Reversing the effects of sitting at a desk

Modern life can tend to get a little stressful; particularly for your back. On average, we spend seven to ten hours per day sitting, and that’s not even including time we spend lying down asleep. This sedentary lifestyle can be terribly detrimental to your health. Sitting down for extended periods can make you more prone to injury, increase the risk of disease, and can actually mean you stack on unwanted weight! It’s all about making little changes in your habits in order to reverse the effects of sitting all day.

So, activate those glutes with these simple steps!

Engage your core

The natural state of the desk worker actually changes throughout the day. In the morning, our posture is perfect, we are perfectly perched on our work chairs, but as the day wanes, we tend to slouch in our chairs. This can be extremely damaging to the individual’s spine and disengages your core.

It works to set yourself a reminder to activate your core throughout the day. You could set yourself an alarm on your phone, or you could have a reminder pop up on your computer to remind you to activate your core. Make sure you sit up straight and activate that core!

Take regular breaks

Pacing up and down your office, taking some regular walks outside, or intentionally leaving things in the car can help you move around. Grab a small glass of water, so that you must continually go and refill your water – it is all about making small changes to get you up off your bottom. Plus, an additional benefit of drinking more water is that you are prone to going to the bathroom more, which is another great reason to get up out of your chair.

Yoga or Pilates

The best thing you can do for your body is yoga or Pilates to stretch out all your muscles and joints. If you’re affected by bad posture, a quick yoga session that align you and reduce the long-term effects on your body. If you can’t find the time to attend a session, there are plenty of ways to do a mindful practice, including online via YouTube.

Adding in stretching and movement will undoubtedly improve your body’s posture, and over the long-term your body will thank you!

Exercise at your desk

If you’re really under pressure, you may not be able to take multiple breaks every day. Why not do some simple exercises at your desk? To open up the hips, try this discreet and easy stretch: While sitting at your desk with knees bent and feet on the floor, place one ankle on the opposite thigh so that your lower body forms a number four. Exhale as you lean forward over the legs, keeping your back straight. Hold for three deep breaths, then switch legs. Work up to switching legs three times—or as many times as you can during one conference call. You could also reach for the ceiling and arch your back every 20 minutes for an effective back stretch.