I recently came across a YouTube video that shed light on the detrimental effects of sitting for long hours and provided exercises and stretches to combat them. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find that video now. I have a few tools at my disposal, including dumbbells, a pull-up bar, an elastic band, and a yoga mat. I was wondering if anyone could kindly share some exercises and stretches that I can incorporate into my daily routine to counteract the negative impacts of prolonged sitting? Since I don’t have access to fancy machines, I’m particularly interested in exercises that can be done with the equipment I have, or exercises and stretches that don’t require any equipment. Thank you in advance!
Mostly stretches. The key point is to just move. Get up, stretch, walk around. There’s no specific exercise really. Your body is a series of pulleys and levers. Try not to think in isolated terms when it comes to muscle structure. You can’t workout your biceps without also working out your triceps (they are opposers). Whatever you do affects your entire body.
With that said, hanging is amazing for your back. If you can hang for a min or so couple of times a day (morning and before bed), it will decompress your spine and combat the effects of gravity.
I like the youtube channel Minus the Gym’s video on stretches to do to undo sitting. Hope that helps.
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A really simple and effective solution is walking. It can not be overstated how helpful a couple short walks a day can help. You’ll get the added bonus of fresh air, vitamin D and an opportunity to reset your brain. Quick and easy.
I’d focus mostly on hip mobility/flexibility, as the hip is the area that’s most affected by sitting for too long. Just look up “best hip mobility stretches”. Also, I’d pay attention to your back and find some stretches for it, too. I personally do that every day. I also walk 1 - 2 miles almost daily after work. That’s another very good thing for your body. You need a lot of mobility. I also hit the gym 4 days a week.
YES. THIS. Holy shit I never realized how important hip mobility was until I started weightlifting again and could barely squat because my hips were so fucked from just sitting
Took me months to be able to do a good deep squat
Hips are crazy. If they get tight, your femur bone twists slowly and doesn’t align correctly with your shin, which then cause major knee pain. So, you always want your hips to be as flexible as possible. Also, you want your hip flexers to be loose so that you can actually do military press standing without fucking with your back hard. Hips are very important. So many things get fucked up when the hips aren’t flexible. Your squatting will hurt your back (because of butt wink) if your hips are tight. For squatting to be healthy, you need to have flexible hips and loose Achilles tendon.
I also recommend the Hybrid Calisthenics channel. He focuses on low impact, easy to get into training options.
Just do back bridges. When you sit on a chair you want a strong spine to support your body properly. I just did a web search and found this garbage site, but the instructions are ok. www dot wikihow dot fitness/Perform-the-Bridge-Exercise. Personally, I do a wrestlers bridge, but it is more advanced https://legendarystrength.com/wrestlers-bridge-basics/
Check out Dean Pohlman’s “Man Flow Yoga” YT channel. He has at least one video, possibly more, that address this exact question.
Just make sure you spend some time on your feet. Housework is good. Most smartwatches can let you know if you’ve not moved for a while.
I bought a Garmin fitness tracker and a Steam Deck last year. The watch is the purchase I get the most value from.
I like ChaseMountains. Some good exercises in there.
How did we land on different “sitting too long is bad” videos on the same day. I came across this animated video which showed which parts of the body gets stressed when we sit too long this morning.
I was thinking about this by watching some streamers, some actually do a smart move and remove it the chair for some sessions. They use the PC standing, its not a bad idea, probably different if you sit behind the wheels.
