We know that roughly 80% of the population sits for a living. Whether it’s at a desk, in a car, or on an airplane, Americans are sitting more & more. Remove the barriers of stress and office politics and how many years these can take off your life, and let’s just focus on the physical harm all that sitting is causing you.
Do any of these look like you during your day at work?
Out bodies are designed to move. Yet our day goes something like this…
-Sit in the car for 20 – 30 minutes on the way to work.
-Sit at our desk for 7 – 10 hours.
-Sit in the car for 20 – 30 minutes to get home.
-Sit down for 20 minutes for dinner.
-Sit down for 2 hours to watch TV with the family.
-Then we go to bed for 6 – 8 hours.
So that’s roughly 13 hours + the 6 – 8 that we’re sleeping, and we’re NOT moving for 21 out of 24 hours in a day !!!!
We checked our manual and this is NO BUENO.
So… what can you do about this?
We’re sure you’ve heard this before, but get up from your desk regularly.
To encourage additional steps, purchase an inexpensive pedometer ($10-$15) and challenge yourself to get a minimum of 10,000 steps/day.
Park as far away from the building as you can (YES, even when it’s cold or raining).
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Re-visit the orientation of your workstation. Click this link from the Mayo Clinic for a detailed layout of how you can best position your chair, desk, computer, etc. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/office-ergonomics/art-20046169
Don’t be afraid to do some push-ups, squats, or God forbid, BURPEES during your day… have some fun with your co-workers on this one.
Take a walk at lunchtime.
Remember, the human body is designed to move… so help it move! Poor posture leads to a lot of different issues such as neck pain, low back pain, hip & knee pain… and on and on. You can effect this part of your life, but it will take some discipline.
If you’d like some help with any of these concepts, shoot me an email at scott_bigsky@nullyahoo.com and we’ll get you set up with a Trainer to get you feeling better!
Happy Sitting !!
