Never say you can’t get in some exercise at the office!It is with great pleasure that I announce the comeback of the Great Fitness Experiment in practice rather than just in name only: For the month of November I am launching a new GFE. Lest you think I’m crazy and have forgotten the occupied state of my womb (4 days until my official due date!), I will tell you that I took that into account in picking this GFE. Which means, of course, that if a 9-months pregnant chick can do it, you certainly can too! It is based around one small fitness tweak that can have huge results. What is it? Standing.
That’s right, I’m doing an Experiment about standing. Before you laugh yourself silly, consider the research, courtesy of Women’s Health Magazine:
– Sitting down causes your body to shut down fat burning enzymes, reducing fat burnage by up to 50%.
– For every two hours spent camped out on your butt, your risk of diabetes increases 7%
– For every one hour on your backside, incidence of metabolic syndrome increases 26%
– Sitting for extended periods of time has also been linked to increased risk of heart disease and depression.
– Sitting for a long time is murder on your posture and can lead to all kinds of injuries due to weakened, imbalanced and inflexible muscles.
But, you say, I exercise! Every day, even! Unfortunately in our wired society, 30-60 minutes a day in the gym may not be enough to counteract the effect of playing potted plant for 8-10 hours a day, a number which sounds high until you actually count up all the time you spend sitting in front of the computer, the TV, at the table, in the car and on the floor because getting up when you can’t bend at the waist is too much trouble (although that last one may just be me). Unless you have a very active job – like waitressing, construction work or hooking – then you probably spend way more time off your feet than on them.
In a recent study, Genevieve Healy, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Cancer Prevention Research Centre of the University of Queensland in Australia and her colleagues found:
“Regardless of how much moderate to vigorous exercise participants did, those who took more breaks from sitting throughout the day had slimmer waists, lower BMIs (body mass indexes), and healthier blood fat and blood sugar levels than those who sat the most. In an extensive study of 17,000 people, Canadian researchers drew an even more succinct conclusion: The longer you spend sitting each day, the more likely you are to die an early death—no matter how fit you are.”
Come on, the researchers just broke out their trump card: sitting makes you dead! Ahem. Hyperbole aside, the fix for “sitting disease” and apparently all other modern travails is pretty simple. You have to up your incidental activity. The researchers call it NEAT for non-exercise activity thermogenesis because after conferences with booth girls, researchers love nothing more than a cute acronym. What that means for the rest of us is we have to find ways to move more.
The article suggests starting by making a commitment to stand up every half hour. I would add that maybe while you are on your feet, do a couple of jumping jacks or burpees. Not enough to get you all pit-stained before the big meeting but still plenty of fodder for your office mates to discuss behind your (well-toned) back. While I am not lucky enough to have physically present coworkers other than little people who already think everything I do is nuts, think of the fun you office people could have! You could swing at invisible bugs! You could make a sacrifice to the Purel gods in hopes of not catching swine flu! You could do a rain dance! Or a tap dance! Or the Single Ladies Dance (bonus points if you can get your coworkers to join in like on Glee)!! The options are endless really.
Okay fine, if you want more practical options the researchers add you can walk around whilst talking on the phone, suggest an outdoor jaunt when someone asks to talk to you, and the old sub-a-stability-ball-for-your-computer chair trick. (However, as someone whose job is done on a computer, I will tell you that the stability ball did not work well for me. It made my posture even worse and gave me terrible back pains.) Other ideas I thought of include standing up and walking to the kitchen or water cooler to get a drink of water, developing a trademark fidget or tic, using a stationary bike or treadmill while watching TV and – my personal dream – bumping up your computer desk to standing height and then buying one of those tall chairs so that you have the option of standing and surfing.
The Experiment
For the month of November, I am simply going to stand more. That’s it! To remind myself to stand up every 30 minutes, I’ve installed TimeLeft, a free customizable desktop timer (it even plays mp3s in case dings bother you). In addition, I’m going to make 5 conscious choices to move more every day. (And yes, rocking the baby counts!) Pretty simple! Who’s in with me? What are your ideas for simple ways to add more incidental movement to your life? And just out of curiosity, has that stability ball trick worked for anybody??
PS> If anyone has any suggestions on how to go into labor those would be much appreciated too!
Count me in!!!!! I don't want to be dead!
As far as labor, all I can suggest is some hot peppers. It worked for me!
I dig this challenge. I like living!
I have no kids, and know nothing about labor, so all I'll say is I hope it's quick and painless.
