Who DOESN’T love being outside in summer? We live in the OG home of outdoorsy summer activities – hiking, cycling, mountain climbing, trail running – whatever your mountain-loving heart desires live right outside our city doors. But September can mean dicey outdoor conditions (will it be +25 and sunny on the weekend or will we get 6 inches of snow?? No one knows!), so best to plan for some indoor fitness opportunities….
Less time outdoors and, by extension, less movement for our bodies, is bad news. Most of us wouldn’t think of desk work as a hazardous job but the repetitive motion, poor posture, and prolonged periods of stillness sitting at a desk can cause or aggravate existing body pain. Regular movement is an important part of wellness! Try to move or stretch at your desk every few hours to keep your joints and muscles happy.
Here are the 5 best desk exercises (deskercise?) to keep you limber and focused:
1) Wrist and Forearms: Find the edge of a table or desk to press your hands into. Extend your arms forward and flip your palms to face forward and fingers on the lip of the table. Press your wrists forward to stretch your forearms. Flip the palm to face inward, then gently pull the fingers towards your body, or use the edge of a desk or table. Extend your arms in front of you with your hands in fists. Rotate your wrists outward, then inward in a circular motion. This stretch can improve blood flow to your hands. RMT Meghan shows you how it’s done HERE.
2) Sidebody and Lats: Sit in a chair and extend an arm overhead. Lean to the side and breathe into the side body. You can hold onto the side of the chair for extra stretch! RMT Ambar shows you how it’s done HERE.
3) Seated Figure 4: Sit on the edge of a chair and bring an ankle across the top of the opposite thigh. Flex the toes towards the knee joint. Lean forward if you’d like a deeper stretch! RMT T’yana has an awesome hip stretch for you HERE.
4) Chair Lunge: Sit on the right corner edge of a chair (preferably without arms). Keep the right knee opening away from you stacked over the ankle, and twist on the chair to drop your left knee down towards the floor. Make sure your left knee stays slightly bent while extended behind you and that your left toes are curled under. Sit up tall and stack the shoulders over the hips. Draw the belly button to the spine to keep the abdominal muscles engaged. The further back you reach your left foot the more stretch you will receive along the front left side of your body!
5) Seated Cat Cow: Cat cow, but seated! Sit on the edge of your chair and bring your hands onto your thighs. Inhale and arch the back, open the chest and lift the chin slightly. Exhale and round the back, draw your chin towards your chest. Repeat slowly with your breath.
Looking for more quick stretches? Check us out on Instagram! Our RMT staff are here to help.
Yours in Wellness,
