Top Office Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), only about 20% of adults in America meet physical activity guidelines, including muscle-strengthening and aerobic activities. Moreover, only about 5% of adults do at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. This is a problem because, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lack of adequate physical activity can lead to myriad health problems, including, among others, heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis. With this in mind, here are the top office exercises you can do without necessarily leaving your office desk.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

As the name suggests, this exercise targets the diaphragm, one of the key muscles responsible for breathing. Also known by other names, including abdominal breathing and belly breathing, diaphragmatic breathing is associated with the following health benefits:

• Slower heart rate
• Lower blood pressure
• Ease muscle tension
• Relieve stress

To perform this breathing exercise, place one hand below your ribcage and the other hand on your chest, allowing you to feel your diaphragm’s movement as you breathe. Then, take a slow, deep breath and hold for a second, and then exhale slowly. Repeat this four or five times, noting where your body is holding tension and then relaxing your body accordingly to relieve the tension.

Seated Thoracic Rotation

If you feel stress-related tension between your shoulder blades, you can perform this simple stretching exercise from a chair to relieve that tension. Besides the upper back and neck pain, this exercise can also improve your breathing. That said, this is a three-step stretching exercise. The steps are as follows:

• Step 1 – Keeping your hips square, use your desk chair to enhance the stretch.
• Step 2 – Turn your upper body to one side and take a slow, deep breath and then exhale slowly as you arch your upper body further into the stretch.
• Step 3 – Repeat step 2 three more times and then switch to the other side of your body.

Wrist Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs)

If your job requires you to use a computer for long periods, then wrist mobility is crucial to preventing repetitive strain injury to your wrist. To avoid such injuries, you should do wrist controlled articular rotations exercises (CARs) regularly. To do this exercise, follow these steps:

• Step 1 – Extend your arm in front of your body and then either clench your first or flare your fingers.
• Step 2 – Slowly and with a controlled motion, make circles in the air with your each of your wrists
• Step 3 – Repeat step 2 four or five times

Fidgeting

As crazy as it might sound, fidgeting has numerous health benefits. More specifically, a recent study from the University of Leeds and the University College London found that fidgeting in your office chair could help mitigate the health risks associated with prolonged sitting, including among others:

• Deep vein thrombosis
• Heart disease
• Certain types of cancer
• Obesity
• Diabetes

One of the good things about this fidgeting is it is an exercise you can do at your desk. To do this exercise, shift your weight from one side to the other without favoring any side of your body. At the same time, do wrist, ankle, and neck CARs. Additionally, you can remove your shoes and wiggle your toes.

These are the top exercises you can do at your desk to improve your overall health and wellbeing, as well as increase your workplace productivity. Also, make sure to have the right personal insurance to protect you and your family. Contact the experts at Robert J. Los Insurance Agency in Hamburg, New York, for all your insurance needs. We look forward to helping you with all your coverage needs.