Not Just a Man's World

Following on from part one’s tips on how to improve your nutrition at work, this week I’m continuing the theme with tips 5-8 covering workouts, stretches and other cunning things that I’ve found I can do at the office without anyone noticing, to keep me loose.

5.     Keep a tennis ball in your desk drawer
Have you come across the idea of self-massage using a tennis ball?  Even better, have you come across the idea of massaging the plantar fascia in order to loosen up the entire posterior chain? Sitting in an office chair for hours at a time does terrible things for your posterior chain, especially for the glutes and the hamstrings.  But sat at your desk you can roll the soles of your feet on a tennis ball at regular intervals and nobody needs to know.  Hey presto!  Looser posterior chain muscles for a better squat depth that evening.

6.    Learn some hip flexor stretches
I have a pair of hip flexor stretches that I do every morning and evening, one for the outside of my hip, the other for that point just by your groin that can be a beast to stretch out if you’re doing sumo deadlifts after a day in a chair. Every time I go to the toilet (see point 2, in my previous post), I lock myself in the cubicle and before I come out I perform each stretch on each side if the floor is clean, and just the standing stretch on each side if I don’t trust kneeling on the floor.  I’ve found that if you get creative with the cubicle logistics, there’s just about enough space.  Suddenly I was doing 6 or even 8 sets of stretches for my hip flexors every day, and it really started showing in my squats.

7.     Squat whenever possible
How many items in the office are lower than hand height?  How many things do you bend down to do?  Some examples that I have in my office: the water filter tap, the hot drinks machine dispenser point, where I keep my bag during the day. Don’t just bend down to get at these things, concentrate on getting into a good quality squat at the same time and drive up through your heels to stand up again.  Your hip flexors and core will thank you next time you’re at the gym.

8.     Practice thoracic spine stretches
Have you come across the scapular wall-slide?  Why not add that to your mini-stretch collection in the cubicle (see point 6)?  It’ll add one minute onto your visit to do 5 repetitions and nobody will ever know.  Except your body, which will thank you.

Those are the exercises I’ve come up with.  What exercises and stretches have you found you can do to keep limbered up without attracting comments?

Related posts:

1. 15 Ways to Survive a Desk Job – Part 3 (clothing)
2. 15 Ways to Survive a Desk Job – Part 1 (food and drink)
3. 15 Ways to Survive a Desk Job – Part 4 (general survival)
4. Core workouts (Part 3)