As a human in modern society, odds are you’re spending more than half your life sedentary. It’s simple math really—if you’re working a 9-5 shift five days a week working at a desk, that’s 8 out of the 16 waking hours in the day that you’re sitting down (not to mention the time spent commuting in the car!). Now, this is far from ideal, as we are not biologically built to be so immobile, but we can’t very well live in the past and advise everyone get back in touch with our ancestor’s hunter-gatherer way of life. That said, there are ways to combat this modern lifestyle to make the most of those office hours!

I will readily admit that I am guilty of getting so in the zone at my computer that next thing I know, I’ve spent hours stuck in the same hunched-over position before coming up for air at lunch. By then, my hips and back are feeling tight, my shoulders roll forward, my posture could use some help and my glutes have fully shut off.

A good rule of thumb that I’m sure you’re familiar with is to get up and take a 5-10 minute walk for every 1-2 hours you spend sitting. But with p.volve being a pre-hab approach to fitness, this makes it the perfect workout to hit during those breather sessions to help you release that pain, open up your back, improve your posture and reactivate your glutes. All of the stretches and exercises in the p.volve method are also movements that will activate muscles that are so crucial to everyday movements-- from walking to reaching, taking the stairs and even picking up heavy objects (or kids!) without pain. My workout truly can be done from anywhere at any time, so instead of just getting up and doing a lap around the block, let’s wake up and truly engage those muscles, even if it is for a few minutes!

Stretching:

After 2-3 hours of staying locked up in the same position, I would recommend getting up and hitting a solid stretch. Just a few moves, a few reps per side. If you head over to your streaming library and filter by stretches, you will see some quick videos featuring some of our favorite moves. These will open up your back, get your shoulders rotating, and facilitating movement from your hips. Remember, most of these stretches are still exercises, so don’t throw them away! Make your stretch routine double as a toning workout. When you catch the floor, always squeeze your glutes, feel your stomach working, let your joints take you through the motions in a controlled manner. Also, don’t forget to gently roll out your wrists and neck, as well, a few times in one direction before reversing. These joints can get super jammed up from typing all day, going from computer to texting and back again.

You can also check out some stretching videos on our YouTube channel!

Workouts:

Working out at your desk is totally acceptable nowadays. If you walk into the p.volve office, you never know what you’ll find-- from stretching, to the p.band up in the air, to even the p.ball being squeezed in between (or sometimes during) meetings!

• If you want to try out using the p.ball at your desk, simply wear the ball while sitting in your chair and squeeze, engaging more from the lower core in this position rather than the glutes. Of course, I would still recommend standing up and hitting a few p.sits to engage the glutes once in a while.
  
  
• The p.band is another great option, as it’s pretty hands free! Your fingers are free to type away even while strapped in, so after every couple emails just throw your hands in the air and hit some pull downs: left arm then right arm, then turn your palms so they are facing outward and repeat.
  
  
• Lastly, a leg lift with no equipment is a p.volve office favorite! All the standing leg lifts and butt presses are great to wake up your legs and get a little pump up in before happy hour.

Always remember, all the work you’re doing during our actual workouts is building that solid foundation of an active body and correcting our muscular balance. Even just a few moves throughout the day are great to throw in the mix to truly take your efforts beyond the gym. And who knows, maybe I'll throw in a streaming video from the p.volve office someday!

Do you workout at your desk, or have you brought the p.ball to your office? Let us know your favorite moves in the comments, or send us your office p.sit by tagging us @pvolve on Instagram!

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