If you work in an office or you have started working from home you probably spend most of your time sitting in a chair. We have all seen headlines that say sitting is very bad for you. This might be a bit of an exaggeration. It is true that sitting for eight hours a day can have a big effect on your body. You might not even notice it until it becomes a problem.
After a day of looking at a computer screen you might feel like your hips are very tight your shoulders are curved forward. Your upper back is stiff and hurts. This usually happens slowly without you even realizing it. You just stand up at 5:00 PM. Suddenly your lower back hurts. You feel much older than you really are.
The good news is that you do not need to do some yoga routine or get an expensive massage every week to fix this. Ten minutes of movement each day can help undo the effects of sitting. Let us look at why your body feels this way and how a simple ten-minute daily mobility routine can help your joints move the way they are supposed to.
The Real Physical Cost of Sitting All Day
To understand why this works you need to know what sitting actually does to your body. When you sit in a chair for a time several things happen in your body.
1. Your hip flexors get very tight: When you sit your knees are always bent. Your hip flexors are shortened. Over time your body gets used to this. Those muscles get very tight. When you finally stand up those tight hip flexors pull your pelvis forward creating an arch in your back. This can cause back pain.
2. Your glutes stop working: When you sit your glutes are not working like they should. You are sitting on them all day so they forget how to work. Weak glutes mean your lower back and hamstrings have to work more to stabilize your body when you walk, run or lift things. This can lead to strains.
3. You get “Tech Neck” and rounded shoulders: When you bend forward to check emails or look at a monitor your head gets out of line. This can add a lot of pressure on your neck. At the time your chest muscles get tight and your upper back muscles become weak and stretched. This leads to the classic slumped rounded-shoulder look that desk workers are known for.
Your body is like a machine. It changes to the positions you often put it in. If you sit in a chair all day your body will eventually become like a chair. Mobility work is simply about reminding your body how to be outside of that shape.
The 10-Minute Desk-Worker Mobility Routine
You can do this routine in the morning to wake your body after work to transition into the evening or even in the middle of your lunch break. You do not need any equipment. Just a little bit of floor space comfortable clothes and ten minutes.
1. The Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch: This stretch helps with the tightness in your hips.
You will spend four minutes on this two minutes on each side.To do it go down to the floor on one knee with your foot on the ground in front of you.Squeeze the glute of the knee you’re on tighten your core and gently push your hips forwardYou should feel a stretch running down the front of the hip of the leg on the floor.Hold this position for two minutes on each side taking deep breaths.
2. Thoracic Spine Rotations: This movement helps fix the “desk-slump” by opening up your middle and stretching your chest.
You will spend two minutes on this one minute on each side.To do it lie on your side on the floor with your knees pulled up to your chest.Extend both arms out in front of you on the floor hands together.Keep your knees stuck to the floor take your arm. Slowly open it up like a book reaching across your body.Follow your moving hand with your eyes.Bring the arm back to the starting position. Repeat for 60 seconds before flipping over and doing the other side.
3. Ankle Circles and Calf Release: Stiff ankles might not seem important. They can ruin your walking and cause pain in your knees and hips.You will spend two minutes on this one minute on each side.To do it find a wall or a sturdy chair to lean against step one foot back and press the heel firmly into the ground.Hold for 30 seconds then lift that foot off the ground and draw large slow circles in the air with your big toe.Do this for 15 seconds clockwise and 15 seconds counter-clockwise.Switch to the leg and repeat.
4. The Deep Resting Squat: In some parts of the world resting in a squat is as common as sitting in a chair.
We have lost this human movement because of our use of furniture.This pose works well for waking up your body.You will spend two minutes on this.To do it stand with your feet a little wider than your shoulders toes pointing outward.Keeping your heels on the ground lower your hips far as you can comfortably go.If you cannot get all the way down without your heels lifting off the floor do not force it.Just hold onto a desk, a doorframe or the edge of a couch for support and lean back into it.Stay in the bottom of the squat for two minutes gently pushing your knees outward with your elbows if you want to stretch in the groin.
Why Keeping It Consistent Beats “Going Big”
When people finally realize their posture is bad and their body hurts their first reaction is usually to do something
They think they need to go to a yoga class every week or buy a foam roller and use it for a long time.The truth is, a little bit of mobility every day is better than one stretch session on the weekend.Your nervous system and your soft tissues respond better to calm signals than to stressful loads.Think of mobility work like brushing your teeth.You would not skip brushing your teeth for six days then brush them for an hour on the weekend hoping to avoid cavities.
It does not work that way.
Maintenance needs to be regular not intense.By spending ten minutes a day on these movements you are regularly sending a message to your body that you still need those movements.You are telling your joints that it is safe to move.
Make it part of your routine. Do it while you watch the evening news listen to a podcast or after you brush your teeth in the morning.
Stop thinking of mobility as a sweaty workout you have to get excited for and start thinking of it as care for your joints.
If you can commit to ten minutes a day you will feel the difference, in your posture your energy and your daily comfort away.