You might want to stand up for this one: All that time you spend sitting (behind your computer, on the couch, or even during your daily commute) is slowly but surely wreaking havoc on your health and mobility.While there’s nothing inherently wrong with taking a load off, prolonged sedentary hours are where the problems start to arise. One study of 447 office workers suggests that long sitting times are associated with musculoskeletal disorder symptoms in the shoulders, lower back, thighs, and knees. While other research found that university students who spent more than seven hours seated and less than 150 minutes per week being physically active experienced reduced thoracic mobility. Lengthy periods of sitting may also cause the muscles in your hips to shorten and feel tight, or even impact your posture.Long story short: Breaking up that stationary time at your desk (or couch, dining table, wherever) with some more movement can do your body a world of good. That’s where this 7-day mobility challenge comes into play. Created by Men’s Health Fitness Director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., this week-long routine is designed to get you out of your seat, and active in ways that counteract negative sedentary patterns. Each day, you’ll move through one exercise that stretches the hips and another that challenges the spine. These strategic pairings will ultimately help open up your hips, loosen your lower back, and release tightness in your neck and shoulders. As you go through the week, you’ll gradually progress into deeper stretches and more thoracic-specific movement. Here’s how it breaks down: For the first day, you’ll start with one exercise to ease into the challenge. On day two, you’ll add one more drill. Every subsequent day, you’ll repeat one move from the day before, paired with a brand new exercise. All you need is a bit of floor space, and potentially a mat, to get started.Each series of drills is designed to seamlessly fit into your schedule (seriously, it won’t take more than a few minutes to hit the required reps!) and you won’t even break a sweat. Ideally, you’ll go through this two-move series three times daily. After your seven days are complete, you may consider repeating the challenge for a few more weeks, or even making these mobility drills a regular practice. Once you’re feeling really good, you can try our 30-day mobility challenge next. The Men’s Health 7-Day Mobility ChallengeNote: For unilateral exercises and stretches, one rep is equal to a rep on both sides.Day 1Spiderman Lunge With Thoracic Rotation, 8 Reps Start in a pushup position with your hands directly under your shoulders. Keep your glutes and core engaged. Step one foot near your hand while continuing to squeeze the quad and glutes of your rear leg. Reach your hand (the same side as your lunging leg) through your other arm. Then take a deep breath and rotate through your spine to reach your hand straight up, keeping your gaze towards your fingertips throughout the movement. Bring your hand back down to the ground, return to a plank position, then repeat on the opposite side.Day 2Spiderman Lunge With Thoracic Rotation, 4 RepsCat-Cow to Bear Plank to Plank, 4 RepsGet into a tabletop position with your shoulders above your wrists, and knees slightly wider than hip-width apart. Round your back, spread your shoulder blades, and bring your head towards your chest. Next, arch your back while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Return to tabletop and tighten your abs. With your toes pressed into the ground, lift your knees from the floor, engage your core, and hold a bear plank. Keeping hips and shoulders square, step back to a plank position and hold. Reverse the movement, then repeat from the beginning.Day 3 Cat-Cow to Bear Plank to Plank, 4 RepsInchworm to Scorpion Stretch, 5 RepsStart with your feet placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Hinge at the hips to bend down and place your hands on the ground, keeping your legs as straight as you can to get a good hamstring stretch. Slowly walk your hands forward, keeping your hips and shoulders square to the ground, until you come into a pushup position. Bend your elbows and lower your body down to the ground. From here, bend one knee and squeeze your glute. Keeping your head and arms in place, twist through your spine to bring that leg across your body, and try to touch the floor on the other side. Repeat on the opposite side. Lift back into a plank, walk your hands towards your feet, stand up, and repeat the movement. Day 4Inchworm to Scorpion Stretch, 5 RepsLow Lunge With Overhead Reach, 5 RepsStart in a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart. Step forward with one foot, and lower your body down into a lunge. Drop one knee to the ground, untuck your toes, and bring your arms toward the sky. Stretch your arms back, finding a slight backbend. Then, bring your arms down and, using your heel, push your body back to the starting position. Day 5Low Lunge With Overhead Reach, 5 RepsChild’s Pose With Reach, 5 RepsStart in a kneeling position, and allow your big toes to touch. Bring your knees wider than your hips, and sit your hips towards your heels. Let your chest relax towards the ground, walk your hands out in front of you, and bring your forehead to the mat. From this position, reach one hand through the opposite arm. Take a deep breath and rotate through your spine to stretch your hand straight up, keeping your gaze towards your fingertips throughout the movement. Bring your hand back down to the ground, then repeat on the opposite side. Day 6 Child’s Pose With Reach, 5 RepsDeep Spiderman, 5 RepsStart in a pushup position with your hands directly under your shoulders. Keep your glutes and core engaged. Step one foot near your hand while continuing to squeeze the quad and glutes of your rear leg. Bring one forearm down to the ground, then the other. Hold for a few breaths, then reverse the movement and repeat on the opposite side.Day 7Deep Spiderman, 5 RepsDeep Squat With Alternating Overhead Reach, 5 RepsStart in a standing position with your feet just beyond shoulder width, and toes turned slightly out. Squeeze your abs, then roll your shoulders back and keep them engaged to stand up straight. Push your butt back, then bend your knees and lower down until you can wrap your fingers around your toes, keeping your arms inside your knees. Rotate through your spine to stretch one hand to the sky, keeping your gaze towards your fingertips throughout the movement. Bring your hand back down to the ground, then repeat on the opposite side.Fitness & Wellness EditorKristine Thomason is the fitness & wellness editor at Women’s Health, where she edits, writes, and helps oversee the food and fitness sections of the website and magazine. She’s also a NASM-certified personal trainer. Kristine has spent her editorial career focused on health and wellness—that includes teaming up with certified trainers to create workout routines, reporting on fitness trends, and interviewing experts about the latest health and wellness research. She’s an NYU graduate with a degree in journalism and psychology. In the past, her work has also appeared in Health, Men’s Health, Greatist, Refinery29, and more.Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men’s Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He’s logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men’s Health in 2017, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News.
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