Muscle Group
Neck
Eight hours of screens pull your head forward a little more each year. A resilient neck pulls it back.
Build it
Exercise
Four-Way Neck Isometrics
Press your head against your own hand in four directions and hold - that's it. A stronger neck resists the forward-head slump from laptops and phones, and it takes two minutes at your desk with nobody the wiser.
Exercise
Supine Neck Curl
Lying on your back, you curl just your head - a tiny movement that directly strengthens the deep neck flexors weakened by years of screens. Stronger deep neck muscles mean fewer tension headaches and better posture for free.
Exercise
Towel-Resisted Neck Extension
A towel behind your head becomes a resistance machine for the muscles that pull your head back over your shoulders - the exact opposite of desk posture. Cheap insurance against the stiff, achy neck that creeps in by Friday.
Also works the neck
Free it up
Stretch
Upper Trap Stretch
Ear toward shoulder with a gentle assist from your hand - direct relief for the neck-and-shoulder shelf where desk stress lives. This is the stretch for that spot you catch yourself rubbing at 4 pm.
Stretch
Levator Scap Stretch
Look down toward your armpit and gently guide the head - this targets the levator scapulae, the muscle that knots up along the top inside corner of the shoulder blade after long screen sessions. Ten breaths here beats another coffee-break shoulder shrug.
Stretch
Thread the Needle
From all fours, slide one arm under your body and rotate - a gentle unwinding for the upper back and the muscles between the shoulder blades. Desk shoulders live rounded forward; this restores the rotation they've been missing.
Stretch
Cat-Cow
Alternating between arching and rounding your spine on all fours is the gentlest way to wake up a stiff back - no strength required, just movement and breath. It's the ideal first movement of the morning and a smart warm-up before anything heavier.
Fix what hurts
Physio moves are general education, not medical advice. Read the full guidance →