Work from Home Exercises

Work from Home Exercises

March 16, 2023

When working from home or sitting at a desk all day long, it’s crucial that you find a way to keep moving throughout the day. So many of us spend eight hours a day or longer at a desk, which can cause your hip flexors to tighten and poor posture to develop. If you’ve been struggling with aches and pains when working from home, we’re here today to help you discover the best work from home exercises. These can easily be incorporated into your daily work routine, helping to keep you mobile and active during long working hours.

1. Mobility Exercises

 

Shoulder Rolls and Shrugs
Keeping mobile will help to improve both your physical and mental health, which is why these types of exercises are some of the most important work from home exercises. When you spend all day typing at a computer, you are no doubt slouching your shoulders. This leads to them getting tighter, which can impact your posture and spine health. Perform shoulder rolls by keeping your hands down by your side and then rolling your shoulders back three times and then forward three times. You can then continue with shoulder shrugs, where you bring the shoulders up to your ears before breathing out and releasing them down. Repeat this sequence a few times throughout the day to relieve tension in your upper body.

 

Wrist Extensions
A huge risk of working from home at a laptop or computer is carpal tunnel syndrome, which we are seeing more people than ever before suffer from. If you spend all day typing, make sure you are taking the time to perform work from home exercises designed to combat this pain. Go between a stop gesture with your hand to flexing the palm down to offer your wrists and forearms some movement. You can apply additional pressure with the opposite arm if you need a deeper stretch, which will help to alleviate this discomfort in the future.

 

Wall Sits
Challenge your core with this mobility exercise which will also target your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Stand with your back up against the wall, and then slowly slide down until your hips and knees reach a 90 degree angle. You’ll want to hold this position for about 30 seconds, before returning upright and repeating as needed. This is not only a great mobility exercise, but it can help to build strength in your core to protect your posture and back muscles.

 

2. Stretches to Perform When Sitting All Day Long

 

Back Twists
A simple back twist can help to relieve the lower back pain you feel when sitting down all day long. You can either perform this sitting in your chair, or you might want to sit on the floor for a deeper stretch. Take one arm over to the opposite side, and then gently twist around. You’ll notice this stretch impacts the whole of your spine. Make sure you breathe into the stretch, so that you can help your body to relax. Stretching it also a great way to take a mental health break from your computer and refocus ready for the rest of the day.

 

Hip Flexor Stretch
Your hips have a tendency to get very tight when sitting down all day, which can cause a range of issues for your glutes, posture, and legs. Grab onto one of your legs, bringing the foot up to your butt in order to offer your quads and hip flexors a good stretch. We recommend holding onto something in front of you when performing this stretch, but as you get more confident, it’s also a good test of your balance. Once you’ve held it for 30 seconds on one side, switch over to the next side. Do this a few times a day, making sure you always finish off your day with your hip flexor stretch as part of your work from home exercises.

 

Neck Stretch
We tend to hold a lot of tension in our necks, especially as many of us spend a lot of time looking down at our smart phones. Gentle neck mobility exercises and stretches can help to reduce tension and improve your posture. Slowly take your neck over to one side, applying pressure with the hand on that side if you need a little extra stretch. Be very careful when stretching the neck not to go too far, and always perform a few gentle half neck circles after to help ease off the tension and increase the blood flow in this area.

 

3. Seated Exercises

 

Bicycle Twists
You don’t have to move from your chair to enjoy many of these work from home exercises, which can help you to remain active during even the longest days at work. Seated bicycles work the obliques and abdominals, and can also be a gentle form of cardio during your working day. Sit tall in your chair, with your feet placed flat on the floor and your hands held behind your head. Lift one knee at a time and twist the other elbow to meet it. You then return to your starting position, before repeating it for at least 10 times on one side. Switch sides to ensure you are evenly performing the routine.

 

Seated Leg Lifts
Seated leg lifts work your core, hip flexors, and quads, all of which need a lot of love after sitting down all day long. Retain good posture when sitting for this exercise, otherwise you won’t feel all of the benefits of it. This work from home exercise simply requires you to lift one leg straight in front of you, so that the hamstring is raised from your seat. Hold it in place for a minimum of 20 seconds, before you switch sides. It will help to strengthen all of these muscles, while also ensuring you don’t get a dead leg or butt when sitting down all day long.

 

Combat Sitting Down All Day with Work From Home Exercises
As you can see, there are many different exercises you could perform when you are sitting down all day long. Just because your job requires you to focus and sit in front of a computer or workstation for long hours, it doesn’t mean that you can’t sneak in exercises to improve your mobility. You’ll soon notice that you end your day with fewer aches and pains, and these exercises will help to build your strength, mobility, and flexibility in the long run. It’s never too late to start taking better care of your health, which all of us need to do when working from home. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you to remain fit and healthy when working from home in the future.


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