Currently, a large part of the population works in an office, sitting in a chair, in front of the computer, without the opportunity or time to stretch or exercise their legs. Among its most visible consequences, we find obesity and loss of muscle tone, other symptoms that you spend too much time sitting are numbness and pain.
The point is that spending hours without exercising your legs reduces blood flow, leads to muscle hardening, and not only in the lower extremities, but the pains and problems can also spread to the back, shoulders and neck. That is why in the following article we explain how to exercise your legs while sitting so that you can prevent many of the problems caused by lack of exercise.
Table Of Content
1. Consequences of sitting all day
2. How to exercise sitting in the office
3. How to exercise sitting in a chair
4. How can I exercise in the office?
5. Exercise to do sitting at work
6. Seated Leg Exercise
Consequences of sitting all-day
Spending all day sitting leads to many health problems, some known and others less so. Here we explain them all:
- Heart disease: people with this way of life double the chances of suffering from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, hypertension and cholesterol.
- Colon problems: such as diverticulitis, colon infection, pain and even cancer.
- High insulin – which can lead to diabetes and other problems related to high levels of this hormone.
- Cancer: different studies relate different types of cancer such as endometrial, colon or breast cancer, with a sedentary lifestyle.
- Circulation problems: fluid retention in the legs, varicose veins and even deep vein thrombosis.
- Loss of muscle tone: from the legs to the back, passing through the abdominals, our muscles atrophy and lose strength, causing us to adopt a bad posture, even if we are standing.
- Spinal problems: as well as cervical. Most people round their backs when sitting, which is why back and cervical problems and pain arise.
- Osteoporosis: Loss of bone density is another consequence of spending a lot of time sitting.
How to exercise sitting in the office
This first is a simple exercise that anyone can do and that, done regularly, will serve to exercise your legs; ankles, calves, and the lower area, as well as the thighs and buttocks. Here Back Intelligence explains 4 Office Posture Exercises and how to do it:
- Stand with your back straight and put your feet on the ground, with little separation between them and looking forward.
- Raise your heels keeping the toes touching the ground at all times.
- Hold for 1 minute in that position, lower your heels, rest for a few seconds and repeat it again.
- You can put books, folders, or whatever weight you have on hand on top of your thighs to add resistance. If you don’t have anything, you can use your bare hands to apply pressure and enhance its effect.
- You can increase the weight and repetitions as you feel stronger.
There is a variation of this exercise by lifting the toes instead of the heels, in this case, you will exercise the calves :
- Stand with your back straight and put your feet on the ground, with little separation between them and looking forward.
- Raise the balls of both feet, keeping your heels on the ground at all times.
- Hold for 1 minute in this position, lower the tips and rest for a few seconds before repeating it again.
- In this case, you do not need to add weight, since it will not do any good and is useless.
How to exercise sitting in a chair
The ones that we are going to explain to you are some perfect exercises to exercise your lower extremities while sitting, especially with regard to the thighs:
- Sit up straight, with your feet facing forward and a foot apart.
- Place an object between your feet -that does not break- such as a sweater or a towel.
- Lift the object you have placed on the ground while forcing one thigh against the other.
- Repeat this exercise for a minute, rest for a few seconds and do it again.
Another version of this exercise is by placing the object between your knees, raising your legs while forcing one knee against the other. According To Dayana Wang SEATED LEGS WORKOUT
How can I exercise in the office?
If you want to exercise your legs while sitting, leg extensions are one of your best allies. What you should do is the following:
- Sit on the chair with your back straight and looking straight ahead.
- With your legs completely straight, extend them so that they are parallel to the ground.
- Keep your legs in the air for 3 minutes.
- Relax your legs, rest and repeat it again.
There is a variation of this exercise that you can do if you are sitting at the movies, on public transport, or anywhere you can put your feet. It is about placing them under the seat in front of you and lifting your legs by pressing against that seat.
Exercise to do sitting at work
Continuing with the extensions, we can add one more degree of difficulty, and also of efficiency, with the following exercise:
- Sit on the chair, near the tip, keeping your back straight.
- Bend one leg, keeping the foot on the ground, and extend the other.
- With the leg that is extended you must make 10 circles in the air.
- Once done, switch legs and repeat the same.
A similar option in the same position -with one leg bent and the other in the air- is to draw all the letters of the alphabet with the leg that we keep raised. Once finished repeat it with the other leg. Finally, a good exercise to do while sitting at work is to try to raise your knees -alternatively- as high as you can while keeping your toes on the ground.
Seated Leg Exercise
- Stand on the edge of the chair with your back straight.
- Hold on to the table or the arms of your chair for balance.
- Kick into the air as hard as you can.
- Repeat 10 times and switch legs.
- Repeat 5 to 10 times, then switch legs.
Finally, we leave one of the best exercises to do sitting legs :
- Keep your back straight.
- Extend your legs parallel to the ground and cross them over each other.
- Once crossed, separate them again keeping them in the air.
- Repeat this exercise 10 times, rest, and repeat it again.