Health

The one-minute office workout

Is the working week wearing you down? Every little bit of exercise helps — even when you’re stuck at your desk.

  • Give yourself a hand massage: Search out sore spots, press with your thumbs and hold for five seconds. Make tight fists and do air-punches, then shake them.

  • Tame shoulder tension by ‘walking’ your right fingertips along your left shoulder, applying firm pressure wherever muscles are tight. Switch hands and repeat on the opposite shoulder.

  • Keep a golf ball under your desk. Take your shoes off while sitting and roll the sole of each foot firmly over it.

  • Lightly pound the insides and outsides of your arms and legs with your knuckles. This stimulates circulation and boosts your mood.

  • When no one is looking; grin. Wiggle your eyebrows. Stick out your tongue, then place it against the roof of your mouth and press it as hard as you can; release.

  • Stand up and do a joggle — that’s a cross between a quick jog-on-the-spot and a shake.

  • Keep a yo-yo in your drawer to relieve tension and relax hands and wrists.

  • Cross your legs, placing your right ankle above your left knee. Gently push your knee down, feeling the stretch in your hip. Slowly count to 30. Repeat on the other side.

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