Our bodies weren’t meant for desk jobs.

We were meant to be upright, roaming around picking berries, hunting, etc.

We were not built for sitting all day, hunched forward in front of a computer. It stretches out the muscles in our back, and shortens/tightens our chest muscles. The slight forward tilt places our head in front our of body, throwing off the alignment and muscle usage in our neck and back. The constant keyboard and mouse use causes repetitive stress injuries.

In general, the desk job wreaks havoc on our body.

What can we do about this?

It seems this problem is going to be bad with my generation, and possibly worse for the younger generation raised on laptops and iPod Touches.

I’ve been running as a workout, but I’ve started to realize that it isn’t good enough. Running  is great cardio, but has a limited range of motion. I’ve found that I feel great afterwards, but my upper body muscles are still stiff from the desk job.

I occasionally strength train. Sometimes it is good, but sometimes it ends up irritating my neck and back, which are constantly tight. I’ve learned to do a light weight training workout that emphasizes full body motions.

So far, the best thing for me has been yoga. It is fairly light-weight (compared to strength training), but the huge benefit is that it actively puts you through a wide range of motions and stretches. Personally, I haven’t found anything better than yoga for combating problems with the desk job.

Recently, I found an 7-min yoga/stretching workout that I have incorporated into my work day. It is fairly quick and can be used as a work break. It doesn’t require much flexibility, and is accessible to most people. It leaves you with a light sweat, but not enough where you can’t do it in work clothes. I would recommend it to everyone.

7-min yoga, plus the occasional runs have been working pretty well for me.

What do you do?

I would love to hear how you save your body from the desk job!

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P.S. This is post number #14 in a 100 day blogging challenge. See you tomorrow!

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