5 Exercises You Can Do Right at Your Desk
With over 1.8 billion websites operating each day simultaneously, it’s no wonder why so many people work remotely and often at their desks. Unfortunately, sitting for long periods to get your work done isn’t always the best for your health and body. The good news is that there are a few key ways to get your body moving even while at your desk.
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1. Seated Ys
This exercise can help you increase your upper back and shoulder strength, especially the postural muscles. To do seated Ys, sit upright in your chair in the right posture. Next, spread your fingertips and place the outsides of your pinky fingers on your thighs with the thumbs facing the ceiling. With the elbows bent in a soft bend, lift your arms up into the air in a ‘Y’ shape and then return to the position you started in. Doing 10 to 15 reps of this exercise will be enough for each day.
2. Stretching Your Wrists
If you spend a lot of time at the keyboard, you may be prone to carpal tunnel syndrome. To lower your chances of suffering from this issue, you should stretch and flex your fingers and wrists daily. You should do this exercise to ease any compression that your median nerve and wrist extensors and flexors may be under. It involves alternatively bringing your hands upwards as though you’re making the ‘stop’ gesture and then bringing your palms down the furthest they can go, the same way you do a follow-through when shooting a basketball.
3. Chair Dips
If you want to strengthen the back of your arms or the triceps, chair dips are the best exercise for you to do while you’re seated at the desk when you get a break from work. To do this exercise, your arms should be on the chair behind you as you lower your butt toward the floor. This should be done by sitting at the edge of your chair, each hand at your side, and the fingers hanging over the chair’s edge. With the soles of your feet on the floor and knees bent to 90 degrees, lower your torso towards the floor while bending your elbows to 90 degrees, then straighten your arms again. Press down through your palms and lift your body up using your triceps rather than lifting from the hips for 12 reps.
4. Air Punches
This is one of the best exercises to do if you’ve had a particularly stressful period and are experiencing pent-up frustration. A desk object or even a water bottle in each hand is all you need for a little weight. With your feet staggered a little in front of the other, you should then punch your arms forward in quick motions as though you’re boxing. This is going to raise your heart rate and work your core, upper back, arms, and shoulders. It’s also going to help you blast away any tension that you have within you while getting your blood circulating.
5. Seated Torso Twist
This final exercise is a simple one that will help you to strengthen your core. To do it, sit as tall as you possibly can and then inhale. Exhale, and while doing so, twist towards one side. Take five breaths while you’re in this seated position, trying to twist just a little bit more each time you exhale. Repeat this for the other side, repeating for a few reps.
Whether you’re doing work or online gaming, you stand to benefit immensely from doing these exercises. Start as soon as possible so that you can keep your body in good shape and avoid the issues that you may face as a result of working long hours at the desk.
