Exercises and Stretches for Computer Users

Sitting at a computer all day can be hard on the body. Since many of you are sitting and working on a computer more often, I wanted to give you tools to help make your body more tolerant to this extended sitting. In this blog, I focus on exercises and stretches that will keep your body healthy and happy during your workday.

When sitting at a computer, the muscles that help you maintain your posture throughout the day include your back muscles, lower trapezius muscles, and abdominal muscles. The main areas that need to be stretched are your hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and upper back.

If you have time for an extended daily practice to help support your computer lifestyle, I recommend yoga. Yoga was originally designed to help people stretch and strengthen their body and mind to allow for long periods of meditation - or in other words - sitting is the same place for a long time. With long hours of sitting necessary to get work done to at the computer, a disciplined yoga practice can be invaluable for computer users!

As not all of us can take additional hours in our day to join a yoga studio, I wanted to provide you with a few stretches and exercises you could easily do at home to help keep your body limber and strong enough to prevent an injury from extended computer usage. Research shows that we should try to get up regularly (at least every 90 minutes) throughout the day to stretch our legs and mind while we are working on our computers.

Before starting any stretching, warm up your muscles a bit. Try the below stretches and exercises and let me know if you feel the difference!

1. Calf Stretch

Our muscles contracting and relaxing throughout the day as we move is the main way our body circulates fluid back to our heart. Sitting for long periods of time can cause fluid to build up in our lower body. Here is a simple calf stretch that helps move the fluid and feels great after sitting at the computer for a while. When doing this calf stretch, start with a straight leg to stretch the main calf muscle (the gastronemius), and then with a bent leg to stretch the supporting calf muscle (the soleus) to get a full stretch. Hold each pose for a minimum of 30 seconds.

2. Quadriceps and Gluteal Muscle Stretch

For a standing quadriceps (quad for short) stretch, stand up tall with both feet pointing forward. Keeping your thighs together, shift your weight to one leg and lift your foot of the other leg back, grasping it with your hand. You should feel the stretch on the front of the bent leg. If you don’t feel much of a stretch, you can create a stronger stretch by tucking in your pelvis and engaging your abdominal muscles to lengthen the quad muscle further (see photo 1).

For a seated gluteal muscle (glutes for short) stretch, sit on the edge of a chair and cross your left ankle to rest on your right thigh. Gently direct your left knee toward ground so your shin is parallel to the floor. Make sure to flex your foot to protect your knee, and reach your body to the floor for an optimal stretch. Repeat on the other side. (see photo 2).

3. Hamstring Stretch

It has been noted in literature that sitting at a computer or desk for long periods of time can lead to hamstring tightness. This is my favourite hamstring stretch that I teach in my Pilates classes. For part one of the stretch (photo 1), while sitting on the floor, try to reach your toes with your legs completely straight. If you can’t reach your toes, simply reach as far as you can. Once you are in the position, try to straighten your back (like in the first picture) and stick your tail bone out in the back (ie. try to stick your bum out). This will focus most of this stretch on the back of your legs, your hamstrings, and engage the fascia for a more important stretch. Hold this position for a couple minutes - or at least until you feel like you have gained from your stretch. For part two (photo 2), tuck your pelvis and allow your head to fall to the floor. Think about lengthening through your spine and creating a large semi-circle. This is more of a back stretch, but it also incorporates the rest of the back fascial line to integrate your hamstring stretch with the rest of your body. Hold for a couple minutes.

4. Shoulder Rolls + Upper Back Stretch

Spending extended periods of time in front of a computer can cause your upper body to ache. To help keep yourself limber, try 10-15 shoulder rolls to bring some blood flow to your arms then stretch back over your chair. To make the back stretch feel even more amazing, focus on reaching your elbows out to the sides as far as you can, then reach your spine up towards the ceiling first before arching back. Focus on feeling like you are opening up all your joints and occupying as much space as possible while you enjoy this stretch. Hold for at least 10-20 seconds then release.

