Legs · Standing
Calf stretch at the desk
Stepping one foot back with the heel down and leaning in, using the desk or a wall for support.
- Hold 15 to 30 s each side
- Held stretch
How to do it
- Stand facing your desk with both hands on its edge.
- Step your right foot back at least a foot’s length, keeping the leg straight and the heel on the floor.
- Bend the front knee and lean your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the right calf.
- Hold, step together and repeat with the left leg back.
How long
Hold for 15 to 30 seconds on each side. The NHS suggests three on each side.
What you should feel
A stretch in the calf of the back leg.
Stop if…
- Pain, numbness, tingling or pins and needles, or dizziness: stop and do not push through it.
- Pain at the back of the heel or in the Achilles tendon.
- The desk moves: use a wall instead.
Variations
- Wall. Place your hands against a wall at shoulder height instead of the desk.
- Seated. Sit with the leg straight, heel on the floor, and draw the toes back toward you.
Common mistakes
- Lifting the back heel.
- Turning the back foot out.
- Bending the back knee.
Use it in a routine
The stretch routine builder can play this with other legs stretches, with a countdown for each side and a chime at every change. The stretch break timer adds stretches like it to a break after each work interval.
It is part of this ready-made routine: Standing break, 5 minutes.
Sources
Written from published guidance by health services, physiotherapy and ergonomics bodies. Last reviewed .
- Flexibility exercises, NHS (UK)
- Standing stretches for the workplace (video), Mayo Clinic (general stretching guidance)
- Desk-based exercises, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (UK) (general stretching guidance)
- Stretching at the workstation (PDF), New Mexico State University Environmental Health and Safety (general stretching guidance)