You sit at a desk for 8 hours. You know your posture suffers. But you can’t exactly roll out a yoga mat in your cubicle.

Good news: the most effective desk posture exercises don’t require you to get on the floor, change clothes, or attract strange looks from coworkers. You can do them at your desk, in your office chair, multiple times throughout the day.

This 5-minute routine is designed for exactly that. Do it every few hours to counteract the damage of prolonged sitting.

Why Desk Posture Matters

Sitting isn’t inherently bad. Sitting for hours in the same position, with poor ergonomics, without movement—that’s the problem.

When you sit hunched at a desk:

Over time, this creates the classic “desk posture”—forward head, rounded shoulders, tight hips, weak core. It leads to neck pain, back pain, headaches, and fatigue.

The solution isn’t to never sit. It’s to sit better, move often, and counteract the effects of sitting with targeted exercises.

The 5-Minute Desk Routine

Do this routine 2-3 times throughout your workday. Set a calendar reminder if you need to. It takes about 5 minutes and you never have to leave your desk.

1. Seated Chin Tucks (30 seconds)

The antidote to tech neck and forward head posture.

How to do it:

  1. Sit tall in your chair, feet flat on the floor
  2. Look straight ahead
  3. Pull your chin straight back, like you’re making a double chin
  4. Hold 5 seconds
  5. Release and repeat 5-6 times

You should feel a gentle stretch at the base of your skull. This strengthens the deep neck flexors that hold your head in proper alignment.

2. Shoulder Blade Squeezes (30 seconds)

Opens your chest and activates your mid-back muscles.

How to do it:

  1. Sit tall with arms at your sides
  2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down
  3. Think of putting your shoulder blades in your back pockets
  4. Hold 5 seconds
  5. Release and repeat 5-6 times

Focus on the squeeze between your shoulder blades, not shrugging your shoulders up.

3. Seated Chest Stretch (45 seconds)

Tight chest muscles pull your shoulders forward. This opens them up.

How to do it:

  1. Sit at the edge of your chair
  2. Clasp your hands behind your back
  3. Straighten your arms and lift them slightly, squeezing shoulder blades together
  4. Push your chest forward
  5. Hold 20-30 seconds
  6. Release and repeat

Alternative: Sit in a corner of the room and place your forearms on each wall, then lean forward into the stretch.

4. Seated Spinal Twist (45 seconds)

Mobilizes your thoracic spine, which gets stiff from sitting.

How to do it:

  1. Sit tall with feet flat on the floor
  2. Place your right hand on your left knee
  3. Place your left hand on the armrest or back of the chair
  4. Rotate your torso to the left, looking over your left shoulder
  5. Hold 15-20 seconds
  6. Repeat on the other side

Keep your hips facing forward—the rotation should come from your mid-back, not your lower back.

5. Seated Figure-4 Stretch (1 minute)

Releases tight hip rotators and glutes that stiffen from sitting.

How to do it:

  1. Sit tall at the edge of your chair
  2. Cross your right ankle over your left knee
  3. Keep your right foot flexed (not pointed)
  4. Gently press down on your right knee while sitting up tall
  5. Lean forward slightly to increase the stretch
  6. Hold 30 seconds and switch sides

You should feel this in your outer hip and glute.

6. Seated Hip Flexor Stretch (45 seconds)

Tight hip flexors are one of the biggest issues from prolonged sitting.

How to do it:

  1. Sit sideways in your chair so one hip is near the edge
  2. Let your outside leg drop toward the floor, foot behind you
  3. Sit up tall and tuck your tailbone under
  4. Lean slightly forward from your hips
  5. Hold 20-30 seconds and switch sides

This one’s a bit awkward in an open office, but it’s incredibly effective. For more hip flexor work, see our hip flexor stretches article.

7. Neck Stretches (1 minute)

Releases the tension that builds in your neck and upper traps.

Upper trap stretch:

  1. Sit tall, grab the bottom of your chair with your right hand
  2. Tilt your head to the left, bringing your left ear toward your shoulder
  3. Hold 20-30 seconds, switch sides

Levator scapulae stretch:

  1. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right
  2. Look down toward your right armpit
  3. Use your right hand to gently add pressure
  4. Hold 20-30 seconds, switch sides

Quick Reference

ExerciseTime
Chin Tucks30 sec
Shoulder Blade Squeezes30 sec
Chest Stretch45 sec
Spinal Twist45 sec (both sides)
Figure-4 Stretch1 min (both sides)
Hip Flexor Stretch45 sec (both sides)
Neck Stretches1 min

Total: ~5 minutes

Desk Setup: Get the Basics Right

Exercises help, but they can’t fully compensate for a terrible ergonomic setup. Here’s what good desk posture looks like:

Monitor position:

Chair setup:

Keyboard and mouse:

If you use a laptop: You can’t have good ergonomics with a laptop alone. The screen is either too low (neck strain) or the keyboard is too high (shoulder strain). Get a separate keyboard and mouse, and elevate the laptop to eye level. This single change makes a huge difference.

The Movement Rule

Beyond exercises and ergonomics, the most important thing is simple: move often.

Your body isn’t designed to be static. Even with perfect posture, sitting motionless for hours creates problems. The research is clear—prolonged sitting is associated with health issues independent of how much you exercise otherwise.1

The solution: Move every 30-45 minutes.

Some people use the Pomodoro technique (25 minutes of work, 5 minutes break) and use those breaks for movement. Others set random phone alarms. Find what works for you.

Consider whether a standing desk might help—but know that standing with bad posture isn’t better than sitting. It’s about movement and variation, not just standing.

Beyond the Desk

The 5-minute desk routine is great for the office, but you’ll get better results if you also do a more comprehensive posture routine at home. For an alternative office-friendly stretching session, try this Desk Break Refresh routine that targets hips, shoulders, and spine. Our 10-minute posture workout covers exercises you can’t easily do at a desk.

For a complete approach to posture correction, including the root causes and long-term fixes, read our guide to fixing bad posture.

And if you’re dealing with specific issues:

Start Now

You don’t have to wait until your posture is perfect or you have the ideal ergonomic setup. Start with what you have:

  1. Do the 5-minute routine right now
  2. Set a reminder to do it again in 3-4 hours
  3. Make one ergonomic improvement this week (screen height is usually the biggest win)
  4. Notice how you feel at the end of the day

Small changes, done consistently, create big results. Your desk job doesn’t have to destroy your posture.

Related articles:

The Posture Workout app includes desk-friendly routines with reminders to move throughout your workday. Download it free →

References

  1. van Uffelen JG, Wong J, Chau JY, et al. Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2010;39(4):379-388. PubMed ↩︎