Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

deanproxy.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 209 posts

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#21

Post by droopyEyelids »

icelancer wrote: post #17
heepler wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sitting+harmful+even+if+you+... Sitting for long periods tightens the hamstrings and cuts off circulation to your legs. Even if you exercise. Standing for long periods may give you varicose veins. Not sure there's a real solution here, other than to periodically disrupt any form of immobility.

The best posture is a varied one.

This may be my own pessimistic take, but something about the simplicity and obvious-correctness of that advice makes me think it'll never be as blogworthy as a less realistic goal that you'd have to buy something new to try.

Or, it's like the idea doesn't have the magic of an idea that you can't do right now but won't require any effort when the time is right- like "I could get up every few minutes and stretch and walk around already! That can't be it... I need to buy a standing desk and that'll make me stand all day so I'm healthy."

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#22

Post by eru »

heepler wrote: post #16
abcd_f wrote: post #12

It's better to be rich and healthy than sick and poor. Obviously if you exercise it doesn't really matter if you sit or stand at work. The question is how to handle the case when you can't/won't exercise and still need to work.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sitting+harmful+even+if+you+... Sitting for long periods tightens the hamstrings and cuts off circulation to your legs. Even if you exercise. Standing for long periods may give you varicose veins. Not sure there's a real solution here, other than to periodically disrupt any form of immobility.

A standing desk made me more likely to run around in short mini-breaks. The hump you have to get over is smaller for that than getting out of your chair.

So a standing desk helped me have a more varied posture.

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#23

Post by deanproxy »

Amadou wrote: post #20

I once knew a guy who thought he could eat as much junk food as he wanted as long as he made up for it with "super-foods" (moringa MLM scam actually). Regular workouts don't decrease death risk if you're also a couch potato -- http://www.nbcnews.com/id/38385104/ns/health-fitness/ People who sit for most of the day are 54 percent more likely to die of heart attacks -- http://health.yahoo.net/experts/menshealth/most-da…

The problem is that there is no evidence that suggest standing in front of a computer screen helps at all in those situations as well. You're still stationary. You aren't moving. Moving your feet around below you to adjust the weight on your legs does nothing for your cardiovascular system.

Unfortunately, as people who are tied to their computer screens for most of the day, we have very few options. One is to exercise. My story is one of being in better health than I was when I was in a job moving around all day just to give some perspective to this topic.

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#24

Post by deanproxy »

jacquesm wrote: post #19
deanproxy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't call what I did or even what I do as "extreme". Far from it. Taking steroids and growth hormone is extreme. Lifting weights and enjoying it to the point where you want to better yourself at it? I don't see it as extreme. I also do not go several months without working out often. I did it during a shoulder surgery recovery and again earlier this year. I agree that is not a good idea, but life does get in th…

> Lifting weights and enjoying it to the point where you want to better yourself at it? I don't see it as extreme. I do. It is moving for the sake of moving rather than to achieve some productive effect. To me exercise is riding my to a place where I need to go rather than going by car if the distance is about right and the weather on the way out not too brutal. Walking, playing with the kids and so on. Lifting weigh…

> Lifting weights would indicate that I have calories to burn that go towards nothing else that helps.

Resistance training does go to something. It goes to conditioning your muscles and building bone density which are both incredibly important the older you get.

I also agree one should do other things, which is why I mountain bike, do martial arts and kayak.

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#25

Post by deanproxy »

taber1 wrote: post #18

One case = anecdote. There is actually some evidence that you can't counteract the effects of sitting with exercise, unless you exercise more than you sit. And what exactly does "I'm healthy" mean? Is that what the doctor says after doing some test or is it just how you feel? What would be the status of your health (as measured by tests from a doctor) if you had an active job and some moderate exercise for the same p…

I had a physical by my doctor about 3 months ago, as stated in my writing. So, yes... "I'm healthy" was declared by tests from a doctor.

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#26

Post by Amadou »

deanproxy wrote: post #23
Amadou wrote: post #20

I once knew a guy who thought he could eat as much junk food as he wanted as long as he made up for it with "super-foods" (moringa MLM scam actually). Regular workouts don't decrease death risk if you're also a couch potato -- http://www.nbcnews.com/id/38385104/ns/health-fitness/ People who sit for most of the day are 54 percent more likely to die of heart attacks -- http://health.yahoo.net/experts/menshealth/most-da…

The problem is that there is no evidence that suggest standing in front of a computer screen helps at all in those situations as well. You're still stationary. You aren't moving. Moving your feet around below you to adjust the weight on your legs does nothing for your cardiovascular system. Unfortunately, as people who are tied to their computer screens for most of the day, we have very few options. One is to exercis…

there is no evidence that suggests standing in front of a computer screen helps

From the last of the three links I posted:

"They found that standing up engages muscles and promotes the distribution of lipase, which prompts the body to process fat and cholesterol, independent of the amount of time spent exercising. They also found that standing up uses blood glucose and may discourage the development of diabetes."

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#27

Post by eru »

jarjoura wrote: post #3

100% agree. Also a perk of living in a city (such as San Francisco) is I can walk EVERYWHERE, including work and I do. Like the OP, walking to and from work and hitting the gym most days has vastly improved my quality of life and it doesn't even take away from much of my evening. If you need something to get you motivated, grab a Fitbit tracker and/or scale and track yourself. It'll only work in the beginning, but if…

> Also a perk of living in a city (such as San Francisco) is I can walk EVERYWHERE, [...]

Or cycle. It's somewhat faster and more fun. (I like city life, too, for exactly that reason.)

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#28

Post by marti »

Between the two 'extremes' of standing and sitting, there's also the saddle chair [1]. I've used one at home for over a year now, but only up to a few hours a day, so can't really tell how much it has affected my posture in addition to regular exercise.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_chair

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#29

Post by eru »

omn1 wrote: post #6

I'm not sure about that. This guy has gone through some extremes. First he was standing 8 hours a day, no workout. Then he was sitting 12 hours a day, no workout. Then he got into bodybuilding using lots of machines which made him gain lots of muscles and finally he scales back to something I would call "normal": a healthy workout of 30min per day but... with some no-training gaps in between which can be several mont…

Where does it say that he used machines?

Re: What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise

#30

Post by eru »

jacquesm wrote: post #19
deanproxy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't call what I did or even what I do as "extreme". Far from it. Taking steroids and growth hormone is extreme. Lifting weights and enjoying it to the point where you want to better yourself at it? I don't see it as extreme. I also do not go several months without working out often. I did it during a shoulder surgery recovery and again earlier this year. I agree that is not a good idea, but life does get in th…

> Lifting weights and enjoying it to the point where you want to better yourself at it? I don't see it as extreme. I do. It is moving for the sake of moving rather than to achieve some productive effect. To me exercise is riding my to a place where I need to go rather than going by car if the distance is about right and the weather on the way out not too brutal. Walking, playing with the kids and so on. Lifting weigh…

Lifting weights is a sport. A solitary one, just like running or rock climbing. No need to disparage it.
Post reply on HN