Moving our bodies regularly to help oil up our joints and increase blood flow to the muscles is incredibly important. But if you work at a desk, your time to do this is limited and, chances are, when you finish for the day you’re left feeling achy and stiff. Not to worry! These five stretches will ease up any tension and stiffness you may be experiencing throughout the day and, better still, they can all be done seated and will take you just three minutes, if that.
According to Harvard Health: "Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. For example, sitting in a chair all day results in tight hamstrings in the back of the thigh. That can make it harder to extend your leg or straighten your knee all the way, which inhibits walking." As well as stretching, you can also consider using the best massage tools and/or the best percussion massagers to ease up muscles and pain points in your body.
These five stretches can be done either sat at your office chair or on a weight bench after your workout. You don't need to spend ages on them, but at the very minimum do 30 seconds on each stretch and aim for at least two rounds of them. Here's your stretches:
- Side neck stretch
- Hamstring stretch (open your legs in front of you wide like a starfish, keep your heels pointed up towards the ceiling, place your hands on your hips and lean forwards slightly)
- Figure 4
- Seated twist
- Seated eagle pose
We've got plenty more stretches where those came from, including this low-impact 15 minute routine to help ease lower back pain or this 30 second mobility stretch for tight hips. If you want to go right back to basics though, then check out our beginners guide to stretching, which will walk you through the best full body stretches.
