It is a well-known fact that a sedentary lifestyle of sitting all day long either at your desk, watching TV or lying down predisposes you to terminal illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other health concerns, including obesity.

Hence, in 2002, the World Health Organization warned that sitting all day could be the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

If your job involves sitting all day at your desk between the hours of 9-5, you’re not alone, as this is the nature of more than 80% of jobs available in most workplaces since we live in an era of digital technology.

It is also well-known that an hour of exercise can help counteract sedentary lifestyles of sitting all day.

Hence, it is advised that you incorporate a 15-minute exercise break for every two hours spent sitting; do a full hour of exercise after work or before starting work to counter the adverse effects of sitting all day.

9 Exercises to Offset Sitting All-day

1. Brisk Walking

Brisk walking not only attunes your mind and body to work by improving your mood but also helps improve your heart health, lower blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduce cholesterol levels.

How to: You can engage in brisk walking before going to work, or if you’re an early comer and have gym facilities at your workplace, you could hit the gym and do a 15-minute brisk walk before resumption.

A daily target of 1500 steps (100 steps per minute) or target heartbeats of 80 to 170 beats per minute is enough for your body to get the desired benefits of brisk walking.

2. Bird-Dog

The bird-dog exercise helps to strengthen your abs, lower back, and thighs. This exercise is simple enough and requires no special equipment except for an exercise mat.

How to: go on all fours with your knees making contact with the floor at 90⁰, your hands stretched, and palms flattened out.

Stretch your left arm and right leg simultaneously and alternate with your right arm and left leg. Do four sets of 12-15 reps.

3. Glute Bridge

Sitting all day makes your waist and hips stiff. This stiffness can be counteracted by the glute bridge exercise, which works the hips by strengthening the extensor muscles of your thighs.

How to: lie flat on your back, your knees raised at 45⁰, your feet firmly on the floor, and your arms resting on the floor stretched out with your palms facing downward.

Push your hips and lower back off the ground, do four sets of 10 – 12 repeats.

4. Lateral Bounds Exercise

Lateral Bounds exercise engages the major muscles in your body and benefits you by counteracting the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle by improving your movement and posture, achieving balance, and improving your heart health.

How to: Take a good, shoulder-wide stance, shift your weight to your right leg, jump sideways (a bound or leap), and land on your right leg.

Alternate by shifting your weight to your left leg, jumping sideways and landing on your right leg. Do four sets of 10-12 repeats.

5. Deep Squats

Contrary to claims that squats harm your knees and ankles by causing muscle damage, it has been proven that there are no correlations between squats and muscle damage; rather, it has been shown that squats help to achieve increased strength, pelvic stability, improved mobility, and more by working your knees, hips, ankles, and trunks.

How to: stand firm with your feet shoulder-width apart; squat down like you’re about seating, bending your ankles, knees, and hips simultaneously, and your back straightened out.

Ensure your feet are flat on the ground and your body balanced; your hips should be parallel to the floor, and your arms stretched out.

Hold still for five seconds and do four sets of 10-12 repeats.

6. Wall Push-up Exercise

The wall push-up exercise is a low-impact alternative to the traditional push-ups that promote strength development by engaging the chest, shoulders and triceps muscles.

How to: stand two feet away from the wall with feet shoulder-width apart, place your hands on the walls with both palms pushed against the wall, with shoulder-width distance apart and back straightened.

Slowly push your body towards the wall while your feet remain firmly rooted to the floor and your head straightened, looking straight at the wall; push back, and do four sets of 10-12 reps.

7. Deep-Breathing Exercise

Sitting all day can cause you to develop poor breathing habits, muscle tightness, elevated stress response, tiredness, high blood pressure, and more.

Hence, it is crucial to take a little time off your desk and practice breathing properly.

How to: Lie flat with your feet firmly pressed against the wall, your calves parallel to the ground, and your knee at 90.

Place your right hand on your chest and your left on the stomach.

Take a deep breath through your nose, mouth shut, until you feel your stomach inflating like a balloon.

Breathe out, feeling your stomach deflating.

Make multiple sets of breathing in and out, taking short breaks after five breaths.

8. Mountain Climbers Exercise

Mountain climbers’ exercise benefits all parts of your body parts since it engages your core.

However, it helps you to build strength, target your arm and abs muscles, and more.

How to: take up the plank position with arms shoulder-width apart, legs straightened out, supporting your body with your toes.

Pull your right knee to your chest and straighten it back out; alternate the legs and make four sets of 10-12 reps.

9. Single Leg Knee-Up Exercise

Knee-high exercise prevents you from developing muscle cramps in your legs, exercises your heart, improves flexibility in your lower body, and burns calories, too.

How to: Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart with your arms stretched out, palms facing the floor.

Raise your left leg high; your knees touch your left palm; alternate with your right leg and right hand.

Do four sets of 15 reps.

Conclusion

Getting the full benefits of exercise while at work or seated on your favourite sofa watching a TV show is a no-brainer.

With a combination of two or more exercises recommended above, working 9-5 or sitting at home all day will be much more fun while keeping your body in top shape without the harmful effects of sitting all day long.

If you’re just starting out, you can stick to one exercise daily by doing a set of 10-12 reps for every two hours you spend sitting.

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