7 Exercises You Can Do At Your Desk

Do you lose track of time when you’re at work? Do you stand up after a hard stint at the computer and feel stiff and sore?

As physiotherapists we are always telling people to get up and move during their work day, but sometimes that is easier said than done. But our bodies are made to move! Movement is responsible for a number of changes to the tissues within the body such as:

• Increased tissue elasticity

• Increased synovial fluid in joints

• Increased tensile strength of muscles

• Increased blood flow throughout the body.

So we’ve put together some easy exercises you can do from the ease of your desk. Try to rotate through these exercises every 30mins to one hour, to help you break up your work day! First things first – grab a water bottle and fill it up! You can use this for your exercises and as a reminder to ensure you drink enough water during the day. Have a go at these simple exercises and see if there’s any change in how you feel by the end of the day over a few weeks.

1. Seated Bow and Arrow

• This exercise is great for opening up your chest and increasing your mobility for your upper back.

• Try this exercise for 5 repetitions each way and feel the difference.

2. Standing heel raise – Do this one seated if you’re in a meeting!

• Try raising your heels up off the ground while seated. If this feels too easy, try leaning more weight over one leg and lifting it up.

• Do this 20 - 30 times to really feel the burn in your calf muscle.

3. Seated Bicep curl

• Grab that water bottle and put it in your left hand.

• Focus on slow and controlled movements 15 times before swapping hands.

4. Squats

• Make sure you stick your bottom out and keep your chest up as you move yourself up and down from the chair. ​

• If this feels too easy try a shoulder press with the water bottle on your way up!

5. Neck Stretches
Try to break up your day at the desk by completing these neck stretches every hour.

• Bring your chin to chest

• Look up to the roof

• Keeping your head facing forwards try to take your left ear to left shoulder, and then right ear to right shoulder

• Rotate your head left and right slowly

6. Desk Push-ups

• ​If you’re feeling energetic – try doing some push ups using your desk. Place your hands shoulder width apart and take a few steps back.

• ​Slowly lower yourself down towards the desk while breathing in and breathe out as you push back up.

• ​This exercise helps to activate your chest muscles as well as your upper back muscles to assist with shoulder movement.

7. Y to W

• ​This exercise is great for opening up your chest which as a result of the hunched position often adopted at desks becomes adaptively shortened, as well as building up the muscles in your back for improving your thoracic spine strength and shoulder blade movement.

• This exercise can be done in seated or standing. The main focus is keeping your shoulders down, with a neutral spine and ensuring your arms are moving directly up and not out in front of your face. When making the Y with your arms up by your ears think about your shoulder blades rotating up and squeezing back and down when coming into your W position.

Give these exercises a try over the next couple of weeks and see if you feel a difference by the end of the day. If you want some individualised exercises and strategies contact us at Bathurst Physiotherapy and Sports Injuries Centre.