My 60 Second Routine

Help your shoulders recover from software engineering.

Morning!

It’s Saturday and for the first time in a long time, it’s not raining in Tennessee! My goal has been to write about career fitness and I think I’ve spent 98% of the time on the career side, and not so much on fitness, but they are 100% related to each other.

Software engineering, or any other job that has you looking at a screen for most of the day is not good for your physical health. We weren’t meant to sit down, likely with poor posture, typing on a keyboard for hours every day over the course of a career.

I wrote a post on LinkedIn yesterday about daily routines, and some of the comments were very interesting. I’ll be the first to admit, I have to try really hard to maintain most routines other than eating, I’m really good at that one. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve noticed my shoulders tighten up more and more, and it’s no secret why - I spend A LOT of time sitting and typing in a static position.

About a year ago I started a daily routine that takes about a minute. It’s 30 seconds hanging from a pull up bar, and about 30 seconds or 10 reps of an overhead squat with a 5 lb bar (broomstick works just as well). I do this in the morning, and most days in the evening.

If you’re reading this thinking 30 seconds or 5lbs sounds too easy, sure, 60-120 seconds is more of a workout hanging, and you can load up the bar with as much weight as you can safely handle to squat, but those are more in the category of an actual workout that you probably don’t do daily, what I’m talking about is just a daily routine separate from your workout schedule.

Why these two exercises?

Benefits of hanging from a pull up bar

• Spinal decompression - when you sit all day pressure and tension build up, this releases it

• Grip and forearm strength - anything we can do to strengthen our hands and wrists helps to reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome

• Shoulder stability - this is the big one for me, think about how often your arms are actually over your head, not very often right?

• Core engagement - if you’re moving all around, likely you need some core work to hold everything stable

Benefits of an overhead squat

• Shoulder stability - the first time I did this I couldn’t keep my arms straight through the range of motion in a squat, not even close, within a month of practice I could

• Core stability - again, this challenges your core to keep you stable while you move in a way that is not normal

Both of these share the benefit of posture improvement, and if you’re into lifting, they are stepping stones to either pull ups, or better squat technique with real weight.

We can talk about resumes, interview prep, promotions, AI, all the normal career stuff, but we often forget about the downsides and risks to desk jobs, and it’s your body that will pay the price over the years.

So today, I challenge you to try these two things. You don’t need to warm up, you don’t need a gym, all you need is something to hang from, and a light weight bar of some sort. Your shoulders will thank you!

- Dan

PS this is the bar that I use for the overhead squats. I originally got it for my son to use, but then learned that it’s great for mobility exercises!

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