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It is highly likely that you are sitting in your place table As soon as you read this. At the very least, you’ll probably be sitting – we do that a lot these days. But sitting too much can have unwanted effects on the body.
“Anytime we’re doing something for the long term, there can be positives and negatives,” says Cody Mooney, managing partner. pull Application flexibility,
“When your knees are at 90 degrees while sitting hip flexor muscles Kept in a small position – you leave them there for hours and hours, and they stay snug. If you are not doing anything to help relieve and aggravate these muscles“Your hip may hurt and hurt.”
According to Mooney, excessive sitting can cause tightness in the upper back and rounded shoulders. As a result of this tightness, “compensation” can occur when exercising, with the body subconsciously altering your movement patterns to take the stress off the affected muscles. “And usually when there is compensation, you have injuries,” Mooney says.
Regular movement is one of the best treatments for this, whether it’s stretching, Strengthening Or organizing the affected areas. Below, Mooney shares four of her favorite stretches for relaxing tight spots after spending a day at your desk, and talks about the plus-points of each.
How to Do Cody Mooney’s Stretching Routine
- Pigeon Pose – 2 minutes on each side
- Puppy Dog Pose – 2 minutes
- Saddle Stretch – 2 minutes
- Sofa Stretch – 2 minutes each side
“Start with two to three minutes in each position is a great baseline, then gradually work up to four or five minutes,” Mooney advises. “I think a lot of people will benefit massively from doing this routine consistently. But don’t push yourself into discomfort where you can’t breathe, you’re sweating, you’re stressed and in pain. Allow yourself to be inactive during this time.”
You can do these stretches as a 12-minute routine at the end of a shift. Or you could step away from your desk from time to time to do one thing – a more manageable approach called exercise snacking,
Read more: I trained for a month like Anne Hathaway and the results surprised me
pigeon pose
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how to do it
- Start in high plank position.
- Bring your right knee closer to your right hand, then place the outside of your right thigh on the ground, so that your right shin is resting on your body in front of you.
- Extend your left leg behind you so that your hips bend toward the floor.
- Lean forward, placing your hands or forearms on the ground inside your right knee for support.
- Stay in this position for two minutes, then repeat on the other side.
benefits
“Pigeon pose is great because it really hits the hips, buttocks, and lower back,” says Mooney. “When you’re in a sitting position, your hip flexor muscles aren’t able to lengthen or stretch, and you get aches and pains around the joint, as well as the movement patterns that use it.
“If you’re having a little pain in your lower back or hips, the pigeon stretch can help by freeing up that hip, glute and lower back.”
Read more: Forget the gym – instead build full-body strength anywhere with trainer-approved kettlebell workouts
puppy dog pose
how to do it
- Start on all fours.
- Keeping your hips above your knees, extend your arms in front of you, allowing your chest to drop toward the floor.
- Wait in this position for two minutes.
benefits
The default position for a desk worker is where you are hunched over the keyboard. Puppy dog pose provides the opposite, lengthening the spine for a welcome stretch through the back and shoulders.
“You are allowing your shoulders to sit back and open up while you massage the thorax [mid spine] Out of that circular situation,” Mooney says. “I think the puppy dog and baby pose is wonderful for him.”
saddle pull
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how to do it
- Start in a kneeling position, with your knees approximately hip-width apart and your buttocks resting on your feet.
- Lean back as far as you comfortably can, keeping your spine long. The more you lean back, the more intense the stretch will be.
- Place your hands on the ground beneath your shoulders for support.
- Wait in this position for two minutes.
benefits
The quads (muscles on the front of the thigh) are another area that can become tight from too much sitting, and Mooney says this tightness can contribute to the development of patella tendonitis — inflammation of the patella tendon, causing knee pain.
He explains, “A lot of times with pain, you have to look up or down to find the cause, so loosening up the quads is definitely a huge benefit.” “The saddle stretch is amazing because it really hits both the quads and the hip flexors.”
sofa stretch
how to do it
- Kneel in front of a wall or other sturdy vertical surface.
- Place your right knee on the floor where the wall meets the ground, then extend your right shin upward vertically along the wall. If this feels too intense, move your knee further away from the wall.
- Step your left foot forward so it’s in a lunge position, your left shin is vertical, your left thigh is parallel to the ground and your left knee is making a right angle.
- Lift your chest as high as you can comfortably.
- Stay in this position for two minutes, then change sides and repeat.
benefits
As Mooney mentioned above, the root cause of pain is often not in the area where it is felt, but rather in a nearby muscle or joint that is not working as it should. Case in point: Courtesy of compensation, tight hips can lead to lower back pain. The pull of the sofa can counter this.
“I love the couch stretch. Loosening the quads, hip flexors and piriformis [a muscle running from the lower spine to the top of the thighs] – will really help you loosen up your hips, and [ease] Excruciating lower back pain that many people suffer from.”
What are the benefits of stretching?
“Stretching allows your body to move the way it’s supposed to,” says Mooney. “This can help you get to the point where your muscles are not only allowing your joints to move well, but you also have the ability to lengthen your muscles safely and properly. This reduces your risk of injury, allowing you to move efficiently and without pain.”
“By stretching, you’re probably not removing all the negatives of sitting at a desk for eight hours every day, but you are taking a proactive approach to allowing your body to return to its natural, proper state.”
He also highlighted the importance of developing both flexibility and mobility; The ability of the soft tissues in your body to stretch, and your useful range of motion around the joint, respectively. It is important to develop both adequate range of motion around each joint and strength in these positions if we want to build a fit, functional and strong body. Hip flexor exercises such as deadlifts, banded knee tucks and weighted knee raises can be a good way to work on the latter.