How much time do you spend doing this?
Sometimes I have big projects that involve a bunch of computer time. Sometimes I have to take a long drive to get something done – like a trip up north or to the airport. Sometimes I plant myself on the couch for entertainment via the boob tube. Each of these activities can amount to large quantities of Ass-Time.
My body tells me, in times like these, that it was just not made for this sedentary stuff. My butt and hips get achy. My back gets sore. My muscles get stiff. My body sends me these messages telling me that it wants to move. It was made for moving, not for extended periods of Ass-Time. And science agrees.
Just about every week, I run across another study that reports the same thing: sedentary sucks!. Our bodies were made to move, to be active, to be mobile. Fitness Magazine had an article stating that researchers found that every hour we spend sitting during the day increases our chances of metabolic syndrome. And in case you don’t know, this is NOT something you want. We’re talking hypertension, high cholesterol, and abdominal obesity.
This even includes someone like me who exercises (hard) for a minimum of an hour everyday. Yep, that’s right even a good workout can’t undo what extended Ass-Time does to your body.
To reduce my risk, feel better and be kind to my body, here’s what I do. I get up off my ass and move every 20-30 minutes, MINIMUM. I spend some time standing instead of sitting at my desk when working on a writing or online project. I take a walk and get a drink of water. When watching TV, I get up and move at the commercials. I even been known to turn commercial time into exercise breaks, but we’ll save that for another blog.
Set a timer to beep at you every half hour. Then get up and move for a bit, stretch, or drop and give yourself 10 luscious pushups. And if you are ready to be truly kind to your body, get more human-powered activities into your day. Walk or ride a bike to commute or do errands. Walk after dinner. Volunteer to get this, that or the other. Hide your remote and get up to change channels. Park further away and walk a bit more to your destination. Take the stairs. You get the idea.
Your body is an amazing machine, made to move in so many ways. And when you go all sedentary, you are mistreating your body. We are actually in a place today, thanks to all of our genius inventions, gadgets, and gizmos, where we could be on our asses all day long. Sit in the car as you drive to work. Sit behind a desk all day. Sit in the car again as you go home. Sit to eat (since all you had to do was pick up something gross on the way home or nuke some processed crap once you get there). Then sit on your ass all night and watch TV to rest from all your exhausting ass-time at work. Come on everyone, be kind to your body, get off your ass and MOVE MORE.
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