7 Exercises for a Desk Job

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Set a clock every half hour to remind yourself to get up and move around, is what the experts tell you.  But do they really follow that themselves.

I’ve tried it before and failed.  Why would I get up from my desk while my creative juices are flowing and I’m on fire? Sorry 30 minute reminder, you can shut up! 

So instead of telling you why you should get up from your desk to do some stretches and exercises, since I don’t.  I’m going to give you 7 exercises to do daily at some point; when you feel your body tightening up, need to relieve some stress, have writer’s block, your creativity hit the wall, before you head to lunch, or maybe you are an over-achiever and follow the 30 minute rule.

These 7 exercises will help wake up inactive muscles and stretch overactive muscles caused from sitting down for long periods of time.

1. Wall Slides

Eric Cressey from Cressey Performance gives a solid description and coaching cues to pay attention to while performing this exercise.

2. Founder Stretch

I was shown this exercise from Aaron Luther at Island Athlete. I couldn’t believe how simple it looked but when I did the exercise, I was immediately a huge fan.

3. Desk Scap Push-up

You can do this exercises either on the ground or at an incline on your desk.  Nick Tumminello of Performance University gives coaching cues and different variations of this exercise.

4. Thoracic Extension (Foam Roller)

All of my athletes know how much I love using the Foam Roller.  If you don’t have one, I highly recommend you get one.  It’s definitely a must-have.

It’s important with this exercise to keep your hips in contact with the ground, your neck in a neutral position, and keep the foam roller within the upper thoracic region.

5. Door Way Pec Stretch

I’m sure you have seen or done this before.  But I recommend to do one arm at a time because of the possible imbalances between both sides.  Lastly, when you are performing the stretch, turn your head in the opposite direction to increase the stretch.

6. Band Pull Aparts (Resistance Band)

You may have a resistance band laying around somewhere.  In this video, Jason Ferruggia of Renegade Strength and Conditioning shows himself performance the exercise.

Coaching Cues: Keep your shoulders down, chest up, and make sure you squeeze your shoulders together as you pull the band apart.

7. Standing Chin Tuck

Dean Somerset shows the Standing Chin Tuck:

This may feel strange just as much as it makes your look weird, but it’s something many of us who spend hours at a desk need to work on to get out of the forward head lean.  The main idea for this exercise it to make a double chin.

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