Men’s Health/Eric Rosati
You might feel like you have to spend an unhealthy amount of time with your butt planted in a seat whenever you travel anywhere outside your home timezone—but airplanes aren’t the only places you’re sedentary for long periods of time. If you’re a desk jockey, you sit too much. There’s no getting around it. But there is good news: You can loosen up quick, after a long flight or a workday, if you’re willing to get a stretch.
Trainer Charlee Atkins, C.S.C.S. knows how important these routines can be for just about everyone, in every type of setting.
“People always think about how stiff and tight they are after a flight, but what most don’t consider is that nowadays we sit at our desks for as long as transcontinental flight, and sometimes longer,” she says. “The relationship with sitting and stretching is that when we spend most of our lives int the sitting position, our bodies start to adapt to that position. If you add in training to that mix, it’s a recipe for disaster—more specifically, injury.”
Atkins shared her favorite routine of post-flight exercises, which can be just as useful to do after a long day at the office. You don’t need anything but room to stretch out to do the series of six moves—but if you want a yoga mat to move around on, check out this option from our Backslash/Fit brand.
Perform each exercise for 30 seconds to 1 minute before moving to the next
- Greatest Stretch in the World (+ Rotation)
- Low Lunge to Half Split
- Down dog and Alternating Leg Lift
- Down dog and Up dog Combo
- Shoulder Cars
- Adductor Rocker
Take on the series for 1 to 3 rounds, depending on how you feel. Make sure to focus on slow, controlled movements; you shouldn’t rush through these exercises.
Want to learn more moves from Atkins? Check out our series full of her workout tips, Try Her Move.