With more people working from home and sitting more frequently throughout the day, it’s no wonder more of us need some tips to help keep our body strong while we sit all day. For people who aren’t used to sitting all day long, these exercises will help guide you forward in maintaining good physical shape and proper physical health during your remote working days.

These exercises can be done during a fifteen-minute break, or before and after your daily remote work shift. It’s imperative that you pause your work periodically to stand up and exercise or at least walk around. The human body isn’t built to sit down all day and night. Sitting all day will make your joints stiffer and your physical health decline.

Stand Up

Make sure you’re standing up for at least 30 to 40 minutes per day. A standing desk can help you exercise during your daily remote workday.

Half-Kneel Stretch

Another fabulous exercise for people who sit all day includes the half-kneel stretch. This will require you to get up from your chair. You’ll start in a half-kneel position with one leg backward and the other forward bent into a kneel position. Shift your body weight forward over with one leg in a half-kneel position and hold it for about five seconds. Repeat this process with the other leg in a half-kneel position.

Yoga Poses

There are a few yoga poses that can help undo the damage caused by sitting all day. Consider the downward dog and the rag doll stretch for two of the best yoga poses to help your body.

Spinal Twist

One simple exercise that works for people who sit all day but don’t want to get up and do some random exercise is the spinal twist. Sit with your feet on the ground at hip-width apart. Lift through your spine and turn your body in one direction, using your armrests on the chair to help hold yourself in this position for five seconds. Turn and repeat the process for the other side and hold for five seconds.

Do Planks

Planks may not be for the beginner who wants to exercise after sitting all day for months on end, but it’s definitely one of the best exercises to help reverse the damage done from sitting all day.

Toe Touches

Get out of your office chair and stand up! Stand straight and take your hands and reach for your toes. You may not be able to touch your toes right away, after all, your body isn’t as flexible as it once was. Do this process every day for at least ten seconds to start stretching your spine and muscles to give your body a break from sitting all day.

Sitting all day long can cause your hip muscles to tighten and then cause your butt muscles to lengthen to compensate for the tightening of your hips. Often times people who sit all day for work tend to have poor posture, which leads your body to adjust based on how you’re sitting each day. This leads to tighter muscles and joints that lock in place, causing many issues with future physical health.

Now that you know some of the simple exercises for people who sit all day, you should be better able to offset the damage that is done while you’re working from home.