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If you are struggling to keep your posture in check and prevent the consistent issues associated with the practice of sitting around all day, we would suggest that you take immediate measures. If you are wondering how to offset sitting all day, there are a number of stretches and exercises that come in handy.
The best part of these exercises is the fact that you can do them at your desk and cubicle, so you know that you aren’t going to piss someone off in the process.
In here, we have sorted out some of the best exercises to counter sitting all day at your work desk.
How to Offset Sitting All Day?
If you are someone who sits for a long period of time because of their work, we would suggest that you find alternatives to mitigate the impacts that they have on the body.
For the most part, it is believed that sitting around for over 10 hours in a day washes away the impacts of 80% of the exercise that you do on a daily basis.
So, even if you are exercising in the morning, chances are that you won’t likely witness the benefits of the same on your body.
If you have come across the term “sitting is the new smoking”, you are probably not wrong. The kind of negative health risks that it imposes makes it a worst health habit that smoking.
80% of the jobs across the world are considered sedentary, in the sense that you work sitting at a desk for the majority of the day.
Let us take a look at some of the best workouts to do after sitting all day, shall we?
1. Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
One of the easiest and most effective exercises to counter sitting all day is with the Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch. This is considered one of the best ways to warm up and stretch the muscles before you get into the extensive exercises or workouts.
Doing this helps pull out the muscles around the legs and the thighs, further helping promote better health. It helps restore the flexibility around the hips as well.
How to do?
- Start by placing yoga mat on the ground
- Keep one knee placed on the ground and the foot of the other leg placed firmly on the ground
- Make sure that both the knees are kept perpendicular to each other
- Keep your body upright
- Keeping your strength localized around the core, push your hip in the forward direction
- Once done, push back and come back to the initial position again
How many times?
- 8-10 reps with each leg
2. Lunge and twist
Yet another one of the stretches that answer how to offset sitting all day is the lunge and twist. It takes practice for you to master the pose but for the most part, you do get better with time. This helps a lot for the ones who are struggling with back complaints and want relief from the pain and stiffness.
The exercise helps target the hip flexors, glutes and even the adductor muscles in the leg. It promotes extension of the muscles, promoting better comfort.
How to do it?
- Start by keeping one knee touched to the ground and the other feet spread out in the back, ensuring that both of them are perpendicular to each other
- Keep your core strengthened and your back straight, twist your torso towards your left
- Hold that position for a few seconds and return to the initial position
- Do it on one side for 10 times and then change your legs
- Do the same on the other side as well
How many times?
- 10 reps on each side
3. Chest Opener
Yet another one of the effective stretches to offset sitting all day is by doing the chest opener exercise. This has effective impacts in helping improve the flexibility of the shoulders and the upper back and prevent the further complaints about the back pain that you have been having.
This exercise helps in improving the overall flexibility of the upper body and reduced the complaints of the constant pain and stiffness that you have been talking about.
How to do it?
- Start by standing on the floor mat with your back straight and foot kept hip width apart
- Keep your hands interlaced behind the back of your head
- Keep your elbows wide for better flexibility and access
- Keeping pressure on the spine, lift through the spine and look up at the ceiling
- Hold that position for a few seconds and then return back to the initial position, keeping your hands relaxed by your side
How many times?
- 5 reps
4. Back-to-Wall Overhead Press
For those who have been having complaints with the shoulders and back and waist and want quicker relief from the constant pain, the Back-to-Wall Overhead Press is one of the most effective workouts to do after sitting all day.
This stretch has amazing impacts in aligning your spine, further providing better comfort unlike anything else.
How to do it?
- Start by standing against a wall, keeping 5-6 inches distance between your feet and wall
- Carry a lightweight for better support
- Lean back against the wall so your upper and lower back and the back of your head are touching the wall
- Holding the weights in both the hands on either side, make sure that your elbows and shoulders are in the same line
- Lift your hands above your head, carrying both the weights simultaneously in a rhythm
- While lifting the arms, ensure that your lower back and the remaining of the body is stuck to the wall
- Lift till your lower back is against the wall, don’t stretch above that
How many times?
- 8-10 reps
5. Deep Squat
One of the most difficult but effective answers to how can I offset my sitting all day is by doing deep squat. It is not the easiest and does require a lot of practice and core strength for better impacts and effective results.
The best reason why this is considered such a potent exercise is because it engages the hips, back and the overall thigh region as well, ensuring better flexibility in the lower half of the body which is often the most inactive in such situations.
How to do it?
- If you are doing it for the first time, we would suggest you do it against a wall
- This helps build up the support better following which you can do without the support as you get better with the stretch
- Start by squatting as you normally would
- For deep squat, push your buttocks down even more than a normal squat
- Keep your arms stretched out in front of you for better support and balance
How many times?
- 8-10 reps
6. Downward Dog
Yet another one of the effective exercises to counter sitting all day is the downward dog which has been found to have amazing benefits in relieving the stiffness and the constant discomfort that you might have been struggling with.
It engages the hips, legs and even the shoulders ensuring to restore flexibility better than you can even imagine. This has amazing benefits in stretching out your back and tailbone for better impact.
How to do it?
