Sit less, move more...much more!

Wakeman Nutrition

If you are 45-65 keep reading...if you have yet to hit 45 keep reading because I have a feeling you are not exempt.

Apparently the middle aged (I dislike this term with a passion and I'm not QUITE there yet!) are as sedentary as pensioners.

I read that yesterday and it's not good. Middle aged workers spend between 7 and 7.8 hours sitting each day.

That's more sitting than a retired person. That makes me feel old.....and lazy as I sit here typing this with just 3025 steps on my fit-bit. Why is this not good? It increases the risk of an early death, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers as well as being a factor in low back pain and other musculo-skeletal problems.

The good news is the situation changes at the weekend so we can't be that lazy!

The problem is clearly being stuck in traffic, in cars, on public transport, at desks and in meetings Monday to Friday, oh and men are worse than women it seems.

Then we all go home shattered and collapse on the sofa and some will keep on working. So does exercise counteract all this sitting?

Yes and no...you need to do A LOT to undo the harm of prolonged sitting. It's more about breaking up the sitting time - to move more and sit less.

Earlier this week I suggested the morning consultation with my private client be an active one - being women we could certainly walk and talk, so that's what we did!

We did our session on the move, clocked up some steps and felt more invigorated afterwards. 

This is a great example of building in more activity into your working day; it is easier to incorporate more activity into our busy schedules rather than trying to squeeze it in, in a block at the beginning or end of the day.

Now the mornings are freezing and the evenings are dark, it takes more determination to get up and out again.

What else can you do? This may depend on office culture but what if...You organised regular standing or walking meetings You stood (at the back) in meetings or talks?

You committed to taking the stairs all the time? You made phone calls standing up? You read documents standing up? You got a standing desk?

You set a reminder on your watch or phone to get up every hour? You moved your bin to the other end of the room (you could also get pretty handy at throwing long distances!) You ate your lunch away from your desk? You used the toilets furthest away from your desk?

You parked in the furthest car space not the closest? You committed to getting off the bus earlier and walking the rest I know it's odd but what if you went to see your colleague down the corridor rather than email them?

It's these little things you do each day that add up and make a difference! Sport Birmingham also do great work with businesses that wish to increase activity in the workplace. Why not get in touch?