Physical Fitness at the Workplace - Ankle and Feet Exercising
We took care of the hips and the legs. We’re going to move back down to the bottom, our extremities, the ankles and the feet. So have a seat back in your chair, sit at the edge, get stable and take your leg, extend it out and you’re going to simply flex the ankle and point the toe out. Flex the foot in and then take it out. We’ll do another one, flex it in, you get the point, and point it out. And compoundedly guess what? You’re stretching the quads and the calves as well. Stretch the other side please, take the leg, extend it, you flex, you point, you flex, you point, see that muscle stretching? You flex and you point.
One more for the ankles, circles. Extend the leg out, take your leg, circle it, what you’re doing here is you’re increasing the blood flow towards that side. What goes in must go out. So take it out. You might crack your ankles a little bit, that’s synovial fluid, nothing to be alarmed at. Okay take the leg up, extend it, take it put in, a few circles. Remember also listen to the receptors in your tendons that say that stretch is enough. We have receptors that say “Enough is enough. Don’t go beyond” because you actually pull a muscle if you overstretch.
Okay last but not least the whole body. Let’s end our stretching workout with a whole body stretch. You did it similarly in the chair earlier. Let’s stand up. You’re going to take the arms above the head, reach it up high, pull it out that rib cage, inhale, you’re going to take it over to the left, pull it away stretching the obliques as well as the lower back, come back center, always pause in between each movement, take it over to right, inhale and exhale. Let’s do it one more time it feels too good. Take the head up while you’re at it. You can start incorporating various stretches and put them together. And take it back up, head is up and take it over to the right, exhale, take it back and now slowly bring the arms down. Guess what? We’re going to roll it back. You’ve already done this one. Take it back for four, three, two, and one and m favorite, always a great way to end your stretching segment, take the chin down to the chest and hold, inhale, exhale, blow that stress out of you, inhale, exhale. One more time, too good to pass, inhale and here we go exhale it out, furthest part of your stretch, slowly head up. Good job.
Remember any or all of these exercises should be repeated a few times a day to help relax the muscles and improve circulation which is important in the prevention of repetitive strain injuries. Not to mention it helps relieve stress and it feels good. Speaking of feeling good there’s one last thing you can do physically to help alleviate shoulder and neck tension. When you’re under stress or have been typing for a longtime, tension rides up to the neck in upper trapezius. A simple thing you can do throughout the day is give yourself a mini massage. Simply reach across to your opposite shoulder and knead the muscle and keep moving around. Don’t stay in any one place too long.
Again you want to grasp the muscle and squeeze it gently. You would do both sides. So this is something you can do. Just knead muscle and again release that tension. You’ll be amazed at how much you can do on your own. It would be nice if you had somebody else do it but in the short-term, a self mini massage will do the trick. When you have had enough and you’ve done enough, then drop the head down and here I’m going to show you at the desk, when you drop the head down and we’re going to put the elbows on the desk and you’ll notice I’m going to knead at the base of my skull where my neck will meet the brainstem and I’m going to just simply knead around, never staying on one position too long and use your thumbs too and simply go up and down until you actually feel better. It’s going to feel great.
Again it’s a temporary situation unless again you can get someone else to do it for you. When you’re done slowly come on up and finish. You’ll notice I’m going to turn so you could see, finish at the top of your neck and then end it by rubbing the trapezius and that should greatly help reduce neck and shoulder tension.
Well there you have it. Anytime if you feel a need to review any of these stretches, pop DVD in it. I’ll be waiting for you. Why not take the DVD to work with you. Get your co-workers stretching too I’m sure your boss won’t mind because healthy workers equals better workers. Stay healthy.
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