Whether you’re working from the sofa or back at your desk, working on a laptop involves a whole load of hunching and craning. The experts from Blok explain why you need to have better core strength if you want to avoid backache, and how to target key desk-sensitive muscles.

Are you one of the millions of desk workers currently navigating hybrid working? Perhaps you head into the office once a week, maybe you’re there more often. We might be getting more face time with our colleagues but things still aren’t back to normal – with many of us lugging heavy laptops between the office and our homes. 

When we used to be in the office full time, we had dedicated desks and desktops. The chairs were ergonomic and we had fancy mice to protect our wrists. Today, we’re sitting at a hot desk with our laptops balancing between now-exotic Pret breakfasts. And that means that we’re still hunching our backs and crunching our necks. 

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Our posture is still rubbish and that’s resulting in all kinds of aches and pains. Interestingly, however, that’s not just because we sit with our feet curled up on the seat or because the desk is too low. Our weak core muscles could also be putting us at risk. 

If you do work on a laptop for eight hours a day and you don’t make a concerted effort to lengthen the hip flexors, pull up your head and strengthen the core, you could even risk developing a semi-permanent curve in your body. 

According to Chloe Trigg, head of strength and conditioning at Blok, strengthening the trunk boasts a range of benefits – none of which have anything to do with visible abs or overblown physical claims. A strong trunk (including the core, back and obliques) will help you move better, ensure that you’re sitting at your desk correctly and may even improve your overall wellbeing.

“A strong core is often the foundation of a strong body,” Trigg claims. “Building strength in this area will help improve posture and reduce aches and pains brought about by working from home more and being less mobile in our day to day lives. A strong core also improves stability, balance and can significantly enhance your training and performance.”

The stronger the core, the more weight and impact your body can withstand. When you sit at a desk, that’s important – your core helps to keep you in an upright position. At the gym, you’re better able to lift heavy weights without compromising on form. 

But, as Strong Women has mentioned time and time again, core workouts are about so much more than crunches. Sit ups and crunches only target one layer of the core, when really, you want to be doing a range of exercises that challenge your stability and balance, as well as hitting the deep core and side muscles.

The 5-move core workout for desk workers

Trigg shares her five top core-strengthening exercises. Each move should be repeated for 30-60 seconds for three to five rounds. Take a minute rest between each round. As you get stronger and more stable, try increasing the time, reps or making the moves more dynamic. 

Plank

1. Come onto all fours
2. Make sure your hands are directly underneath or just behind your shoulders so that your weight is slightly forward of your hands
3. Keeping your feet together, squeeze your glutes and pull the belly button into your spine 
4. Push the floor away through your hands, gripping the floor with your fingertips. Think about driving your chest to the ceiling without collapsing in the hips, and maintaining a tight body from head to toe

Side plank

1. Place the bottom hand onto the floor, distributing weight evenly between all of the fingers. Keep the arm straight as you push up into the side plank
2. Either stack both feet on top of each other, place both feet on the floor in a slightly staggered stance or bend the bottom leg so the knee rests on the floor while keeping the top leg straight and off the ground
3. Push up through your obliques into the side plank position. Actively lift through the side of your body as you continue to hold
4. Make sure that your chest is open, shoulders are back, you’re squeezing your shoulder blades together and the upper back is engaged
5. Hold until you can’t hold anymore, then repeat two more times for a core strengthening sequence

Leg raises

1. Lying on your back, drive your belly button and lower back into the floor
2. Think about lifting your shoulders off of the floor slightly to gain core compression
3. With hands by your side or under your hips for support, extend your legs just a few inches from the floor, point your toes and squeeze quads together
4. Raise your legs up so they’re just over your hips and toes pointing to the ceiling, then slowly lower them down with control
5. Stop at the point where you feel your lower back will lift from the floor, and repeat
6. As your core strength increases, your legs will naturally get closer to the floor

Bird dog

1. Come into an all fours position, with your hands underneath your shoulders, knees underneath your hips. Keep a neutral spine, so you’re in tabletop position with your back
2. Engage the core by drawing that belly button into the spine
3. Begin by lifting and extending the opposite arm and leg. You want to be reaching out as long as you can and really pull from those limbs. The foot can either be flexed or pointed
4. When you reach full extension, hold and squeeze the glutes and core
5. Return back to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side

Superman

1. Lie on your front with your arms out in front of you
2. Think about making yourself long, keeping your chin tucked, head between biceps 
3. Lift your right arm and left leg,  imagining a piece of string pulling on your heel and thumb to lift them to the ceiling
4. Squeeze through the glutes and lower back, gently lower and change to the other arm and leg
5. If this feels OK, then try both arms and legs at the same time, adding a pause on every lift
6. To progress that further, try holding for 10 seconds at the end of every 30 second set

For more core workouts, visit the Strong Women Training Club.

Images: Getty/Stylist

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