5 Muscle Groups Suffer the Most From Desk Work—And This 10-Minute Lunch Break Stretch Class Unwinds Them All

The average American worker has about 35 minutes to eat lunch during the workday. By the time you’ve microwaved yesterday’s leftovers and watched a few dozen TikToks, that probably leaves you with about 10 minutes before the siren song of your email inbox gets its way. But if you want to use that time to limber up and get your blood flowing before returning to the grind, a lunch break stretch class is the way to go.

On this week’s episode of Good Moves, East River Pilates trainer Brian Spencer shows you how to loosen up your muscles and joints when you’re in a time crunch. “Today, we’re going to be doing a nice lunch break stretch—a perfect little stretch snack to tag in in the middle of your day whenever you have a moment,” he says at the top of the video. “We’re really going to be targeting those muscle groups that get tight when you sit or stand all day, so this is perfect if you’re in the middle of your workday.”

Specifically, the hamstrings, quads, thoracic spine, pecs, and hips suffer the most from all that desk work, so Spencer takes care to guide you through stretch and mobility work to hit “Edit Undo” on all that tension. Downward dog, pigeon pose, seated side bend, spinal twists, and bow pose are all on the menu (and you can even add a short, yummy savasana at the end if you so desire).

So, before you get back to work, go ahead and do one more thing that’s just for you. Find a yoga mat or a rug, put on some stretchy pants, and press play on Spencer’s mid-day reset.