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Creating a Daily Routine

12 May 2020 No Comment

Hey everyone, hope you and your families are all safe and well!

We had a bit of a downturn when the restrictions all started, but since then have been becoming steadily busier. A lot of this has been down to the effects of working from home.

Everyone is thrown off at the moment in one way or another. The chair and desk you sit on are different. The hours you work. The stress you are under. You can’t go to the gym you usually go to, or the yoga class you usually go to.

So you have to come up with a way to keep moving and prevent a back injury. I’ve put together a daily schedule to help you incorporate more movement into your day.

Working from an office, or anywhere that is not your home, requires a certain amount of incidental exercise. You might have to walk to a bus stop, or from a train station to your workplace.

You might pop out for a coffee mid morning, or out to get some lunch in the middle of the day. Walk to a meeting, or to talk to someone in another part of your workplace. Commuting home. It’s surprising how many steps a day come just from this.

So you should try to stick to some of these routines. Even though you don’t have to commute, you should walk for 10 or 15 minutes in the morning before you start working. Don’t just get up, make a coffee and sit at your desk. Do this at lunchtime too – after having something to eat walk a lap of your block, get some fresh air and sunshine before resuming work. And once more at the end of the day.

Here is an example of a way to structure movement into your day:

Let’s say you start work at 9am. At 830, go outside, walk to the end of your street and back.

At 10 am you should lay on your back and stretch your glutes and hips

At 11am lay on your roller for 5 minutes 

12noon stretch your neck 

1pm TAKE A LUNCH BREAK – Go outside, walk around for 15 minutes in the sun, then use the roller again for 5 minutes

2pm do some theraband exercises (like seated rows) to strengthen your scapular retracting muscles

3pm do some neck retraction exercises

4pm stretch your hip flexors and hamstrings

5pm use your roller for 5 minutes while doing slow breathing (5 breaths per minute) – this has been shown to reduce stress in your fight or flight nervous system. That way you get to finish your work day, de-stress and feel good.

All you really need is a foam roller and a theraband and you can maintain your mobility and strength when working from home.  We get those kind of things at wholesale prices here in clinic so can pass on the discounted prices to you. If you need anything just shoot me a line.

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