Ten discreet exercises for your next long haul flight

Anyone who has taken a long haul flight is aware of just how easy it is to find yourself cramping up, feeling stiff, or stressing about deep vein thrombosis. Despite this, exercising in the aisles on a flight is still heavily frowned upon and flight attendants are often happy to force you back into your seat.

That said, exercising while managing to avoid the condemnation of your fellow passengers is a possibility, as long as you follow the simple exercise routine below.

Stretches

The first part of your body to get stiff is likely to be your neck. To combat this, don’t be afraid to sit up straight in your chair, relax your shoulders and drop them down so your spine is elongated. Next, tilt your head to the right and roll it back and to the left. Continue this motion for five repetitions, then roll to the other side five times as well.

Next, sit in a relaxed position with your arms at your side. Slowly roll your shoulders forward five times. Reverse the motion and repeat five additional times.

Finally, as much as is possible, try to fold yourself in half. Try to get your chest to touch the tops of your thighs and hold for a few seconds before slowly returning to your seated position.

Bend forward slightly and put your hands around one of your knees. Then slowly pull that knee towards your chest. You should feel a slight stretch in your glutes. Hold for 10 seconds and then alternate knees.

Strength

Start by pretending you are holding something over your head, or grip a bottle, or phone. The trick here is to tense and flex your chest muscles as if the imaginary object you are holding is real. Pull the object down in front of you, towards your knees while keeping yourself completely upright.

Keep pretending as you drop your elbows to your waist with your hands gripping imaginary dumbells. Tense your muscles as you lift them up toward your chest.

Exhale slowly, letting out all the air in your lungs. Engage your abdominal muscles, pulling your stomach up and in. Hold for one second, then release.

Next, stand up as best you can in front of your seat. Grip the top of the chair in front of you for support if necessary and stand with your feet slightly apart. Slowly rise up onto your toes. Hold for a two second, then slowly lower down. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

Walking

Whenever possible, or at least once an hour, stand up and take a walk around the cabin. It’s possible to do laps of the cabin if you like and throwing in a few subtle lunges will also help stretch out those tired legs.

While waiting for the bathroom or even just for a chance to get around a drinks trolley on one of your walks, take the chance to do a few squats. Lower yourself slowly toward the ground until you are almost on your haunches then slowly stand up. Just two or three should get the blood flowing again.

Remember the best tip for feeling good on a long-haul flight is simply to make sure you stay hydrated. If you order alcohol, don’t be afraid to order extra water to make sure you don’t pay the price when you are back on the ground.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.