Long shifts can be tough on your body. Fortunately, a few stretches can help, and each one has benefits that go far beyond relieving your aches and pains.
Leg Raises
Starting in a seated position, straighten one leg and hold in place for at least 10 seconds, then lower and repeat on the next leg. If you do this a few times during your shift, the benefits will multiply.
As with any stretch or any other type of exercise, it’s important to be aware of how you do these. Don’t swing your leg: swinging your legs back and forth creates momentum rather than working the focus muscle groups. When you do them properly, leg raises are effective in building muscle on the front of your body.
Glute Strengtheners
You can do this one anywhere. Squeeze your buttocks for up to 10 seconds and repeat. It will strengthen your glutes, and that’s a good thing. Although many people associate glutes with gluteus maximus, there are two other muscles involved, as well: gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.
Strong glutes can help improve posture, alleviate lower back, hip, and knee pain, reduce bone density loss, and even eliminate that stubborn abdominal pooch. Clearly, glute strengtheners and other stretches and exercises that target this part of the body are about much more than just building muscle for aesthetic reasons.
Calf Burners
When people talk about exercise, they often talk about feeling the burn. You will, literally, feel the burn with this one. Hold onto something sturdy for support if needed and rise up onto your toes, holding for at least 10 seconds. Repeat until your calves are burning.
Some of the benefits associated with calf burners may surprise you. In addition to improving ankle strength and stability, you’ll help prevent injury and improve your sprinting and running performance, as well as the overall performance of your lower body. In this case, as with many stretches and exercises, the benefits go beyond the specific body part targeted by the exercise.
Wall Sits
Stand against a wall, squat to a 90-degree angle, hold for a few seconds, then slide back up, and repeat. Easy, right? The first few might be, but you’ll start to feel it soon.
After you’ve done a few of these, you’ll probably have a sense of the benefits associated with wall sits. They work your entire lower body, burn a lot of calories, and increase your endurance.
Chair/Desk Pushups
As the name implies, you use your chair or desk to do a modified pushup. Push yourself out of your chair using the armrests, hold, and repeat, or hold a plank against your desk and do a normal pushup.
This type of pushup works the main muscles of the chest, as well as working the shoulders, arms, and muscles in the abs, back, hips, and legs. That’s a lot of benefit from a simple exercise!
The Time is Now
At 365 Healthcare Staffing Services, we specialize in the recruitment and placement of healthcare professionals in per diem, travel, and permanent assignments in healthcare facilities across the country. Have you stretched today? If not, this is a great time to do so. Are you searching for your next assignment? If so, this is a great time to call us: 310.436.3650
