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THERE ARE LONG flights across the country, like from New York to Los Angeles. And then there are those much longer flights—the flights around the world, that can have you airborne for a full working day (or even more!). The ones that can stealthily crush your body if you’re in the wrong position in the wrong position. Think: JFK to Dubai. LAX to Europe.
Or any of the flights out of the United States to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, like the one I’m about to board right now. Getting to Italy for this year’s Olympic competition will see most stateside fans in the air for more than seven hours. And all that airtime takes a toll on your body—mostly because movement on almost ever flight is somewhat limited.
When you’re not walking and moving about, your total-body blood flow decreases, and you burn fewer calories overall. Additionally, connective tissues, like tendons and ligaments, which don’t always get supreme blood flow anyway, start to stiffen. It’s because of all this that you might feel achy and tight when you take your first steps off a flight. And no, the in-flight peanuts don’t solve much.
The best solution: Find a few small ways to move in your often-cramped seat. Or, even better, fly with United’s Polaris business class, which delivers a sleep-focused luxury experience that includes a lie-flat bed that’s perfect for both resting—and sneaking in a little mobility work. (And even if you can’t do that, you do owe it to yourself to do a bit of mobility on any transcontinental flight.) Make no mistake: You won’t be able to replicate a progressive overload session that layers serious muscle onto chest and back and legs.
If you’re on a Polaris flight, thanks to an eye shade, dental kit, and skincare products from Perricone MD, you’ll be able to rest on the flight and keep yourself feeling refreshed. And you can blend those features with a little gentle motion, too, to create body-nourishing blood flow all flight.
The Exercises You Need to Loosen Up on Long Flights
Every hour on a long flight, choose at least two of these exercises and work through them. None will take longer than five minutes—and all will help stave off a little in-flight tightness.
Twisting Chair Stretch
Few areas tighten up on a flight like your back. It’s easy to round your back and forget about your shoulder blades in an airplane seat. You’re also not exactly encouraged to turn and twist on a flight, eliminating a key motion you typically execute several times a day.
The fix is a simple twisting chair stretch. Start seated with your feet flat on the floor. Fold forward slightly and then reach your right across your left leg. Try to wedge elbow into knee for a deep stretch throughout your entire back—and through your obliques, too. Hold for 3 seconds, then return to the start; repeat for 5 reps on each side.
Hip External Rotation Stretch
Your hip flexors are almost destined to tighten up during a flight, partly because you don’t get to take them through much motion at all. Your hip is meant to be a mobile joint, permitting you to straighten your legs out in front of you (as you do when walking), but also allowing for lateral steps, twisting curtsies, and other motions you almost don’t realize you’re making every single day.
Address this tightness with this move. Start sitting with your feet flat on the floor, then lift your right leg and place your right ankle in your left thigh. Take your right hand and gently press your right knee downward, unlocking hip tightness and getting a slight glute burn, too. Hold for 3 seconds, then release; do 3 sets of 3 per side.
Seated Calf Raise
One underrated consequence of everyday not-on-a-plane life: With every step, your calves get stealth training, helping decelerate your body when you put them down, then propelling you forward as they contract to lift each foot off the ground. As step counts decrease in a plane, you lose that constant calf action (and the resulting blood flow).
One solution: Doing laps to the bathroom until you land. Another: The simple seated calf raise. Start with your feet flat on the floor. Then place your palms on your knees. Apply gentle pressure straight downward. Continue to do this while you flex your calves, raising your heels off the floor as high as possible. Hold for 1 second, then lower back to the start. Do 2 sets of 20 reps.
Try This Bonus Move
Those three seated moves work on any flight and in any class. But if you have a first-class or business-class seat, very often, you have more movement options. The best part: You’ll train your glutes, a muscle group that is key to keeping you free of back pain upon landing.
Glute Bridge
Every single day, you subtly give yourself a glute workout: With every step you walk, your glutes must squeeze, driving your legs to straighten and propel you forward. This act, called hip extension, blasts your glutes. And strong glutes help keep your pelvis in proper position, stabilizing your spine and preventing back muscles from being overworked.
Hence the magic of the glute bridge. Start lying on your back, feet near your butt. Then simply squeeze your glutes and lift your hips as high as possible (try to keep your abs flexed as you do this). Too easy? Lift your right foot off your bed. Lift your hips as high as possible once again; now, your left glute will have to drive the entire motion.
Try all these moves on your next flight.
Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men's Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He's logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men's Health, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News.
