Day 18 - Seated Glute Stretch

Difficulty - Easy
Muscle Groups Addressed - Glutes

Been sitting in that desk chair for umpteen hours and feel like your back is going to explode? Part of your problem is that your gluteal (butt) muscles are tightening and pulling on your lower back. It's all inter-connected.

This is a simple and effective way to loosen up your glutes and take some of that tension out of your lower back and improve your sitting posture.

Sit up tall, ankles below the knees, with an open chest. Cross one leg over your other thigh, as in the picture on the right. The ankle of your raised leg should be just over the knee of your planted leg. Inhale deeply.

As you exhale slowly, keeping your chest as big as possible, hang your hands down to your planted foot until you feel a stretch. You can hang here or attempt a neuro-integrated stretch. This technique has you create an isometric contraction against a resistance barrier in your stretch, helping you achieve an optimal state of neuro-flexibility and a much deeper stretch. It's much simpler than it sounds... so let's just move on.

For the neuro-integrated stretch - Take another deep breath in this hanging position and drive the knee of your raised leg towards the ground (you can use your forearm or elbow to push it down). Hold this for 5 seconds and then relax your knee. As you exhale, knee in neutral position, you should be able to dip down slightly further towards your planted foot. Do this one more time - inhale, push your knee down, dip further. This may be enough for you to get your hands to the floor. If not, don't worry, as with all stretches - it will come with time.

Don't forget to switch legs to address the other side. Back feeling any better?

Day 7 - Wall Squats

Difficulty - Moderate
Muscle Groups Addressed - Glutes, Quadriceps, Hamstrings

A favorite of mine, wall squats have so many great benefits, not to mention they work all the primary muscle groups involved in proper sitting posture. It's bad enough us desk jockies have to sit in front of a screen most of the day... compounding that is the fact that most of us don't even sit properly.

Over time, poor seated posture can lead to spinal misalignment, joint degeneration, weak shoulders, and even a potbelly. As you slouch forward, your shoulders and back round in, loosening your pectorals and pushing your belly out. Wall squats done correctly will firm your core, build a strong lower back, and work your hips to help give you a balanced seated posture.

These work the same in the office as they do in the gym. Simply find a wall and lean back against it, standing up. Bending at the knees, slowly lower yourself down into a right angle seated position. Squating down too far and not having your feet out far enough will be unneeded pressure on your knees... envision sitting on a box. Stay "seated" for 10 seconds, then straighten your knees and come up, still leaning against the wall. Give yourself a 5 second break, then come back down and hold the squat for 10 seconds.

To really kick it up in the hamstrings and lower back, try raising one leg at a time, and holding.