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I would like to do multiple workouts throughout the day (let's say 4-8 times) when I'm at work. My office has a gym with free weights. The workouts can be from 5-10 minutes long.

I know the importance of taking frequent breaks, but either walking or doing stairs doesn't seem sufficient for my upper body. I still get stiff shoulders/neck even though I'm taking these frequent breaks.

I also do real workouts outside of work, 4 days out of the week.

So my question is, what sort of plan would be effective irrespective of stiff shoulder/neck? I don't see too much material, if there is anything it's usually these body weight exercises that only seem good for someone who isn't in shape or actually lifts weights.

What would be better than a stiff shoulder/neck than lifting weights? Maybe stretches would be better?

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Why are you trying to do extra workouts during work when you have actual workouts planned outside of work? It sounds like you're overworking yourself.

If you're referring to stiff shoulders/neck from sitting at a computer all day, the first thing you should do is get yourself an ergonomic chair with proper neck support. If you look like the Hunchback while working, you need to also work on proper, straight-backed, posture. In regards to workouts, I wouldn't bother trying to stuff them in while you work. Stretching is far, far more beneficial for you.

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  • Thanks for the answer. That's a reasonable concern, but what if my intensity/volume was just spread out over many mini-workouts throughout the day? The mini workouts during work would be like 8 reps of a very light weight for each large muscle group. Good points on the posture. I have yet to find a good ergonomic chair (netted chairs which seem to be popular now are not at all good for me).
    – mangoDrunk
    Feb 11, 2017 at 20:08
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It sounds like you are over training if you are doing those little workouts everyday.Posture would be my 1st guess to help with the stiffness in the neck and back without knowing the type of work you do.

Have a friend help you put 1 strip of athletic tape(or any tape really) on your back horizontally right below the top of your shoulder blades. It should start and end at the mid point of your shoulder blades. Stand and Hold Good Posture when the tape is applied. You will find out really quick if your back stiffness is from posture by how often you feel the tape tug.

The muscles that hold your back upright and shoulders back are mainly slow twitch/endurance fibers so it doesn't matter how strong or how often you lift. Those bodyweight exercises will work perfectly.

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  • Thanks for the answer. The extra workouts would be very light in intensity and low volume, would you still expect over training from that? I haven't tried athletic tape, but something worth looking into, thanks for the tip. If I feel the tape tug, then that means it's from bad posture? Ah, good to know I can't necessarily over train those muscles (not that I intend to).
    – mangoDrunk
    Feb 11, 2017 at 20:12

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