5. Lower Trapezius Exercise and Wrist Stretch

Photo 2: Wrist stretch after trapezius exercise

When you are on the computer all day, it is easy to fall into a slumped posture. This lower trapezius (traps fro short) exercise is perfect help correct this. All you need is a stretchy band, any firmness will do as this exercise is more about form. In photo 1, I am using a basic red TheraBand.

Start with your arms parallel with each other in front of you with your palms facing up. To optimize this exercise, bring your attention to your shoulder blades on your back. Bring those blades together and down your back to help keep a strong posture. As you open your arms out to the sides (photo 1), bring your shoulder blades together and down even more, hold for a few seconds, then return to your original position. Start with 3 sets of 4-8 reps.

After the exercise, give your wrists a good stretch by bringing your palms together then reaching the heels of your hands towards the floor (photo 2). Hold for 30 seconds. This is excellent after a long day of typing!

6. Abdominal Muscles - Toe Taps (beginner to advanced)

Weak abdominal muscles often lead to low back pain over time so it is important to keep your core strong! I have given this exercise as homework to my clients thousands of times and everyone is always pleased with how well it works. The two photos show the exercise for beginner (photo 1) and advanced (photo 2). It’s best to start with beginner and work your way to advanced (with my guidance) as form is key to prevent injury with this exercise. It is not about how far you can reach with your legs, it is ALL about engaging and maintaining your low abdominal muscles throughout the entire exercise.

To begin, engage your lower abdominal muscles. You can do this by bringing your attention to the spot directly between your belly button (navel) and your pubic bone. When first starting, it helps to place your finger on the spot. Imagine sinking that spot down towards your spine, and from that sunken spot, make a smile with your lower abdominal muscles that splits out and then lifts up on either side, up towards your hip bones. It is as if you are drawing a smiley face on the front of your lower abdominal muscles (in, out, and up). Once you feel like you have a strong engagement, maintain that strength as you lift your legs off the floor to a 90-degree angle. Take a deep breath into your back, engage those abdominal muscles even more (in, out, and up). Starting from the 90-degree angle, tap your left toe onto the floor while maintaining your abdominal strength, then pull your abdominal muscles (in, out, and up) even further to pull the leg back to that 90-degree angle (photo 1). Repeat the exercise a few times with each leg, then lower the legs down and relax your abdominal muscles. If you have never done this before, believe me… it hurts so good!

If you have done this with me before, you can try a more advanced version by either lifting your head off the floor (to engage the upper abdominal muscles) OR you can try straight legs OR you can try lowering both legs to the floor at the same time. All three of these options are going to make the exercise harder, so add only one at a time to prevent injury.

**At any point in this exercise if you feel like you are gripping in your shoulders or back - stop, re-set, and try it at an easier level until your body has enough low abdominal muscle strength to achieve this exercise without injury or strain. All my exercises will be more effective if you prioritize FORM over range of motion.

7. Integration - Full Body Stretches

Photo 1: Modified standing half moon pose

To integrate the whole body, try these great stretches that I have kept from my yogi days. The first is a modified standing half moon pose where I grab my wrist and reach it up (toward the ceiling), then over to the opposite wall. This should stretch your whole side (lateral fascial chain) from your foot to your hand. The second picture is downward dog pose. When doing a downward dog it’s important to concentrate on 3 important concepts: First, bring your chest towards your toes. Second, stick your tailbone up towards the sky. Finally, reach your heels towards the floor. You can see in my picture that if I set up my chest and tail bone correctly, my heels do not completely rest on the floor - that’s OK! It’s all about feeling a good stretch in your own body. To avoid significant lightheadedness, come back to standing slowly.

And that’s all for you today folks! I hope you enjoy keeping your body limber and strong as you work out those stiff computer bodies.

Warm Hugs,

Britte

MoveCore PotentialsMarch 22, 2021exercise, computers, stretchesComment