7 easy exercises you can do at your work place

gloria mari

November 16, 2017 10:42 AM

How to reduce health risks associated with prolonged sitting.

Your desk chair is killing you. Prolonged sitting has been shown to have adverse health effects with the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (USA) showing that sitting for more than four hours increases your risk of cancer by 60%. Continued sitting also increases risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Even if you work out every morning or evening, the risks to your health from extended sitting still remain. This is because sitting stalls your body’s metabolic process.

To combat these effects, experts recommend exercises that you can do at your desk.

Here are 7 easy deskercises you can do.

Chair squats

Stand about a foot from the edge of your seat. Lower your butt until it almost gets to the seats then pop back up.

Shoulder blade squeezes

Squeeze your shoulder blades as though you were trying to hold onto something with the ridge in your back. Hold for ten seconds and release. Do this repeatedly.

Desk ups

Do push ups against the desk with your feet extended away from the table.

Wall sits

Lean against the wall and slide down as though you’re going to sit. Stop when your booty is perpendicular to the wall, hold, then slide back up.

Calf raises

Stand behind your chair and go on tip toe, hold for ten seconds, drop and repeat.

Leg raises

While sitting, straighten your leg until it’s parallel to the floor. Hold for 10s, lower almost to the floor then pop back up. Switch legs.