Standing desks allow you to work standing instead of sitting. Getting up on your feet at work helps prevent a number of large and small problems with your health and productivity. You can get even more out of standing at height adjustable standing desks and minimize the damage and discomfort of sitting at work with a few basic exercises and stretches.
Stretching and keeping your legs, tendons, and joints loose and relaxed over the course of your workday will be just as beneficial as resting your eyes every few minutes is for your vision and for minimizing headaches. Although you should just spend more time standing by using a MultiTable standing desk, if you have to sit you can do these stretches and exercises surreptitiously while working to avoid drawing attention.
Your arms, shoulders, and neck are the easiest to stretch without making a spectacle of yourself whether you’re sitting or standing.
- Shoulder rolls – Make slow circles with your shoulders, feeling the stretch across the chest, back, and trapezius muscle.
- Forearm and wrist flex – Hold one arm straight out in front of you, with your fingers pointing up, palm flexed. Use the other hand to gently pull the fingers back towards your body, keeping your arm straight. Hold 10 seconds, relax, and then rotate the fingers of the outstretched arm outwards until they point down. Pull the fingers again, stretching for 10 seconds. Repeat with each arm.
- Chin tuck and spine flex – Sit (or stand up) straight, and drive the shoulders back and chest up. Hold the chin level and feel the stretch across the top of your torso. Then rest your fingers on your top lip and gently pull with your neck to tuck your chin back in towards our spine, not tilting your head forward. This stretches the base of your neck.
Your legs and back are easier to stretch standing than sitting, but you need one major stretch for each position.
- Seated, back of legs: sit up straight and flex one leg to raise the foot parallel until your leg is parallel to the ground. Hold the position and bend forward slightly only at the waist until you feel the stretch in your hamstrings. Repeat with each leg.
- Standing, back of legs: mimic the same stretch as above while standing at your MultiTable adjustable standing desk by stepping one foot forward and one back until your feet are about a pace apart, but only as wide apart as your hips. Keep both legs straight and bend forward gently at the hips.
You can add other stretches that are easy to do inconspicuously while seated or standing if you want to focus on more parts of your body. Your arms, shoulders, back, wrists, ankles, and chest can always use more stretching to overcome the pains that repetitive motion and a sedentary lifestyle create.
Height adjustable standing desks that allow you to work standing are great for your health. Complement the innate benefits of changing how you work by incorporating these simple, inconspicuous stretches into your daily routine and you will feel even healthier.
Start Feeling Better and Living Longer with a Standing Desk from MultiTable.com.
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