Take a stand ... your health depends on it!
Our bodies were never designed to sit all day, and yet an average of 9-10 hours a day, not including sleep time is spent sedentary by a huge percentage of our adult population? Obesity, diabetes, heart disease and premature death are on the rise at alarming rates; and research has proven our fixation on making things easier, is killing us!
Sadly the day to day physical break down of our bodies means many of us live in chronic pain! The stress of our jobs on our mental wellbeing pales only in comparison to the havoc that is being unleashed on our physical bodies!
Shoulders and necks, low back and hips, it's all connected - just like the nursery rhyme taught us! For some it starts in the shoulders, others the hips, but eventually the entire body gets to play this painful game!
Unfortunately quitting our jobs isn't an option for many of us.. so what's a body to do? Move! Maybe you cant leave your desk, but you can probably stand up... when the phone rings, before you sit through a 20 minute business call - stand up and take it on your feet... pace a little in your cubicle! If you don't have a phone to distract you, set a timer and every 20 minutes or so pick yourself up outta that chair! Take a couple deep breaths, maybe a side bend or two? The simple act of standing engages all your core muscles, improves blood flow, and energetically activates your legs! Your work won't suffer, in fact I would be willing to bet that you will be more productive!
Depending on how health trendy your office is there are several new options that help curb the 'sitting is the new smoking' trend! Stand up desks, stability ball chairs, and I recently saw a treadmill desk - that seems a little dangerous to me; I have enough trouble staying upright on a treadmill without trying to think and type and answer a phone all at the same time!
So what exactly is happening to your body structurally while you sit for extended periods of time?
Our shoulders curl forward, causing stress across the upper back and simultaneously tightening the muscles across the chest; our neck reaches forward to the screen taking the neck out of alignment with the spine, causing stress and tension in the neck but as the weight of our head moves forward our pelvis tips back and our lower back rounds to offset the imbalance of weight... hip flexors tighten, glute muscles weaken, psoas tightens and lower back is strained putting us at a greater risk of herniated lumbar disc. There's really nothing 'cushy' about a desk job!
The two most helpful things, in your control, at your desk job are being sure to move, and maintaining proper posture, at a desk that is specifically set up for you! Away from your desk there is a fitness regime that builds strength in areas that suffer losses through our seated day, and a full on stretching program that will help counter balance the damage!
Sedentary lifestyles (which 9 hours at a desk qualifies you for) is now the third largest preventable cause of death! The pain of structural stress on our bodies is only the beginning! Everything from circulation to cholesterol are impacted in a negative way the longer you spend sitting... sitting is the new smoking was all the buzz a few years back; shocking news for many of us, but have you changed your practices?
It isn't enough to know better, in order to fully benefit from our new found knowledge we have to act! Get those timers ready, the challenge this week is to stand up every 20 minutes, to bust out your charm school posture and remember, 'you don't get the a$$ you want, by sitting on the one you have!'
Cya Monday for our 'Move It' session! This week at Move*Nourish*Create on facebook I will be offering another Glute Camp workout, strengthen the glutes is one way to help preserve your body at your desk and in some cases enhance mobility!
If you aren't sharing space with me there; please join the community and the conversation!
Sadly the day to day physical break down of our bodies means many of us live in chronic pain! The stress of our jobs on our mental wellbeing pales only in comparison to the havoc that is being unleashed on our physical bodies!
Shoulders and necks, low back and hips, it's all connected - just like the nursery rhyme taught us! For some it starts in the shoulders, others the hips, but eventually the entire body gets to play this painful game!
Unfortunately quitting our jobs isn't an option for many of us.. so what's a body to do? Move! Maybe you cant leave your desk, but you can probably stand up... when the phone rings, before you sit through a 20 minute business call - stand up and take it on your feet... pace a little in your cubicle! If you don't have a phone to distract you, set a timer and every 20 minutes or so pick yourself up outta that chair! Take a couple deep breaths, maybe a side bend or two? The simple act of standing engages all your core muscles, improves blood flow, and energetically activates your legs! Your work won't suffer, in fact I would be willing to bet that you will be more productive!
Depending on how health trendy your office is there are several new options that help curb the 'sitting is the new smoking' trend! Stand up desks, stability ball chairs, and I recently saw a treadmill desk - that seems a little dangerous to me; I have enough trouble staying upright on a treadmill without trying to think and type and answer a phone all at the same time!So what exactly is happening to your body structurally while you sit for extended periods of time?
Our shoulders curl forward, causing stress across the upper back and simultaneously tightening the muscles across the chest; our neck reaches forward to the screen taking the neck out of alignment with the spine, causing stress and tension in the neck but as the weight of our head moves forward our pelvis tips back and our lower back rounds to offset the imbalance of weight... hip flexors tighten, glute muscles weaken, psoas tightens and lower back is strained putting us at a greater risk of herniated lumbar disc. There's really nothing 'cushy' about a desk job!
The two most helpful things, in your control, at your desk job are being sure to move, and maintaining proper posture, at a desk that is specifically set up for you! Away from your desk there is a fitness regime that builds strength in areas that suffer losses through our seated day, and a full on stretching program that will help counter balance the damage!
Sedentary lifestyles (which 9 hours at a desk qualifies you for) is now the third largest preventable cause of death! The pain of structural stress on our bodies is only the beginning! Everything from circulation to cholesterol are impacted in a negative way the longer you spend sitting... sitting is the new smoking was all the buzz a few years back; shocking news for many of us, but have you changed your practices?
It isn't enough to know better, in order to fully benefit from our new found knowledge we have to act! Get those timers ready, the challenge this week is to stand up every 20 minutes, to bust out your charm school posture and remember, 'you don't get the a$$ you want, by sitting on the one you have!'
Cya Monday for our 'Move It' session! This week at Move*Nourish*Create on facebook I will be offering another Glute Camp workout, strengthen the glutes is one way to help preserve your body at your desk and in some cases enhance mobility!
If you aren't sharing space with me there; please join the community and the conversation!
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