back. Legs squats increased the flexibility of lower back, hips, knees and ankles joint.

Chair Dips

Workplace Workout: Chair Dips Exercise

Stand in front of your chair (make sure your chair does not have any wheel and is strong enough to support your weight). Keep your hand on the edge of the seat with shoulder width apart. Keep your feet slightly away from the chair and slowly lower down your body. Don’t bend your knee away from the line of your toes and elbow to an angle smaller than 90 degrees. Extend your arms and lift your body up. This exercise strengthens shoulders, arms and pectoral chest muscles.

Desk Pushups

Workplace Workout: Desk Pushups Exercise

Lean toward your desk and do pushups as many as you can manage (make sure your desk is solid enough to support your weight). Remember these are work place workout and not gymnasium workout, do not overdo and get stressed so as to affect your work place productivity. Desk pushups strengthen your chest and arms and also helps with posture problems.

Lower Body Lift

Workplace Workout: Lower Body Lift Exercise

Sit straight in your chair and extend your legs straight and slowly lift one leg to the level of the hip. Hold the position for 10-15 seconds. Do the same on the other side. Repeat as many times as your work schedule permits. Lower body lift helps in improving overall flexibility and prevents the risks of health problems related to tight hamstrings including sciatica and back pain.

Chair Pick Ups

Workplace Workout: Chair Pick Ups Exercise

Stand in front of your chair and bend at the waist to grab the arms of the chair. Keep your abs tight and arm slightly bent. Then, slowly lift the chair with your back flat and put it down slowly. Repeat as many times as you can without over straining your back. This exercise is good to improve the back muscle strength.

Cubicle Wall Sits

Workplace Workout: Cubicle Wall Sits Exercise

Stand with your back perfectly against your cubicle wall and lower down yourself toward the floor until your thigh parallel to the floor. Hold the position for 30-50 seconds. This exercise works entire muscular system of the lower body and improves the endurance in the lower body muscles.

Also Read:

Advertisement
Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:August 24, 2018

Recent Posts

Related Posts

Advertisement