How To Exercise When You Are Working From Home
Have you found that since working from home you are not moving around as much?
Maybe you are too busy running after the kids, finding it harder to separate work from home life, or simply forgetting to get up from your desk?
Or have you already started to notice backache, neck tension or stiffness because your home office set-up is not quite right?
When many of us started working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, our daily movement habits changed almost overnight. Without a commute, school drop-off, walking to meetings, popping out for lunch or moving around the office, our overall step counts dropped significantly.
Even now, with hybrid and home working much more common, many people are still spending long periods sitting at a laptop, looking down at a phone, working from the kitchen table or relaxing in front of the television at the end of the day.
At Complete Pilates, we often hear clients say that they feel stiffer, weaker or more uncomfortable when they are sitting for long periods. The good news is that you do not need lots of equipment or a full workout to make a difference. A few simple, regular movements can help improve mobility, strength, circulation and body awareness.
Below are five Pilates-inspired exercises you can do at home with just a little bit of space.
Why Does Working From Home Affect Your Body?
Working from home can reduce the amount of natural movement you get across the day. You may no longer walk to the station, move between meeting rooms, climb stairs at work or leave the building for lunch.
This matters because your body is designed to move regularly.
When you stay in one position for too long, your joints may feel stiff, your muscles may become less active, and areas such as the lower back, neck, shoulders and hips can start to feel uncomfortable.
Many home working set-ups also encourage less-than-ideal positions. Sitting on a dining chair, working from a laptop, leaning over a coffee table or staying in the same position for hours can all increase physical strain.
Rather than aiming for a perfect posture all day, the goal is to change position regularly and add movement where you can.
Why Pilates Can Help
Pilates is a great way to support your body when working from home because it combines mobility, strength, control and body awareness.
The exercises below are designed to move your spine, strengthen your hips and legs, activate your abdominals and encourage weight-bearing through your arms and legs. They are simple enough to do at home, but effective enough to help you feel more mobile and supported.
You could do all five exercises together as a short movement break, or choose one or two to do between meetings.
Foot Elevated Bridge
Benefits: spinal mobility, glute and hamstring strength and hip flexor length.
Position: Lie down on the floor with your feet up on the sofa hip-distance apart. Press your feet down into the sofa and allow your pelvis and spine to rise up off the floor until ideally, your hips are in line with your shoulders and knees. Pause at the top and see if your head, neck and shoulders are relaxed, before rolling your spine and pelvis back down to rest on the floor. Repeat 8-10 times.
Tips: pull your heels towards your glutes and try tucking your tail under if you feel it in your lower back. This should be about your legs!
Cat Cow
Benefits: spinal mobility into flexion and extension and weight-bearing particularly into your arms.
Position: go on all fours, with your hands directly under your shoulders, knees under your hips and top of feet flat to the floor. The movement should be initiated from the pelvis. As you exhale, start to tuck your tailbone down between your legs allowing your spine to arch. Inhale, lift the tail bone towards the sky, feeling the sit bones opening and your spine moving into extension. Let your head follow the flow of your spine.
Tips: keep pressing into your hands so your spine doesn’t just sag between your shoulder blades. You should feel a stretch in your spine but no pinching
Thread the Needle
Benefits: spinal mobility into rotation and weight-bearing particularly in your arms.
Position: on all fours find your neutral spine. Take the weight off one hand and place it palm up underneath your chest. Keeping your hips from moving side to side, slide the arm across the body under the opposite arm, bringing your spine into rotation. Bend the other arm to allow more rotation and allow your head to follow the movement. Press through the grounded arm to turn the spine back to neutral and bring the hand back to all fours position.
Tips: You can do this sideways onto a wall to see if you are swaying side to side. Make sure you are rotating away from the wall!
Related reading: Thread the needle exercise
Knee Hovers
Benefits: abdominal activation, stabilisation of your spine and weight-bearing in your upper limb.
Position: on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Tuck your toes under so you can push into them. Keeping your spine in its neutral position with the 3 natural curves, press down into your hands and stand into your feet to float your knees approximately 5cm off the floor. Hold for 10 seconds and return your knees to the floor.
Tips: keep breathing to ensure you are not bracing
Scooter
Benefits: glute and hip strength in standing, balance and weight-bearing of the lower limb.
