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:
Hip Flexor Release demonstration
Tight hips are more than an inconvenience! Did you know that hip joint mobility is affected directly or indirectly by more than 20 different muscles! 1. Fun exercise to release Psoas (hip flexor) 2. Step your right leg back, gently squeeze right glute muscle 3. Press your left arm to the floor while stretching right arm to the left 4. Hold for 3 breath cycles
See the full workout (PDF)
