Desk stretches: a 2-minute break and a 5-minute routine, with a timer

If you sit at a desk most of the day, these two routines give you a quick way to move. The 2-minute break is four stretches in your chair. The 5-minute routine adds the wrists, shoulders and calves, and finishes with three stretches standing at your desk. Each one has a follow-along timer that tells you when to switch sides, so you don't have to count.

• Start the 2-minute desk stretch timer
• Start the 5-minute desk stretch routine

Move slowly and skip anything that hurts. This isn't medical advice.

Why break up sitting

The US Physical Activity Guidelines put it simply: adults should move more and sit less throughout the day, and some activity is better than none [1]. A stretch break is one easy way to do that. Research on stretching programs for office workers is still small. In one 2020 study, about 250 office workers who did a 10-minute stretching program twice a week for 12 weeks reported small improvements in quality of life compared with a waitlist group [2]. It wasn't randomized, so treat it as encouraging rather than proof.

What a short stretch break can do: change your position, move the joints that stay still while you type, and remind you to get up. What it can't do: undo a whole day of sitting, or replace regular exercise.

The 2-minute desk stretch break

Sit near the front of your chair with your feet flat.

How-to notes

• Chest opener: reach both hands behind you to the back of the seat or the sides of the chair, lift your chest and let your shoulders draw back. Don't push your head forward.
• Figure Four: cross one ankle over the opposite knee and let the knee drop to the side. Sit tall first, then hinge from the hips. Skip it after a hip replacement unless your surgeon has cleared it.
• Neck stretch: let the ear move toward the shoulder without lifting the shoulder. Resting a hand on your head is fine; pulling isn't.

The 5-minute desk stretch routine

Seven stretches in your chair, then three standing at your desk.

How-to notes

• Wrist stretch: straighten one arm in front of you, palm up, and gently draw the fingers back with the other hand. With wrist pain or carpal tunnel syndrome, keep it very light or skip it.
• Desk hinge (step 8): put your hands on the edge of the desk, walk your feet back until your arms are straight, and hinge from the hips so your back makes a long line. Bend your knees if your hamstrings pull.
• Standing hip flexor stretch (step 9): stand in a short split stance with the back heel lifted. Tuck your tailbone under until you feel the front of the back hip. You don't need to lunge deeper.

Who should check first

• Neck pain that spreads into an arm, or numbness or tingling in your hands: skip the neck stretch and ask your doctor.
• Recent hip replacement: skip Figure Four unless your surgeon has cleared it.
• Osteoporosis or low bone density: keep the twist small and use the flat-back hinge rather than rounding forward.

More options

• More seated poses with pictures: Chair yoga for seniors and office workers
• A longer plan you can follow at home: Free 28-day yoga plan
• Every timed routine: Routines

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, 2018.
2. Holzgreve F, et al. The Office Work and Stretch Training (OST) Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020.