An office job can really do a lot to keep you from reaching your exercise and fitness goals. If you haven’t been able to get back to the gym for a couple of months, you should definitely make some adjustments to your priorities so that you can still get the physical exercise that your body needs in order to stay healthy.
One of the main factors in your personal fitness is the mindset that you have as far as exercising is concerned. Your mindset and your attitudes towards exercising can be even more important than your gym membership status, since a person with a good attitude towards exercising will seek ways to exercise, even if he can’t actually get to the gym on a regular basis.
Stretching and other forms of exercise can even help you be more productive in the work place. If you will take a break every now and then to exercise in your cubicle or even step on your home treadmill, if you are fortunate enough to work from home, you will feel more rejuvenated while you are working.
The stretching exercises in this article will help you get through your work day and will hopefully contribute towards your fitness until you can make the time to fill out your exercise routine. These stretches are selected to help you get over the stiffness that can set in by sitting at a desk to work eight hours a day.
In the first stretch you will be able to stretch out your arms and also get rid of some of the stiffness that accumulates in your upper back while you have been typing. For this stretch you will lift one elbow towards the ceiling while bending that elbow and reaching down with that hand so that it sits between your shoulder blades.
While you are stretching this arm you will want to reach up over your head with your opposite hand so that you can grab the elbow of the arm that you are stretching and pull the arm even further in that stretch. Hold this position for about twenty seconds or more before switching arms and performing the stretch with the other arm.
The second stretch will stretch your pectoral muscles in your chest and will also help get rid of the same stiffness that the first stretch should have helped you with. For this stretch you will place both of your hands behind your neck and push your elbows backwards as far as you can while squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Even though it may seem kind of awkward to do these stretches at work, because it often attracts attention to yourself, you’ll thank yourself later.
About the author: Jessica Staheli is a health and fitness nut. She loves to write about being healthy and getting in shape because she believes that taking care of your body is important. Having fitness equipment in your home is a great way to remind yourself to exercise, and she recommends treadmillreviews.com for help with choosing a treadmill. You can follow her at Google+.