Why do my shoulders feel like rocks by 3pm? Because I sit like a shrimp over my keyboard for eight hours. My head drifts forward, my shoulders round, and by the afternoon the muscles in my upper back are screaming. I tried ignoring it, then I tried expensive massage appointments, and then I found three stretches that actually help.

The doorway stretch

Stand in a doorway and put your forearms on the door frame, elbows at shoulder height. Step forward gently until you feel a stretch across your chest and the front of your shoulders. Hold for thirty seconds, twice. This opens up the chest, which is what lets the shoulder blades sit back where they belong.

Wall slides

Stand with your back against a wall, arms up so your hands touch the wall above your head. Slide your arms down until your elbows are at 90 degrees, keeping your hands and elbows against the wall the whole time, then slide back up. Ten slow reps. This one looks easy and is humbling, it forces your shoulder blades to move together instead of hunching.

Chin tucks

Sit up straight and pull your chin straight back, like you are making a double chin. Hold for five seconds, relax, repeat ten times. This counters the forward head position that drags everything else down. I do these at my desk without anyone noticing, which means I actually do them.

Why stretching alone was not enough

Stretching loosens the muscles, but if I go straight back to hunching, they tighten right up. The real fix was changing the desk setup. I raised my monitor so the top of the screen is at eye level, and I stopped leaning toward it. That one adjustment did more than all the stretches combined. Now the stretches maintain the progress instead of fighting the setup.

The two minute routine

Here is the whole routine, timed: 30 seconds doorway stretch, 10 wall slides, 10 chin tucks, twice a day, once at lunch and once before I leave. That is under two minutes. It is not a workout, it is maintenance, and it works because it is small enough to actually do every day.

My shoulders still get tight when I have a long deadline day. But they loosen up again now, instead of staying tight for a week.