Sitting for hours at a time convinces your muscles to accommodate a slouched position. Hip flexors shorten, the neck and upper spine protrude forward and the glutes and hamstrings weaken. To help you combat this, Chris Haukos, of Campus Recreation, has put together a stretching guide to help you Un-Desk Your Body as part of St. Cloud State University’s Keep Living campaign.
In addition to stretching, set a reminder to get up every 20-30 minutes and give yourself small bites of movement throughout the day in order to slouch-proof your body, Haukos said.
Stretches to Un-Desk Your Body:
Bridge stretch demonstration
Sitting all day is the main culprit of gluteal amnesia! Weak glutes contribute to knee pain, hip pain and back pain. Activate your glutes with this exercise. 1. Lift hips to sky without arching back 2. Gently squeeze inner thighs and glutes 3. Turn palms to the sky and squeeze shoulder blades 4. Hold three breath cycles lower and repeat 5. Progress by lifting a a foot
See the full workout (PDF)
