Sitting is Bad

My last post was so long it took me nearly a week to recover. But I've finally restored my energy and ready for some new content. I remember a while back listen to a lecture when the lecturer mentioned that if your hips are not fully extended (in the standing position) for at least 8 hours per day then your hips are deteriorating. This is one of the major causes of low back pain. Deteriorating hips = less hip mobility. Less hip mobility = low back pain. I mention that because of this article I just came across on Boston.com. It's about the dangers of remaining in the seated position too long. "After four hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals," Ekblom-Bak said. She explained that genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body start to shut down. So not only are your hips deteriorating but your fat burning genes are shutting down when you remain seated for a prolonged period of time. If you work at a job that requires sitting or have a long commute to work (or both) then your training program should be built to offset the negative impact of all that sitting. And please don't go to the gym after sitting all day and exacerbate the problem by simply going through a Nautilus circuit. Using those machines not only puts your low back in a compromised position, they also do nothing to offset the sitting you've done all day. You also have no use for your core when you are exercising from a seated position. Move the same exercise to the standing position and your core becomes activated creating much greater bang for the buck. So next time you are at the gym try moving around some dumbbells or use a Functional Trainer. And when you are at work be sure to stand up early and often.