Do you know what happens to your body from prolonged sitting?  When one sits all day, the body becomes conditioned to a lack of movement.  Muscles weaken, and when you do stand up, you may experience stiffness or pain, creating a viscous cycle of not wanting to move, which is actually the remedy.  Just like too many sweets or fatty foods - sitting for long periods of time is unhealthy!

The body is a complicated contraption: muscles interlace with nerves, tendons, ligaments and bones; sitting idle can be damaging to these structures.  Besides weakened muscles and stiff joints, another major problem is that the body stops breaking up fat in your bloodstream which then accumulates in your liver, heart, and brain contributing to lethargy, weight gain and general poor health. 

Before you start to panic, you don’t have to run out and buy a gym membership!  According to book author and NY Times Phys Ed columnist, Gretchen Reynolds, one of the BEST things you can do if you’re desk-bound or relatively sedentary is Stand Up for 2 minutes, every 20 minutes.  This gets your back, hip and thigh muscles working, mobilizes your joints, increases blood flow, burns calories and releases enzymes which break up fat in the bloodstream.  What is the benefit of all this?  It moves you in the right direction and towards a better state of health.

Try shifting some of your routine activities to standing or walking:

• Stand up to answer a phone
• Utilize a bluetooth head set and walk while you talk
• Get a music stand and read standing up
• Takes notes standing up at a tall counter 
• Walk down the hall at least once per hour
• Listen to an audiobook while going for a walk
• Don’t suffer through TV commercials - make use of the time, stand up and dust a shelf
• Set a timer on a cell phone, watch or even a microwave to remember to stand up
• Use a fit bit or fit type band to monitor your daily steps - aim for > 10,000 steps a day
  
  

Just like your car - your body needs to move to stay in top condition! 

Inactivity for the body is unnatural and more than ever we need to break the sitting cycle.  Even those who consider themselves fit and active, yet spend hours sitting in front of a computer can heed this advice.  So, what are you waiting for?  Stand up and get moving! 

* Gretchen Reynolds “The First 20 minutes”