I receive a lot of questions relating to what to do about sitting. Today, I’ll go through the 4 Best Stretches to do if you sit all day.
CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.
These stretches can be done almost anywhere. You can get off your chair and go through the stretches mid-day or at the end of the day.
1. 90/90 Hip Flexor Stretch Is A Great Stretch To Do If You Sit All Day
Kneel in a 90/90 position, contract your abdominal area and move your hips forward. After that, look for a light stretch in the front of the hip that carries into the front of the hip joint.
90/90 Hip Flexor Stretch (front view)
Therefore, tighten through your abdominal area, bring your hips forward and look for a light stretch from the thigh and hip. Then that’s the 90/90 hip flexor stretch. Below is the side view of the 90/90 position.
90/90 Hip Flexor Stretch (side view)
2. Kneeling Side Bend Lat Stretch To Do If You Sit All Day
Return to that 90/90 position. Reach out and side bend, then stretch out your lat.
Kneeling Side Bend Lat Stretch
Sitting for long periods, your hip flexors get tight, and your lats can tighten up on both sides. From the 90/90 position, bring your arm overhead and then bend to the side.
Do not be overly aggressive if you have back pain or a history of back problems. Focus on locking the hip and moving that upper body to the side, looking for a light stretch in that lat area.
3. Calf Stretch is the Best Stretch To Do
Take a good step forward with both toes pointing straight ahead and your feet flat, then lean forward. Afterward, put your hand on something to eliminate balance concerns, if needed, so you can focus on the stretch.
Calf Stretch
Look for a light stretch in that calf muscle.
4. Standing Full Nelson
Interlace your fingers behind your neck and open up. Try to focus on opening up.
Standing Full Nelson
Interlock and open up your elbows, then bring those elbows back and look for a light stretch in the front of the chest.
There you go, give those four stretches a go. I recommend people hold these stretches for 20 seconds and perform the stretch twice on each side, alternating from side to side.
Looking at the 4 Stretch Exercises:
- 90/90 Hip Flexor Stretch hits those hip flexors.
- Side Bending Lat Stretch targets the lats, which sometimes get tight and short when sitting, especially if you are not sitting in perfect posture.
- Standing Calf Stretch – Often, the calf gets tight, so loosen it up with that standing calf stretch.
- Standing Full Nelson Stretch – work on stretching out the chest and the lats and on those muscles in the mid-back area, activating and strengthening them up.
To help reverse the damage caused by sitting, give those four stretch exercises a go.
Make Sure To Swing
Make sure to swing by ExercisesForInjuries.com. There is a good chance I have a video, an interview, or a blog post on your injury or pain. Enter your injury or pain into the search bar on the top right of the screen. There is a good chance I have something for you that will help you.
Second, if you watch this on YouTube, head above and hit “Subscribe.” Every couple of days, you will receive a video like this, a guest video from one of my friends in the fitness world, or an interview that I have done with one of my friends in the fitness world.
Third, head down below hit “Like,” and leave me a comment or question.
Take care!
Rick Kaselj, MS.
If you are looking for a program to help you with your tight hip flexors, check out Unlock Your Hip Flexors.
