5 Essential Stretches for Working From Home

May 27

If you’re like most of the population that’s been in quarantine since the pandemic of the coronavirus/covid-19 has gone into full swing, you’ve not only had to suddenly adjust to working from home but have also had to come up with ways to workout at home if you did not have a home office or home gym previously set up.

In all fairness, many of us don’t have the luxury (or space) of having a spare set of rooms for a home gym or office inside our homes to begin with. And we don’t all have fancy exercise machines or equipment at home either. So here are 5 exercises and stretches you can still do at home [without having to worry about those factors] to help you take a break here and there while you work:

Deep Lunges

**What for?** Hip flexors, Adductors

**For how long?** At least 30 seconds, but once you feel the release you can ease off

Maintaining a straight upper torso posture will help you feel a nice stretch in the hip flexor muscles (circled in red). You can hold the pose as a stretch or you can also repeatedly do the movement in the form of a strenuous exercise for the quadriceps as well.

Chair dips

Make sure you are using a stable chair to do these (office chairs on wheels are not recommended as the safest option). And be mindful of any pre-existing shoulder issues before going for it too.

Paper Shuffling TRX

If you don’t have a TRX band at home, you can supplement a TRX band abdominal workout using scratch paper that you were going to throw into the recycling bin. This does work best when you’re able to slide the papers on a hard surface vs a carpeted floor.

Wall Pectoralis Stretch

You can do this with your palm pointing down up against a flat wall for an added forearm stretch, though some people also like to do a pectoralis stretch of this variation in a doorway so it’s sometimes commonly referred to as the doorway stretch.

Diagonal Neck Stretch

Emily Neck Stretch.png — **What for?** Tightness in the neck, top of shoulder, and back of the head

**How long?** Hold stretch for 30 seconds or until a release is felt

Look downwards first. Then while continuing to look downwards, turn your head towards one side.

*NOTE: Please consult with a physician first before attempting to do any exercises or stretches if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions that may make it difficult for you to do any new exercises/stretches.

Emily Onoshi, CMT

Emily Onoshi is a Certified Massage Therapist and owner of More Mobility Massage in Cupertino, CA. A seasoned therapist for over 12 years working with clients from all walks of life. She has worked extensively with cancer patients, athletes, office workers, prenatal and pregnant women, as well as children. In her free time, she enjoys being with nature and hike the hills in Santa Cruz, CA.

http://moremobilitymassage.com