Position: Start in standing with your feet hip-width apart. Sit your hips back and lean your torso slightly forward. Your knees will bend but keep your knees over your ankles rather than your toes. Stand your weight into one leg without rotating at your hips. Slide the opposite leg backwards until it comes into a straight line with the angle of your torso. Slide the leg back and forth 12-15 times. You will start to feel a burn as your muscles work in your stabilising hip. Repeat on the other side.
Tips: If you struggle to balance, use the back of a chair or wall to have a very light fingertip touch. Push into your static heel to get more glute activation.
How Often Should You Do These Exercises?
You do not need to do a long workout to feel the benefit. The key is consistency.
Try choosing one or two exercises to do between meetings, or complete the full sequence once during the day. If you are very stiff, even a few minutes of movement can help you reset your posture, improve circulation and reduce discomfort.
You could aim to move every 30–60 minutes, even if that simply means standing up, walking around the room or doing one mobility exercise.
The best movement routine is one you can realistically repeat.
Key Takeaways
- Working from home can reduce daily movement, especially without commuting, walking to meetings or leaving the house regularly.
- Long periods of sitting can contribute to stiffness and discomfort, particularly around the back, neck, shoulders and hips.
- Pilates-inspired exercises can help improve mobility, strength and body awareness using only a small amount of space at home.
- Regular movement breaks are more important than perfect posture, helping your body change position and stay active throughout the day.
- Simple exercises such as bridges, cat cow, thread the needle, knee hovers and scooter can support your spine, hips, shoulders and legs.
Conclusion
Working from home can make it much easier to sit for long periods without realising how little you have moved. Over time, this can contribute to stiffness, backache, reduced strength and general discomfort.
The good news is that small amounts of regular movement can make a real difference. Pilates-inspired exercises are a simple and effective way to mobilise the spine, activate key muscle groups, improve posture awareness and build strength at home.
You do not need lots of equipment or a long session. A few minutes of focused movement during the day can help you feel more comfortable, energised and in control of your body.
Feeling inspired
If you want to experience the Complete difference and discover the benefits of one-to-one or small group Pilates, book a session at one of our London or Norfolk studios today. Not able to make it to one of our studios? We've got online options to suit you anywhere, anytime.
Our physiotherapist-led Pilates studio in West London, our North London Pilates studio, our Pilates studio in London City, and our Norfolk Pilates studio in East Anglia, offer a highly tailored approach to your Pilates training. Whether your goal is to manage a health condition, rehabilitate from an injury or to improve your strength and fitness, Complete Pilates is the studio for you.
Education is key
These blogs are designed to give information to everyone, however, it is important to remember that everyone is different! If you have not seen one of our therapists and have any questions about injuries, what you have read or whether this may be useful to you, please just ask. We are more than happy to help anyone and point you in the right direction. Our biggest belief is that education is key. The more you understand about your injury, illness and movement, the more you are likely to improve.
If you are not sure whether this is for you, simply get in touch. We are here to help!
FAQs
Why does working from home cause back pain?
Working from home can lead to back pain because people often sit for longer periods, move less and work from less supportive set-ups such as dining tables, sofas or laptops. Reduced movement and prolonged sitting can both contribute to stiffness and discomfort. It is often this inactivity that leads us to getting stiffer and more pain.
Can Pilates help with back pain from sitting?
Yes, Pilates can help by improving spinal mobility, strengthening the hips and trunk, and encouraging better body awareness. Exercises such as bridges, cat cow and thread the needle can be particularly useful for reducing stiffness after sitting.
How often should I move when working from home?
Ideally, try to change position or move every 30–60 minutes. This does not need to be a full workout. Standing up, walking around, stretching or doing one Pilates exercise can help break up long periods of sitting. Remember your best posture is your next posture.
Do I need Pilates equipment to do these exercises?
No. The exercises in this blog can be done at home with minimal space. You may use a sofa for the foot elevated bridge or a chair/wall for balance during scooter, but you do not need specialist Pilates equipment. There are lots of Pilates exercises that you can do at home without the need for any equipment.
What are the best Pilates exercises for home workers?
Good Pilates exercises for home workers include foot elevated bridges, cat cow, thread the needle, knee hovers and scooter. These exercises target spinal mobility, hip strength, abdominal control, balance and upper limb weight-bearing.
Published 3 Apr 2020 · Updated 2 Jul 2026