1. Let’s face it…sitting at a desk all day is no fun. Not only is it no fun, it is dangerous! Yikes…sorry to lay
that one on you but it’s true. There are as many health risks associated with sitting all day as there are
for smoking and being over-weight. Wow…I just brought the mood down a ton.
But wait! There are things you can do. Walk over to a colleague’s desk instead of emailing them, start
drinking more water (you’ll have to go to the water cooler more often…and to the bathroom…see, I
think of everything!) OR, you can participate in the Great Gumby Project. What you will do is get up at
least twice a day at work and stretch. Do the following routine and you’ll feel like a million bucks…ok,
$750,000 after the exchange rate. I selected this routine because it targets muscles typically found as
being tight in those that sit all day. Do each stretch (or pick your favourites if time is limited) for 30
seconds each.
When? Official start date is Monday February 9
This is a 2-week challenge…get up, stretch, feel better and congratulate yourself for taking part in the
Great Gumby Project!
The Name The Reason The Move
Calf Stretch Wearing any footwear with a
heel keeps the calf in a
shortened position. You need to
stretch the calf muscles often to
counteract the bad effects of
office footwear. If you don’t
wear high heels…do it anyway!
Chest Stretch While sitting at a desk all day,
your shoulders tend to round
forward. This causes your pecs to
become functionally shorter.
Want to fix that? Do this
stretch…and yes, both sides.

2. Wrist Flexion/Extension If you spend time at a keyboard
then you need this. Plus, if you
do this in the hallway at work
people will think you are
directing traffic…and that’s cool
Upper Trapezius Your neck and shoulders get stiff
after a hard day in front of the
computer terminal (Online
crosswords don’t finish
themselves afterall)
Levator Scapulae Stretch What a name! same type of
stretch as above but you turn
your head as if looking down
Sternocleidomastoid Stretch Ya…don’t even try to pronounce
this one. But if you do, you will
have hours of fun just saying it
over and over again. Same type
of stretch but this time you are
looking up
Static Standing Hip Flexor
Stretch
**You get BONUS points if you
do the kneeling hip flexor
stretch!!**
Sitting makes for tight hip
flexors. This leads to aching
backs and that is no good. 3
parts to this stretch. *one leg
back, back foot rotated inward
and arm in the air **Now bend
slightly to the side ***And twist
your body slightly as shown

3. Latissimus Dorsi Stretch Tight “lats” is another common
tight area and another
contributor to back pain. Ok,
maybe you don’t have a stability
ball at work but you can still do
this one against your desk or a
wall.
Seated Spinal Stretch Reason? It just feels good!
Hamstring Stretch Sitting in a knee-flexed position
all day means you need to
stretch your hamstrings and
lower back