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2-minute desk stretches for people who sit all day — Kamae

When you sit at a desk for hours, the same muscles shorten and the same other muscles stop working. Your hip flexors tighten. Your chest tightens. The small muscles between your shoulder blades switch off. Your wrists spend the day in a bent position. None of this is dramatic, but it adds up by the end of the week.

This guide is a short set of stretches you can do at your desk in about two minutes, with no mat and no special clothes. None of them are fancy. They are the ones that actually move the right muscles for desk work.

If anything hurts while you do these — sharp pain, pinching, or pain that gets worse as you go — stop and see a professional. Mild pulling is fine. Pain is a signal.

A note on form

You do not need to push any of these to the limit. The point is to move the joint through its full range a few times, gently, not to stretch as hard as you can. Two minutes of small, easy movements is worth more than thirty seconds of straining.

If a stretch feels easy, you are probably doing it right.

Neck rolls

This one wakes up the small muscles that hold your head up.

  1. Sit tall, shoulders dropped, chin slightly tucked.
  2. Drop your chin toward your chest, then slowly roll your right ear toward your right shoulder.
  3. Roll your head back, then your left ear toward your left shoulder.
  4. Continue for about five slow circles in each direction.

Reps: 5 each way. Caution: If you have neck pain or a recent injury, skip this one and try the chin tucks below instead.

Chin tucks

The chin tuck is the smallest, easiest stretch in the world, and one of the most useful for screen work.

  1. Sit tall and look straight ahead.
  2. Without tilting your head up or down, slide your chin straight back, as if making a double chin.
  3. Hold for two seconds, then release.
  4. Repeat ten times.

Reps: 10. Caution: None for most people. Stop if it makes dizziness or headache worse.

Shoulder rolls

This wakes up the muscles between your shoulder blades and resets your shoulder position.

  1. Lift your shoulders up toward your ears.
  2. Roll them back, opening your chest.
  3. Drop them down.
  4. Roll them forward and back up to the start.
  5. Repeat slowly, breathing out as you roll back.

Reps: 5 each direction. Caution: None. If your shoulders click a lot, keep the movement smaller.

Open the chest

Sitting all day lets your shoulders round forward. This counter-movement pulls them back.

  1. Clasp your hands behind your back, or hold a small towel between your hands behind you.
  2. Straighten your arms, gently lift them away from your seat, and open your chest.
  3. Lift your chin a fraction, look slightly up.
  4. Hold for ten seconds, breathing.
  5. Release and repeat twice more.

Reps: 3 holds, 10 seconds each. Caution: If your shoulders are very tight, use a longer towel or skip this one and just open your arms wide for a few breaths.

Wrist and forearm stretch

Most desk work keeps the wrists bent and the forearms contracted. This stretch opens both.

  1. Extend your right arm straight out in front of you, palm up.
  2. With your left hand, gently pull your right fingertips down and toward your body until you feel a stretch in your forearm.
  3. Hold for fifteen seconds.
  4. Flip your right hand palm down, and gently push the back of your hand toward you with your left hand.
  5. Hold for fifteen seconds.
  6. Switch hands.

Reps: 2 each side, 15-second holds. Caution: If you have carpal tunnel symptoms, this can make them worse — skip it and see a professional.

Standing hip flexor

The hip flexors tighten the most when you sit. After the rest of the routine, stand up for this one.

  1. Stand with your right foot forward, left foot back, in a small lunge.
  2. Keep your back straight and tuck your tailbone slightly under.
  3. Bend the front knee gently until you feel a stretch in the front of your left hip.
  4. Hold for twenty seconds, breathing.
  5. Switch sides.

Reps: 1 each side, 20-second holds. Caution: If you have a knee injury, keep the lunge very shallow.

Putting it together

The full routine takes about two minutes:

  1. Neck rolls — 30 seconds
  2. Chin tucks — 30 seconds
  3. Shoulder rolls — 20 seconds
  4. Open chest — 30 seconds
  5. Wrists — 30 seconds
  6. Standing hip flexor — 40 seconds

You can do it all sitting, except the last one. The order does not have to be exact — pick the four that bother you most and start there.

If you can only do one thing after lunch, do the chin tucks and the standing hip flexor. Those two cover the most common complaints from sitting.

When to stop

Stop any of these, and see a physiotherapist or doctor, if you have:

Stretches are not a substitute for a diagnosis. They are a way to keep the small everyday tightness from piling up.

What Kamae can do

Kamae, the Mac menu bar posture app, has a built-in routine feature. You can put these six stretches in a checklist, decide which days of the week you want to do them, and tick them off from the menu bar popover. Kamae counts your streak and shows it on the weekly report.

You can also add your own stretches or change the order. The idea is the same as this guide: a small, easy thing you actually do, not a perfect routine you do for a week and then quit.

Try Kamae

Kamae is a Mac menu bar app that quietly watches your posture through the camera. Video never leaves your Mac. Try it free for 14 days, or buy it once for US$19.

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