A personal trainer has taken office workers who sit ‘like a shrimp’ at their desks all day to task about their posture. He has revealed three key stretches that can help improve posture.
Adam Richardson, a physiotherapist who is committed to making movement and ‘wiggle’ accessible to everyone, regularly shares informative clips on TikTok.
In a recent video He turned his attention to office workers, who at the end of their eight-hour workday sometimes sat slumped in their chairs in a posture he could only compare to a crustacean.
He then demonstrated three exercises that employees can do without leaving their desks.
“You’re sitting like a shrimp right now, aren’t you?” Adam asks his followers. “When was the last time you removed shrimp?”
Adam Richardson (pictured), a physical therapist whose main goal is to make movement and ‘wiggle’ accessible to everyone, regularly shares videos on TikTok
In a recent video, Adam turned his attention to office workers, who sometimes find themselves working eight hours straight and nearly doubled over in their chairs
For the first exercise, Adam says, you should first cross one leg over the other “as if you were reading an imaginary newspaper.”
“Sit up nice and straight, and you’ll feel a stretch on the outside of your buttock,” he says. “But we’re not there yet.”
Next, you’ll add a “fruity twist” by placing your hands on your bent leg and rotating your torso until you’re facing backwards—or as far as you can go.
“Hold here for a few deep breaths,” Adam adds, adding that if the stretch is too hard on your knee, you should move your bottom leg further away and sit up less.
Then repeat this stretch on the other side, with the other leg crossed.
For stretch number two, Adam starts by saying, “Next, we’re going to lube up both sides by spreading your arms out in a big T shape, like you’re going to give me a really big hug. That’s cute, huh?”
Then, Adam says, you want to turn your palms up toward the ceiling and push your chest forward. Do a stretch and a “wiggle” in this position before taking a few big, deep breaths.
Then, do it the other way around: drop your shoulders forward as you arch your upper back and rotate your arms forward until your hands are pointing toward the ceiling again.
“Repeat this as many times as you like,” Adam adds. “If you really want to make it special, you can go the other way with opposite hands.”
And for the final exercise to remove the shrimp, Adam instructs you to “clasp the back of your head with your hands and gently pull your chin toward your chest.”
Adam then demonstrates three stretches that employees can do without leaving their desks
Then come back as far as you can in the opposite direction, pushing your chest forward.
Once you are standing upright again, bend one elbow to the side and repeat the exercise on the other side.
Once you have slowly completed a side bend on both sides and are back in your starting position, clasp your hands together and extend them as far above your head as you can before coming back down.
Adam set up a ‘mobility library’ called You, Me and the Floor after the pandemic to get people moving without equipment or a gym membership, making stretching and movement accessible to everyone.
And his TikTok followers, sitting at their desks, immediately thanked him for helping them thaw out and offering accessible stretches they could do while sitting.
And his TikTok followers sitting at their desks were quick to thank him for helping them defrost and providing accessible stretches they could do while sitting.
‘I felt pretty attacked when I was called a shrimp, but now I feel completely thawed. Cheers. [laughing face]’, someone said.
While another wrote: ‘I have muscular dystrophy and sitting and sitting exercises are so helpful. Thank you for making me feel included. [heart face].
And one expectant mother said, ‘This really helped me because I’m pregnant and so exhausted. I’ve been sitting all day and those stretches felt so good.’