articles
November 1, 2000
Deskercise 101: Say Goodbye to the Chiropractor and Hello to Firm Abs
by Barbara Fletcher
You know the feelings: a knot slowly tightening between your shoulder blades, a dull ache creeping up
your forearm, neck muscles tensing to a tightrope tautness. You've been sitting at your computer for way too
long, and your body is protesting.
As a person who spends at least 10 hours per day hunched in front of computer, I am familiar with all
of the above (and so is my massage therapist).
Luckily, we can ward off stiff muscles, headaches, and sore fingers -- with a very small
investment of time. Better yet, we can even shape and tone our bodies -- without even getting up from the chair.
From basic stretches to toning exercises, there are many ways to get fit at the desk.
First and Foremost: Get an Online Alarm
If you spend a lot of time at the computer, you probably skip meals and don't even notice the time flying
by. If this is the case, you need to be reminded to stretch -- and sometimes to breathe.
Super
Reminder Man allows you to set alarms with your own custom wav files. The Alarm Pager
looks like an on-screen pager and allows for snooze and repeats. There are also screensavers that come with reminders,
pop-up messages, and alerts that sit in your system tray.
Some Basic Stretches
Start stretching and get rid of those knots! For a quick arm
and shoulder stretch, interlace your fingers above your head with palms upward, then push arms
slightly back and up, holding for 20 seconds. Relieve neck tension with shoulder shrugs or
chin tucks.
To stretch your upper back, stretch your arms out in front of you and keeping your elbows at about
shoulder height, pull your arms back, squeezing your shoulder blades together for a second or two.
Return to starting position and repeat 15 times.
And, to quote a great Janice
Galloway novel and Garbage song: "the
trick is to keep breathing." Concentrated breathing helps your muscles to relax, reduces stress,
and gives your brain some more oxygen.
And if you feeling adventurous, try Yoga
Position #26: The Arnold Schwarzeneger Pose and "take the weight of the world off your
shoulders."
More basic desk stretches:
• Computer Desk Stretches
• Desk Workouts for Beginners
• Exercises for the Desk Bound
• Relaxation Desk Exercises
• Desktop Yoga
Who Needs the Gym?
If you want to take it a step further, you can even flatten abs, firm thighs, and find your figure
from high school -- all from using your own
chair
or desk. Be sure to squeeze in some
desktop
pushups and seat
shapers.
To work on your abs, simply pretend that someone is about to punch you in the stomach.
The natural reflex tightening of your abdominal muscles provides the same type of contraction
as crunches.
And there is always spinning around in your chair.
More strengthening and toning desk exercises:
• Strengthening exercises at the desk
• An Endurance Workout
• eHow to Exercise at Your Office
Now, stop staring at your monitor and stretch! And breathe. And work it!