Long days at work can become quite exhausting-both mentally and physically. Sitting in the same position for several hours can leave you feeling sore and stiff, while giving you quite a headache.
If you are tired of feeling terrible every evening when you return home from work, it is time to take matters into your own hands right now. There are little stretches and exercises that you can do while at work to help yourself stay feeling well all day long.
Our children, spouses, and jobs are so demanding that it is often difficult to find time to give the gift of fitness to yourself. Not everyone has the luxury of working out on a treadmill or elliptical machine every day.
If you do not have the freedom to workout whenever you want to, you will need to do the little bit that you can at work. One of the best things you can do is to learn how to breathe properly while at work-this will help to relieve stress, and keep your muscles feeling relaxed.
Simply sit upright, relax your neck and shoulders, and take a deep breath in and out through your nose. Feel your diaphragm expand as you inhale.
After a few slow, deep breaths, you will put yourself in a much calmer, yet more energized state. Often we hold our breath while we are working, and learning to breathe throughout the day will help quite a bit.
Next, it is a good idea to try to stretch your neck throughout the day. To stretch the muscles in the neck, simply tilt your head to the right while looking straight ahead.
With your left hand, grab the bottom of your chair seat and lean a bit to the right. You will feel a huge stretch down the left side of the neck and shoulders-this will relieve tension, and can prevent headaches.
To stretch the back of the neck, simply look straight down, pressing your chin to your chest, then repeat the exercise leaning the left ear to the side. Next, you can stretch your wrists, which are often strained and overused when typing and working at a computer all day.
To combat carpal tunnel syndrome from developing, gently apply pressure to the back of the right hand, enabling the fingers to point down towards the floor, stretching the top of the wrist. Your legs are another part of your body that can incur a great amount of strain.
To work the legs and gluteus, stand up and place your left hand on top of your desk for balance. Place the left in front of your right leg.
Keeping your ear, shoulder, hip, and right knee in a straight vertical alignment, gently lower yourself towards the floor so that the right knee almost comes in contact with the floor. Make sure that the left knee is directly over the ankle, and the toes are lifted on the left foot.
Doing just ten to fifteen of these lunges on each side a couple of times a day will help your legs to feel much more energized and vital at the end of the day. You may even feel that your strength is improved in your muscle tone after a few weeks.
You can even work your inner thighs while you are at work. If you have the privacy of an office, stand with your feet more than shoulder distance apart while holding onto your desk or chair.
Lower yourself towards the floor on count one, squeeze your gluteus to pull you back up on count two, extend one leg straight behind you on three, and return the leg back to its original position on count four. Make sure that you are keeping your muscles relaxed, and that you are not tensing your upper body while you are working out.
Last but not least, take care of your lower back. Sitting at work for that long can cause great strain these muscles.
Sit up tall in your chair with the right leg crosses over the left. Gently look over your left shoulder, and rotate the body far enough so you feel a stretch along the lower back muscles.
Hold this stretch for about thirty seconds at a time, and repeat on each side. If you are careful to do these exercises every day, you will feel much better when you get to go home!
Jack Landry is a personal trainer and has authored hundreds of articles relating to physical training and exercise equipment. He has been a health expert and physical trainer for over 15 years.
Contact Info:
Jack R. Landry
JackRLandry@gmail.com
http://www.nordictrack.com
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