By Find out if you are one and how to diminish its health risks
Just imagine it’s Monday Morning, and you rush to the gym.
Do your workout for about an hour or maybe a bit less.
It’s Monday, after all, and your calendar is booked to the brim.
When that’s all done, you shower, maybe eat and rush out the door to make that 8.00 am meeting.
In the meantime, as the day progresses, you glaringly stare at your machine until nature or hunger calls.
Is this a typical day in your life, maybe?
You’re not alone, as many people do this very thing.
Why your workout might not make a difference
Working out every morning or evening has benefits — but if you sit on your backside and do not move around much during the rest of the day, you are classified as an active couch potato.
According to a new study, all the hard work you put into looking after your health, body and well-being could go out the window.
How much damage does sitting do to your health?
To find out, three thousand seven hundred men and women were recruited in Finland.
These people exercised for half an hour but then sat down almost nonstop for 10, 11 and even 12 hours per day.
Does your bum not get sore?
These people, no surprise, had elevated blood sugar, cholesterol and body fat too.
One positive attribute of this study was this: If a person got up and walked around even for a small fraction of the time or perhaps exercised a bit more were substantially more healthy than the couch potato bunch.
As the research previously suggested, we get 30 minutes of exercise per day isn’t’ entirely true. Thirty minutes may not be enough, as all the prolonged sitting on our asses downgrades any effort we make.
It’s almost like you’ve not worked out at all.
Even though research tells us to exercise for a certain amount of time during the day, it’s not factoring in the time we sit, negating those benefits.
Worse, previous research didn’t consider our favourite way to exercise, which is through incidental means. That could be housework, cleaning your car, cooking and walking your dog.
When researchers decide to see how much and what kind of movement would be necessary to negate these issues.
It is funny that the mildly and highly active groups during the day had the best blood sugar and cholesterol readings (as opposed to the couch potatoes).
Moving a lot didn’t matter; sitting down continuously for 8–12 hours daily did.
It doesn’t take much.
All we have to do to eliminate our chance of becoming couch potatoes with various health issues is to move around.
Moving around means cleaning, cooking, washing, doing chores, or just walking around your office or home.
The study found that 80–90 minutes of extra movement was best.
Our goal should be to sit less during the day and make it easier and more accessible to move around regularly.
For example, wearing comfortable shoes, taking a lunch break, and walking to and from work. Small ways that don’t impede your time are best.
The key takeaway is to become aware of how much you are sitting down & put some simple and structured movement plans in place.
It doesn’t have to take up all your time — just enough to get you above and beyond what you’re currently doing so you can attain better health.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions about a medical condition or health objectives.
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