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 he average Canadian spends a third of their day at work, often sitting for prolonged periods of time, performing repetitive tasks and generally being inactive. Over 63% of Canadians consider their jobs to be stressful according to Stats Canada; it also reports that up to $1.7 billion in revenue is lost annually due to stress-induced sick days. Periodic ‘fit’ breaks throughout the day reduce physical and emotional stress, to help boost mood as well as productivity.
Targeted exercises involving the neck, shoulder, back, wrists and hamstrings done every few hours stave off muscle tension, imbalances and improves blood flow especially to the brain: helping to keep you mentally alert, combat fatigue and increase focus. This ultimately increases productivity and quality of work. Studies show that exercise
increases neural activity and the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters: serotonin and dopamine.
Health Canada has increased their exercise time recommendation to ‘60 minutes of activity all days of the week’. Although dedicated exercise time is best, all forms of activity accumulate in the exercise bank to help reach the 60 minute target. Take the stairs or a five minute ‘fit break’ every 90 minutes to keep muscles balanced.
Encourage co-workers to join you in a movement break; a ‘fit break’ to better health!
 Diagonal neck stretch
This stretch releases tension in the upper back and into the neck.
Place right arm behind the mid back, drop left ear to shoulder with left arm guiding head down. Gently turn chin towards shoulder. Switch sides. Hold each side for 20 seconds.
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  Shoulder blade squeeze
For the chest and front of shoulders, and mid back muscles.
Holding a towel or resistance band, outstretch arms and squeeze shoulder blades together and down. Hold
for one second and release. Repeat 10-12 times.
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  Seated figure-4 stretch
Relieves glute and low back tightness.
Sit at chair edge, cross one leg at right angle ankle resting on knee. Lean into the stretch. Hold on each side for 15-30 seconds. |
  Chest/back stretch
Opens chest, lats, and low back.
Stand in front of a chair, reach arms to the back rest do a forward bend with a flat back. Hold for 15-30 seconds.
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  Seated spine stretch
Rotational low back release.
Sit in a chair, cross right leg over the left; turn body to the right, left hand resting on right leg, right arm on the back of the chair. Sit up tall, twist straight spine as if looking over shoulder. Repeat for the other side. Hold each side 15-20 seconds. |
  Hamstring stretch
Releases tension in back of legs and low back.
Shoes off, stand in front of chair and place one heel on the seat. With a straight leg and flat back, bend forward from the waist until a stretch is felt in the back of the leg. Switch legs. Hold each side for 30 seconds. |
 Low squat hold with slow rise
Back stretch and leg strengthening.
Stand with back to chair. Reach arms out in front as you squat to hover over chair. Hold for one second, squeeze the glutes as you slowly return to standing. Perform 12-15 reps. H&L
Visit Cherilee at envisionwellness.ca |
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