- Start by lying down on the yoga mat on your stomach
- Starts by pressing into your hands and feet, ensuring that both your palm and feet are placed flat on the ground
- Bend your body at the knee and lift your hips up, making a “V” shape against the ground
- Keep your tailbone stretched as much as you can for better relief from the discomfort
- Keep your head relaxed, focusing your neck to have a loose relief
- Hold the position for a few seconds and then return to the initial position
How Many Times?
- 8-10 times
7. Plank
This can’t get easier than this but Planks are one of the best and most effective exercises that can help strengthen the core muscles and even improve the overall flexibility and the discomfort around the back that you might have been complaining about.
The main objective with this exercise is to further promote better alignment of the spine to help restore better posture unlike anything else. This is hard to master right off the bat but you will get better as you go.
How to do it?
- Start by lying down on the yoga mat face down on your stomach
- Once done, plant your feet tightly against the ground
- Putting pressure on the forearms, lift your body keeping the body off of the ground maintaining a parallel position with the ground
- Hold that position for a few seconds
- Gradually return back to the initial position
How many times?
- 10 reps
8. Brisk Walking
Not many realize this but brisk walking is one of the easiest but effective ways to counteract the constant impacts that sitting has on your body.
It works the entire body, helping promote better workout of the body, ensuring to promote better flexibility and stretching of the entire body, thus promoting relieving the pain of the entire body without any further issues at all.
This also helps amp up the overall physical activity of the body, further helping promote better well being unlike anything else.
9. Rag Doll Fold
The ragdoll fold, otherwise known as the forward fold is one of the best exercises for the shoulders and back pain that you might have been struggling with. Doing this does require good flexibility of the body, thus ensuring that it engages all the muscles around.
If you can’t reach the feet, do as much as your body permits, there is no force that you have to touch your feet for it to be done successfully.
How to do it?
- Start by standing straight on the ground, keeping your feet planted flat on the ground
- Keep your hands in front, holding either of the elbows with the opposite palm
- Bend down forward at the hip hinging forward
- Keep your weight on the balls of your feet
- Drop your head in between your knees, keeping your entire body casual and loose
- Inhale and exhale simultaneously while doing this
How many times?
- 8-10 reps of the same
10. Birddog
Doing the bird dog exercise has been found to have amazing benefits for the abs and even the core of the body in general. It also stretches the hip flexors, further providing with comfort and relief from the pain and discomfort you are feeling.
It also helps in restoring the flexibility of the body and even contributes to establishing better posture.
How to do it?
- Start by being on the yoga mat on your hands and keeps
- Start by raising alternate hand and leg and while stretching the hand outwards, stretch the leg backward
- Do this on the alternate side for better results
- Inhale and exhale deeply while you are stretching for better impacts
How many times?
- 10 reps with each leg and hand
11. Glute Bridge
Glute bridge is one of the best ways on how to offset sitting all day as it focuses and engages the muscles around the hips. Not just that, it also helps promote better impacts in helping engaging the core and even improves the flexibility around the muscles of the thighs.
If you have been experiencing constant pain and stiffness around the hips, this is considered the best way to manage the same.
How to do it?
- Start by lying down on the yoga mat
- Fold your knees and keep at placed on the ground at a 45 degree angle
- Keep your arms placed casually on either side of the torso
- Putting pressure on your heels, lift your hips and glutes upwards
- Keep a straight line with the shoulder for better posture
- Return back to the initial position again
- Make sure to lower yourself gradually and not all of a sudden
How many times?
- 8-10 reps
12. Push up
Pushups are yet another amazing workouts to do after sitting all day, because it engages the core and even the rest of the trouble points of the body, further helping promote the flexibility of the body without any issues and complaints.
This help in reducing the constant pain that you might be struggling with, improving the overall flexibility of the body as well.
How to do it?
- Start by lying down on the yoga mat face down
- Keep your palms places right beside your face on either side
- Keep the tip of your feet touched to the ground for better grip
- Posing pressure on the arms, lift your body up keeping it off the ground and then coming back without touching the ground
- Keep doing this to and fro motion till your body permits
How many times?
- Start by doing 20 pushups in the beginning
13. Mountain Climbers
When it comes to sitting around in front of a desk all day, chances are that your legs are the most inactive through it all. The best way to restore the efficiency of the legs is by doing the mountain climbers exercise which has amazing benefits in restoring the flexibility and the efficiency of the leg muscles.
This also helps boost the cardiovascular response, which again is a positive outcome of this exercise.
How to do it?
- Start with the upward push up pose and hold yourself in that pose for a few seconds
- While doing that, fold one leg at the knee and bring it close to the chest
- And then return back to the original position
- Do the same with the other leg as well
- Inhale and exhale deeply during that time
- Hold this position as long as you can and then release your arms and take a break for a few seconds
How many times?
- 8-10 reps each
When it comes to answering how much exercise do you need if you sit all day, the answer depends on your requirements and how much capacity and endurance you have. There is no point pushing yourself to an extent that you end up experiencing the opposite of the benefits.
That aside, if you have been wondering how to offset sitting all day, these are some of the best stretches and exercises that you can do. Make sure that you don’t overdo any of it because that can end up inflicting negative impacts instead. We have sorted out some of the best and doable ones, hoping that it helps you.
