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Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

elth.co

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Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#21

Post by quickthrower2 »

alansammarone wrote: post #5

Every time I read an article like this, I get a bad feeling and I say to myself "I'll definitely exercise more - I don't wanna be all buggy when I get older due to my lifestyle - I'll do this NOW!". Then a couple of hours later, I'm back coding happily seated. I'm sure this is the case for many of us. I wish our brains could keep this bad, guilty-like feeling that makes us take action around for longer.

There is a Tony Robbins video somewhere where he says "in life, you get your standards". I.e. not what you want or desire but what you make an absolute standard. I found it can take time and few mental visits to a problem before this happens.

Most of us have standards around hygiene, dental care, personal appearance etc that are almost immutable.

If you have a standard that you want to remain fit and that becomes deep-rooted then there is nothing to think about. It will happen.

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#22

Post by kartan »

mrhappyunhappy wrote: post #9

I tried taking breaks while working with one of those screen alarms that turns into a relaxation / stretching video but couldn't continue doing it. It seemed to go off so often, even though I set it to a recommended time interval. I got annoyed quickly and got rid of it. I too feel guilt every time I read one of these articles. To make matters worse, my desk quickly converts to standing position. I don't know what it…

The more you sit and the less exercise you do, the less energy do you have to improve.

At least make sure that weekends you have hobby that requires to go outside. If you find yourself walking all the weekend is going to be easier to stand at the office.

I also have tried playing VR games with "room scaling". It forces you to play standing.

The more exercise and time you spend standing, the easier it becomes. But the reverse is also true. If you feel tired all the time, it is hard to start exercising and you need to trick yourself into bootstrapping the habit.

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#23

Post by a_humean »

ElectricNoodle wrote: post #13

https://www.gq.com/story/standing-death-study It seems we can't win... I'd say too much of either is a bad thing, best thing to do is have a healthy balance of both then lead an active lifestyle outside of the office!

Seems the study was actually about standing ocupations vs sitting occupations, with nothing about standing desk in traditional sitting occupation workplaces (white collar office settings).

https://www.theguardian.com/science/sifting-the-evidence/201...

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#24

Post by hacker_9 »

ElectricNoodle wrote: post #13

https://www.gq.com/story/standing-death-study It seems we can't win... I'd say too much of either is a bad thing, best thing to do is have a healthy balance of both then lead an active lifestyle outside of the office!

Standing at work was always a fad anyway - and you can win, just do some exercise!

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#26

Post by mmsimanga »

hacker_9 wrote: post #18
mmsimanga wrote: post #15

Today is day 2 of my standup desk for my home computing. Not enough time to give a summary but one thing I have noticed already is I am moving around a lot more. After about 30 minutes of standing I have do something else, walk outside, or do a few squats or stretch. Reason I built stand up desk are all the reasons in the article.

I exercise regularly and have always thought of a standing desk as far too extreme, Especially as programmers as we need to think though problems over several hours. The added stress of standing would just be far too much.

I had to try it to come to a conclusion. I guess you going to have to give it a shot to know.

Another reason I decided to try it out is that when I am comfortably seated I can spend hours on HN. Yes it is ironic that I am standing and posting on HN but truth be told in 10 or so minutes I will be tired and forced to take a walk. I am hoping to curb some bad online habits by standing.

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#27

Post by cup-of-tea »

I regularly go to the gym to lift weights and I keep my body fat under control by strict control of eating times (I fast for hours every day). I'm very strong and look good. But I'm constantly battling with finding enough time for everything. I basically want to have all my time to code, but I also want to do other things (I also play guitar and cook, and I sleep at least 8 hours a day). I don't think this feeling will ever go away. I just have to accept that I can only achieve so much with programming.

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#28

Post by westoncb »

nickjj wrote: post #8

I've been using a standing desk now for almost 2 years and stand about 90% of the time. I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made because it leads to other healthy habits. Typically you don't stand still at a standing desk. Your legs will naturally want to move and stretch and since you're already standing, you can do this without really being disturbed. Also, it sounds funny but walking and even running…

> I tend to break up my day with 2-3x ~2 mile walks.

To be clear, you do ~2 mile walks two to three times per day? So you walk 4 - 6 miles per day? It actually sounds kind of appealing to me—I like walking... but it seems like a serious amount of time, and like finding places to walk might be difficult.

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#29

Post by cyberferret »

I find that routine is important to getting regular exercise and movement. I am one of those programmers who likes getting into a 'flow' state and working for large blocks of time, so my strategy is to try and get a 1 hr walk in the morning when I wake up.

Much as people like to check their Inbox first thing to get it out of the way before starting productive work, I find that getting my walk in the morning before I have breakfast and sit down to start work ensures that it happens. If I tried to fit it in late in the day, I know that a long debug session or support email thread with a customer will easily derail it.

Organised activity is also good for making me stick to schedules. I took up Kendo about 18 months ago, and the regularly scheduled classes and training sessions are good for forcing me off the computer and go work up a sweat. I especially love the little 30 second meditation we do at the start and end of each class. The purpose of the starting meditation is to put aside all our normal work/life/personal worries and stresses, and focus on the sport, then the end meditation is to bring them all back again.

Re: Sitting down too much is doing more harm to your body than you can imagine

#30

Post by freeloop2 »

modernerd wrote: post #12

I bought a speed rope and started skipping for 20 minutes every morning while listening to audiobooks. https://rpmtraining.com It’s cheaper than a gym, needs little space, elevates my heart rate more than running ever did, and there are tricks to learn to keep it fresh and progressively raise the difficulty (double-unders, cross-overs etc.).

That's too hard on my knees.

I got a kettlebell and go on YouTube everyday to find some exercise videos.

There are so many videos I can do a new one each time which prevents me from getting bored.

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