6 Exercises to unwind your static posture.

The act of sitting and maintaining static postures for prolonged periods has become a common demand in many modern job environments. Evolution of technology has led to increasingly sedentary roles, resulting in individuals spending extensive hours seated at desks or workstations. Sure, this sedentary nature of work has its advantages in terms of productivity and focus. However, prolonged sitting can lead to issues such as muscle stiffness, poor circulation, and postural imbalances, which may contribute to discomfort and musculoskeletal problems over time.

In this blog we are going to show you six exercises that can help you to unwind the stiffness and reduced those muscle imbalance that come from holding any posture for an extended period.

Quad Stretch
Stand at your desk with your chair behind you. Leaning on your desk bend one knee and place that foot on your chair as shown and stand tall through your torso. This may create enough of a stretch in your quadriceps down the front of your thigh. As the muscle relaxes move your pelvis to move into a deeper stretch by tucking your pubic bone forwards. Another way of thinking of the pelvic position is if you were a puppy with a tail you tuck it down between your legs. 
Again hold this stretch to 20-30 seconds or move in and out of the stretch.

Seated Rotation
Sitting on your chair with your feet planted so your hips stay still as you rotate your spine. Take a deep breath in and breathe out as you turn your torso to one side. Breathe in here then rotate to the opposite side as you breathe out again. By holding the hip steady you'll create a deeper stretch in the muscles up and down your spine. You can notice if your hips are moving with you as one knee will move forward of the other.
Rotate five to 10 times to each side or as many as feels good to you.​

​Windmill
Sitting towards the front of your chair to. Lean forwards and reach one hand down towards the your foot on the same side. Now open your chest by rotating your torso and reaching the opposite arm up towards the ceiling. 
Aiming to rotate your spine so that your chest is pointing towards the wall beside you. Try imagining you have a torch in the centre of your chest, and you are trying to point the light towards that wall. 
Then repeat on the opposite side. 
If the idea of reaching down to you foot is too much you can simply place the outside of your firearm on the inside of your knee and rotate from there, trust me it still feels really nice.

Hamstring stretch
​Seated towards the front of your chair sitting tall on your sit bones. Place one foot out in front with the knee straight resting on your heel. Keeping your chest up tip forwards over your sit bones to create a stretch in your hamstrings, the back of your thigh. Hold this stretch for 20-30 seconds or if it feels quite strong gently move in and out of the stretch by sitting more upright again.

Glute Stretch
Seated on your chair take one foot and cross it over your knee. This will create a stretch in the outside of your hip and around the back towards your glutes. If you find lifting your leg into this position a challenge try making the chair higher. Alternatively, if you need a stronger stretch either lower the seat of try leaning forwards a little like in the hamstring stretch. 
You can hold this stretch for another 20-30 second or rocking in and out the stretch. Repeating each of these stretches twice on each leg can feel so nice as the muscles begin to stretch a loosen. 

Rolling Down
Sitting forward on your chair. Run your hands down your legs as you begin by tucking your chin towards your chest. Round your spine and roll down towards the floor, going as far as feel comfortable for you. Now draw your belly in and pelvic floor up into your pelvis as you roll yourself back up into a seated position. The added bonus of this exercise is you can always use your hands to help push yourself back up. Simply shift them back on top of your knees again and press up.
Repeat 10 times allowing yourself to move further on each repetition if that feels good for you.

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While sitting for extended periods for work is for many of us a fact of life, it doesn't have to lead to aches and pains. Caring for your body regularly throughout the day with these six exercises and your body will thank you. If you're looking for some more exercises that are more specific to your posture book an appointment with one of our exercise physiologists and we'll help build you a routine that keeps you moving and feeling stronger and more comfortable in your posture.
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We can even work with you remotely to develop a treatment plan to help you reach any goals you may have, whether that be improving your posture to feel strong rather than stiff and weak or to reduce any aches and pains you may be experiencing.
Did you know we can see you via Telehealth as well as face to face. Telehealth has proven to be a fantastic option to help our clients reach their health goals when coming into Simply Stronger is not the easiest option. As an added bonus we can visibly see your workspace (both at home and in the office) to develop plans of where and how you can complete exercises within your work day, and how to break up those long sitting periods. Helping you to get moving and feeling better in your body.
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Book an EP appointment today

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