Get off your seat!
Numerous studies link sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns, including obesity and metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions that includes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels.
Too much sitting seems to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer:
- nearly 50% increased risk of death.
- about 125% increased risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease; such as angina or heart attack.
Sitting in front of the TV is not the only concern. Any extended period of sitting; such as behind a desk at work or behind the wheel of a car can be harmful. What's more spending a few hours a week at the gym or otherwise engaged in moderate or vigorous activity doesn't seem to significantly offset the risk! So... we all need to get off our seats. How do we address this?
- Stand up while talking on the phone or eating lunch
- Try a standing desk at work or improvise with a high table or even a 'stability fitball'
- Walk laps with your colleagues rather than sitting meetings
The impact of physical movement cannot be underestimated. WE WERE ALL BORN TO MOVE! You will burn more calories as the muscle activity needed for standing and other movements can trigger important processes related to the breakdown of fats and sugars within the body. When you sit these processes stall and when you stand or are actively moving, you kick the processes back in into action. ARE YOU SITTING READING THIS? GET OF YOUR SEAT!
Your glutes (buttocks) are you biggest muscles and most people sit on them for far too long. You don’t need to work yourself into the ground to get results and at Temple Clinic we believe in the importance of resistance training to give you an ‘intelligent workout’.
