A 15-Minute Routine to Combat the Effects of Sitting at a Desk Chair

If you’re glued to a desk chair for most of your workday, chances are you’ve got tightness in your hips, hamstrings and back. Here is a really easy routine involving simple stretches that can open up those parts of your body and improve your mobility.

Start with a standing dynamic warmup with squats, reverse lunges, Frankensteins, lateral lunges, figure 4s and leg swings front and back. If you are crunched for time, doing this warmup alone can be a great way to loosen up your hips, hamstrings and back. When you have more time, you can head to the floor to do the routine shared below.

Here are the moves you’ll do:

• Inchworm to plank to child’s pose
• Reverse your inchworm and roll back up to standing
• Kneeling lunge to hip flexor stretch to runner’s lunge to hamstring stretch
• Plank to down dog to calf stretches (pedaling the feet), then roll up to standing

Repeat on second side.

• Alternate knee tucks to double knee tuck to torso rotations
• Happy baby to figure 4 stretch to pigeon stretch
• Straight-leg hamstring stretch on your back, then roll up into seated hamstring stretch
• Seated torso rotation