What a crazy weekend. Somehow, we managed to pull it all off. Thursday night was a rehearsal dinner for one of my closest friends’ wedding. Then Friday was the wedding and celebration, which seemed to last all day and night. All this was great until the alarm went off at 6 a.m. Saturday morning. We had a trip to Boston planned and it started with the Boston College v. Virginia Tech football game, which happened to kickoff at 12:30. Needless to say it was a rough ride to the stadium. But, after a great weekend of eating good food, walking the Freedom Trail and hiking, we arrived home at 8 p.m. on Monday night. The next morning I realized one thing: sitting down in a car for 5+ can leave you a broken down mess. Which got me thinking…
People all over the world spend a majority of their lives sitting on their butts.
It starts from a very young age. Children now spend 4.5 to 6 hours of their time at school sitting down. As you age, and progress through the educational system, nothing really changes. You get yourself a degree and move on to the wonderful world of working. Some of these jobs might require you to sit down for 6, 7, or even 8-plus hours a day! Combine that with all the sitting that goes on at home and our bodies are taking a beating throughout the day.
I don’t think this is rocket science: THE HUMAN BODY IS MADE TO MOVE! If you idle it, it will begin to crumble at every level. The moment you sit, a large portion of your muscles in the lower body “turn off.” You know the old saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it?” This is exactly what happens and muscles will weaken. Then they will stiffen. Because of this, the joint that is surrounded by these muscles will be affected. With the joint malpositioned, it will lead to compensation at other joints. Then the joint can compress the nerves that are close by (sciatica anyone??). And the cycle can continue all the way throughout the body! Combine that with some studies that have concluded sitting for extended periods of time throughout the day (6-8 hours) can lead to higher rates of type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc., and you have a recipe for poor health.
So how do you fix it?
- Stand at your desk. We have an issue in this country with obesity, and sitting for 65-85 percent of our waking hours may be part of the problem. Standing at the workplace can burn some serious additional calories throughout the day. For most, it is somewhere in the 200-400 calorie range. Multiply that by the number of days in a year and it is the equivalent of running over 10 marathons. All that for just standing around.
- If standing is not an option, practice good breathing. Sitting down wreaks havoc on your diaphragm, which plays a huge role in breathing properly. When this is not functioning, you will breathe more in the neck, chest and shoulders. This will lead to tension in those areas. While sitting, make sure to sit erect, brace the abdominals, and focus on belly breathing. Your chest should stay fairly still as your belly fills with air.
- If you are not able to do the previous mentioned tips, get up every 15-30 minutes to reprogram your body. Move around for 1-3 minutes. “Turn on” some of those muscles in the lower body, gently move your neck around, circle your heels–do whatever needs to be done to get yourself up and moving throughout the day.
Unfortunately, I was not able to do many of those things while making the drive home from Boston. And believe me, I have been paying for it all week!
Chris Fluck
Chris Fluck is a 2004 graduate of Saucon Valley High School and former high school football and wrestling coach. Currently, Chris is the owner of C. Fluck Training. He is a Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA).
