Research has warned time and time again that “sitting disease” is real. If you’re sitting all day at work, you should get up every 30 minutes to move your body and get that blood pumping. 

A quick walk around the office is a great place to start, here are 10 more exercises and stretches to add variety and work different muscles:

Desk Push-ups:

How to do them:

1. Face your desk and lean against it, with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your arms straight.
2. Lower yourself until your chest almost reaches your desk, then return to the starting position.
3. Repeat for at least 10 reps.

Calf Raises:

How to do them:

1. Stand tall and hold your chair or desk for balance.
2. Rise up onto your toes, hold for a moment, and then lower your heels back to the floor.
3. Repeat at least 10 times.

Squats: 

How to do them:

1. Stand tall, with your office chair behind you. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands stretched out in front of you.
2. Lower down until your buttocks almost touch your chair, keeping your knees in line with your toes.
3. Return to the starting position and repeat 10 or more times.

Wall Sits:

How to do it:

1. Stand with your back against a wall.
2. Slide down until your hips and knees are bent at about 90 degrees.
3. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds.

Oblique Twists:

How to do them:

1. Sit in a swiveling chair with your hands holding the edge of your desk.
2. Spin yourself as far you can to one side using your hands, then switch to the other side.
3. Repeat for at least 10 reps on each side.

Note: If you do not have a swivel chair, you can bend your arms up in front of you and turn your body to the right and left. Just make sure to move from your core.

Seated Bicycles:

How to do them:

1. Sit tall, with your feet flat on the floor and your hands behind your head.
2. Lift one knee and twist your opposite elbow toward it.
3. Return to the start position.
4. Repeat at least 10 times on each side.

Leg Lifts: 

How to do them:

1. Sit tall in your chair with good posture.
2. Lift one leg straight until your hamstring comes off the seat.
3. Hold for at least 20 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Glute Squeezes: 

How to do them:

1. Sit tall in your chair, with good posture.
2. Contract (squeeze) your glutes as hard as you can for 10 to 30 seconds, then relax.
3. Repeat 10 times.

Tricep Stretches: 

How to do them: 

1. Raise your arm and bend it so that your hand reaches toward the opposite side.
2. Use your other hand and pull the elbow toward your head.
3. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.
4. Repeat on the other side.

Overhead Reach:

How to do them:

1. Extend each arm overhead.
2. Reach to the opposite side.
3. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.
4. Repeat on the other side.

Torso Stretch or Trunk Rotation:

How to do them: 

1. Keep your feet firmly on the ground, facing forward.
2. Twist your upper body in the direction of the arm that’s resting on the back of your chair.
3. Hold pose for 10 to 30 seconds.
4. Repeat on other side.

Note: Exhale as you lean into the stretch for a greater range of motion.

Moving your body throughout the day will help you get through that afternoon slump, improve your mood, and help you deal with job-related stress.