Sitting all day can leave your legs feeling listless and neglected. Wake them up with this classic exercise.
The Squat
- Push your chair back from your desk about 18 inches.
- Stand up with your feet about hip width apart and your toes pointed just a bit outward (not straight ahead).
- Sit back down in your chair.
- Repeat 12-15 times.
Some notes on good squat technique:
- Inhale as you are squatting and exhale as you are rising.
- Keep your back perpendicular to the floor throughout the exercise.
- Don’t bend your knees beyond a 90-degree angle. To put it another way, don’t let your thighs go lower than parallel to the floor.
- As you descend, don’t let your knees go forward of your toes.
- If you feel at all weak or unsteady, support yourself by resting your hands on the back of another chair or another sturdy surface.
Today’s Sources
Grow Younger, Live Longer, Deepak Chopra & David Simon
You Don’t Know Squat!, TopEndSports.com
Learning the Squat, Stumptuous.com
About the Author
Larry Swanson is a massage therapist in downtown Seattle, WA. His practices focuses on the unique needs of office workers and also includes injury treatment for sports and car-accident injuries as well as massage for wellness and athletic performance.