What happens when you sit at a desk for 13 years and also exercise • Hacker News Board

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

#61

Post by scotty79 » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:06 AM UTC

What happens if I already have a scoliosis and I spend 15 years or so siting at desk for 12 or more hours a day and I don't exercise?

Absolutely nothing. Provided that I eat appropriately to my activity and my chairs are always somewhat uncomfortable.

But if I spend a year working from chair as deeply reclined and comfortable (and position fixing) as this one: http://www.healthyback.com/products/Humantouch/Pc095-perfect... I get back pains because small muscles around my spine get weak and can be overstretched and damaged when I lift a fridge or something or just twist rapidly in some unusual direction.

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

#62

Post by adwf » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:09 AM UTC

deanproxy wrote: post #57

awjr wrote: post #50

I would strongly suggest anyone looking at this and saying they don't have the time to invest in this to also consider the mental benefits that exercise brings. I don't feel I have time (which I know is wrong) and I particularly do not like gyms, but I cycle to work (2 miles) and on the way home I'll take a detour and add an extra 5-10 miles to my trip home. It clears the cobwebs. Cycling can be very meditative as we…

Indeed. I completely understand feeling like there isn't enough time to do it. Other than my 8-10 hour days at work, I have a teenage daughter, a wife and two dogs I have to attend to. I practice guitar daily, practice martial arts weekly, kayak regularly, read/study daily for my job, started learning more about F.A.C.S and Body Language and like to get in some gaming every now and then with the daughter. I've found…

"If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it."

I guess the rule about time management applies even when asking yourself to do something.

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

#63

Post by julius » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:10 AM UTC

droopyEyelids wrote: post #21

icelancer wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 wa…

You could easily combine the boring idea with something new and shiny (that makes the idea work in real life^^).

Like a device giving you electric shocks every 10 minutes to make you remember to change your posture.

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

#64

Post by seszett » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:10 AM UTC

awjr wrote: post #50

I would strongly suggest anyone looking at this and saying they don't have the time to invest in this to also consider the mental benefits that exercise brings. I don't feel I have time (which I know is wrong) and I particularly do not like gyms, but I cycle to work (2 miles) and on the way home I'll take a detour and add an extra 5-10 miles to my trip home. It clears the cobwebs. Cycling can be very meditative as we…

I cycle to and from work, but my route essentially just goes from one side to the other of the city center, which means some narrow streets, some cobbled streets, and a lot of cars.

On the contrary to my previous job where the route was mostly car-free, my current cycling doesn't clear anything and adds to stress instead of relieving it. Walking is fine, but feels so... slow, and inefficient.

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

#65

Post by scotty79 » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:13 AM UTC

Standing, sitting. It's all so tiring. Why we don't have chairs in which you could float submerged in pen of small balls that have similar density as your body?

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

#66

Post by ZoFreX » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:30 AM UTC

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…

First sentence of the first link:

"Hitting the gym every day might do little to decrease your risk of death if you spend the rest of your time sitting down, a new study suggests." (I've emphasised the weasel words)

In the realm of health you can find a study to say anything. I've seen ones that say standing all day is an improvement over sitting, others that say it's the same, and even some that say standing is worse. The thing to look at is summary studies that look at a wide range of well conducted studies to see what the prevailing outcome is.

For example, according to a BBC news article[1], you can make "significant and measurable changes" to your fitness by exercising 3 minutes a week. So if we're debating using news articles, we're at an impasse.

[1]: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251

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

#67

Post by matho » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:31 AM UTC

I would guess the author already knows this, but kayaking is strongly associated with shoulder injuries/dislocations. Be careful, dude!

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

#68

Post by danboarder » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:33 AM UTC

My work focus and overall health have really improved since I started running.

I started running casually a few years ago but began to notice a real difference when I began training for a half-marathon with a local team. The training only required a couple half-hour runs during the week and a longer run with the group on Saturday mornings. Having a goal to run a real race and support of team runs motivated me to follow through and I lost about 40lbs over the course of training. Since then I have run the full LA Marathon and in a couple of months I will be running the Chicago Marathon, and I can honestly say I'm in the best shape of my life. I never was a runner before but I can say I am one now.

It's not the running itself though, I think it's having a training goal and a team that supports you that can make it work. (btw my training group is Team World Vision, which has groups around the USA that run for causes). I would suggest the same result can come from biking, Crossfit, or other workout program where you have a clear goal and a group that supports your effort.

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

#69

Post by plg » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:35 AM UTC

Swimming is awesome. The overhead can be significant (finding a pool with lap swim hours amenable to your schedule) but the equipment cost is minimal ($20 speedo) and it's amazing exercise. I also find the time in the water to be a soothing break from the outside world.

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

#70

Post by dasil003 » Wed, Aug 28, 2013, 9:36 AM UTC

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.

I don't mean to put words in your mouth, but this smacks of the whole calories-in-calories-out theory of weight gain that always comes up in diet threads in HN.

The reason I mention that is because I think programmers have a tendency to view things abstractly and quickly generalize. Sometimes this comes from an obsessive quality that makes us want to avoid spending any time thinking about anything that is not interesting work (witness the Soylent guy). However when it comes to the human body and our health reducing things to a simple equation comes at our own risk. Animal bodies evolved to survive and thrive under varied physical conditions and stresses.

If you don't like weightlifting then by all means do something else. But for all the people I hear complaining about RSI, and knowing what a combination of aggressive mountain biking and moderate weightlifting did for my RSI issues, I think it definitely comes with some very tangible benefits for programmers.