Strength · Desk work

Strength work for a desk-bound day

Sitting is not the problem; sitting in one shape for eight hours is. The training answer is to make the opposing muscles strong enough to hold the other shape.

What this trains

This page is about the hip flexors, the glutes, the upper back and the neck extensors.

The lifts

  1. 01Hip thrust3 × 10–12

    Finish with the ribs down. Arching the lower back fakes the last 20 degrees of hip extension.

  2. 02Half-kneeling overhead press3 × 8 each side

    The back glute stays switched on — that is what stops the lower back taking the press.

  3. 03Band pull-apart3 × 15–20

    Straight arms, and stop when the band reaches the chest, not the belly.

  4. 04Chin nod2 × 10, 3-second holds

    Nod as if saying yes to something small. No pulling, no force.

What this page can't tell you: No amount of training replaces getting up. Strength changes what your day costs you; it does not undo sitting still.

Other regions

Posturethe upper back, the spinal erectors and the deep abdominal wallHipsthe glutes, the abductors, the adductors and the deep external rotatorsHamstringsthe back of the thigh — biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosusBack and spinethe spinal erectors, the lats, the deep trunk and the muscles that resist rotationNeck and shouldersthe rotator cuff, the scapular stabilisers and the neckCore and trunkthe abdominal wall, the obliques and the deep trunk
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