7 Exercises That Undo 8 Hours of Sitting (The Desk Worker Rescue Plan)

You sit 8+ hours a day. Your hip flexors are concrete. Your shoulders round forward like a question mark. Your glutes have forgotten they exist. Sound about right?

These 7 exercises are specifically designed to reverse the damage of prolonged sitting. They take under 10 minutes and require zero equipment. Do them daily and you'll feel like a different person within a week.

1. Hip Flexor Stretch (90 seconds per side)

Kneel on one knee, other foot forward in a lunge position. Push your hips forward until you feel a deep stretch in the front of your back leg's hip. Hold.

Sitting keeps your hip flexors in a shortened position for hours. This stretch reverses that. If you do nothing else on this list, do this one. Tight hip flexors cause lower back pain, poor posture, and weak glutes.

2. Glute Bridges (3 sets of 15)

Lie on your back, feet flat on the floor, knees bent. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders. Hold for 2 seconds at the top.

Your glutes are the biggest muscle group in your body, and sitting switches them off. This exercise wakes them up. Weak glutes force your lower back to compensate — hello, chronic pain.

3. Thoracic Spine Rotation (8 per side)

On all fours, place one hand behind your head. Rotate your upper back toward the ceiling, opening your chest. Return and rotate toward the floor. Move slowly.

Desk work locks your upper back into flexion. This mobility drill restores rotation — essential for healthy shoulders and a straight posture. You'll hear satisfying cracks. That's normal.

4. Wall Angels (2 sets of 10)

Stand with your back flat against a wall. Arms up in a "goal post" position, elbows and wrists touching the wall. Slide your arms up overhead, then back down. Keep everything in contact with the wall.

This is harder than it sounds. If you can't keep your lower back, elbows, and wrists all touching the wall, your posture is worse than you think. That's exactly why you need this.

5. Deep Squat Hold (60 seconds total)

Drop into the deepest squat you can manage. Feet flat, chest up, arms between your knees pushing your legs apart. Just... hang out there.

Humans were designed to squat. Your ancestors rested in this position. Modern chairs stole this ability. A daily squat hold restores hip, ankle, and lower back mobility simultaneously.

6. Cat-Cow Stretch (10 slow reps)

On all fours, alternate between arching your back (cow — belly drops, head up) and rounding it (cat — belly lifts, chin to chest). Move with your breath: inhale into cow, exhale into cat.

This is spinal hygiene. It mobilizes every segment of your spine and relieves the compression that builds up from sitting. Think of it as flossing for your back.

7. Chest Doorway Stretch (45 seconds per side)

Stand in a doorway, forearm against the frame at shoulder height. Step through until you feel a stretch across your chest and front shoulder. Hold.

Hours of typing pull your shoulders forward and shorten your chest muscles. This stretch opens everything back up. Pair it with wall angels for maximum posture correction.

The 10-Minute Rescue Routine

Do all 7 in order. The whole thing takes about 10 minutes. Set a daily reminder — your body will thank you within the first week.

At fit.gg, our Mobility skill tree includes desk worker recovery flows as daily options. The app adapts the routine based on how long you've been sitting (yes, it knows) and progressively increases difficulty as your mobility improves.