Neil Young
When I went into the service in 1969, I had a ’65 Dodge Dart with a Slant-6 engine, that was in mint condition. I left it in an unheated garage and when I came back for it in two years, it was rusted out. My experience has been that an idle machine will decay, while an operating machine, when treated properly, will thrive.
I love to do CrossFit. I love to talk about CrossFit. I love to write about CrossFit. But guess what? CrossFit is only moving my body about one hour a day. Sorry to shatter my illusion of my own fitness, but this is only 4% of my day when I am off my butt.
It is an inherent part of modern life. I drive to the gym and then I drive to work. That is one hour of sitting. I drive home, that is another hour of sitting. Being an IT Director, I am a “Desk Jockey”. My day is spent at a computer or in meetings, sitting on my butt.
I get home, I sit down for dinner. I sit down to read a book, surf the web, or write a blog post. Sit, sit, sit! I recently read an article about “sitting is the new smoking”, in regards to being a health issue. Too many Americans spend too much of their day on their backsides.
Many people in our modern society do not even know that this is not a preferred posture. In third world countries, where people live closer to the earth than we have in centuries, they often commune in a squat position. In America, we don’t even squat to relieve ourselves.
One of my challenges for this year is to deliberately incorporate more standing, walking and squatting into my everyday routines. I began this challenge when I returned to work this week, by elevating my PC so I can stand more frequently. I have also installed a wireless phone headset, I will conduct all my phone work in standing position. Lastly, I will set a timer on my desk, every 25 minutes, I will leave my office, walk up three flights of stairs, go to the other end of the building and then return down the other set of stairs to my office, forcing movement into my schedule at least twice an hour.
In addition to movement, I expect this routine will “wake me up” and keep me more alert and more productive. I’ll let you know if in a month how it works out for me.
Funny, I was just thinking this morning that my body hurts if I sit in one place too long. Said to myself, I need to move more. When I move, it doesn't ache so much! Good time to make some healthy changes.
If you want to get off your butt, try chasing kids around the house and do some house work. You won't have time to sit.
That's what you get for retiring Grandma!! lol