Exercise while sitting

One of the issues that persons who work in reception face is that they may need to sit for long periods of time. 

It is recommended that you stand up every 20 or 30 minutes and stretch.

Unfortunately, some jobs do not allow you to regularly leave your work area and you may find that you need to sit for extended periods. 

Here are 5 exercises that you can perform during quiet periods while still remaining in your seat. 

The exercises use mini-bands. Mini-bands are very cheap and you can easily carry a few in your bag.  

You should try to perform each exercise for at least 1 minute. Resistance exercise for at least 1 minute will help to fatigue your muscles which help strengthen your muscles and will cause your body to engage more muscle fibres, leading to better neuromuscular activation.


Single arm  pull




This exercise uses a mini-band to work your upper back muscles - your traps and rhomboids. You can also change your hand position to introduce more bicep activation or change the angle of the pull for a greater shoulder workout.

Glute abduction



This exercise uses a mini-band to work your glute abductors. You can place the mini-band at different positions along your legs or lift your feet to vary the workout. Strong glute abductors will help stabilize your when you walk and reduce the likelihood of hip and knee injury.

Arm extension


This exercise will work your triceps, your shoulders (in this case, your anterior deltoid) and engage your chest (pectoral) muscles

External shoulder rotation



This exercise work will help maintain good shoulder health. It will work your rotator cuff muscles  (in this case your Infraspinatus and your Terres minor)  and your rear deltoids, Weak rotator cuff muscles will lead to easily injured shoulders.

Shoulder abduction


With a mini-band of medium resistance, you may find it difficult to abduct (move away from the body) your shoulder more than 20 degrees.

This is OK. By doing so, you are helping to exercise the supraspinatus (the smallest of your rotator cuff muscles) in addition to your medial deltoid muscle and rhomboid muscles 

The supraspinatus is involved in initiating the movement of the arm away from the body and works with other rotator cuff muscles to help stabilize the shoulder joint. A well supported shoulder joint is important for persons who spend most of the day hunched over a computer keyboard.

Holding the mini-band at the end of the pull ("isometric hold") will further help strengthen your shoulder muscles.

Seated mini-band exercises for seniors

Seniors with mobility issues will also find seated mini-band exercises useful. A mini-band is easier to hold as compared to a Thera-band or loop resistance band. They are also cheaper (as low as $1). 

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