Which is probably just as likely as you giving birth to a unicorn vomiting rainbows all over the place (read: not very probable). But I wish it all the same =D
I'm in, too! I read an article recently that said to use a stopwatch to figure out exactly how many minutes per day you spend sitting and aim to spend less minutes per day on your butt.
However, I like your experiment better. I will get up every half hour and MOVE around. (I think the same article said to do 10 push ups off your desk every hour. I can't promise I'll do that. LOL) Maybe I will bust out some Hip Hop or PiYo moves. That always amuses my co-workers.
Wishing you quick and easy labor vibes…and soon!
I have also heard that people with a healthy fitness level burn far more calories per day just by moving more. I add the majority of my standing time in because I'm a teacher. I try to make it a point to rarely sit down while I'm teaching, more interaction with the kids and less sitting time for me! I also walk to the mail box each day, take extra trips bringing things in from my car, and try to park a little further away at school/grocery store/ etc. hoping that it all adds up over time! Thanks for your entries, I'm a new reader and loving them so far :]
So…law school is going to make me sick? I totally spend about 40 hrs a week sitting in class- not including the amount of time I spent sitting for readings?? In fact, I've been seated in this chair for about 10 hours today already, studying for corporate tax. And apparently going to the gym for 90m isn't going to solve the problem?? This has got to be the worst news I've heard all day.
Though I did use the stability ball as a chair for a while, unfortunately, my torso is pretty short (as is the rest of me), so I didn't quite reach my desk (in an ergonomic fashion) without having a 'big chair' 🙁
And..I have literally no suggestions for going into labour. Umm..all my aunts and my mom all did the C-section thing. And none of my friends have kids yet. The best I can do wish you the speediest, safest and healthiest delivery ever!!!
Two law-students posting in a row! I have a great deal of anxiety associated with how much school requires me to sit. I workout like a maniac when I do workout, but the rest of the day my bum is working on bedsores.
And, confess Charlotte (or tell me I'm totally wrong, either/or), did you have this non-active thermogensis in mind when you mentioned the other day how you scrubbed the H-E-double hockey sticks out of your kitchen floor?
This post made me remember back when I had a job with office-mates, (pre-kiddos) the bathrooms on our floor were broken and I had to walk up 2 floors whenever nature called. It was a great way to get in shape. I am definitely in!
Regarding the labor stuff. The funniest "tip" I got was when the labor & delivery nurse told me 1. go for a walk around the hospital to see if that gets things progressing and 2. jump in your car and have a quickie because there is a natural chemical in sperm that can help things along.
LOL, romance was not on my mind at that moment!
I'm definitely trying this! Can't hurt right?
As for labor, I would always go swing at the park. I usually did it later at night though because lets admit it, it was kinda embarrassing and awkward. I figured the swinging motion would totally help push the baby down in the right direction and get things going. Not sure if it really worked though. Good Luck! Hope all goes well!
Me too! Count me in!
Work on your standing (and sitting) posture – think Pilates, Alexander technique, & throw some Kegels in for good measure!
For labour? Curry, pineapple, and a quickie are the usual recommendations. Otherwise, arrange to do something really really nice – sod's law dictates you should start about 4 hours before the nice thing should happen 😉
This is great news, Charlotte!!
Thanks to you, I can now finally justify my ADHD, and how in class, I used to get up and walk around, teacher teaching or not! I was listening to a different, more fit drummer 🙂
Azusmom – I had a HUGE super spicy Mexican dinner on Saturday. No luck:(
Allison – Hahahah! Unicorns vomiting rainbows – best thing I've seen all day. Next best? Kittehs pooping marshmallows;)
Cinderella – you must let me know how it goes! Some days I wish I had more of audience for my antics than just my kids;)
Christina – I love teachers!! I think that all the standing/walking I did when I was teacher was probably the main reason I never worried about my weight then. Plus it's so much fun!
M & McKenzie – No, no!! I didn't mean to make anyone feel bad! Any exercise is better than no exercise! I remember grad school – it def. is a lot of sitting. Make the most of your breaks, I guess? Even profs have to pee sometime;)
bjbella – at the risk of TMI, I have been doing both those suggestions religiously. Hasn't worked yet but hey, at least they're both fun!
Kate – I've never heard of the swinging thing before! I'll have to give it a try!
Liz – Hahahah! So true about the doing something kind! Will get right on that one. And pineapple & curry? Now I have a craving!!
Dr J – being a teacher myself, now I'm curious as to how your teachers reacted to your roaming?!
I want to do it because I know sitting behind a desk all day is not doing me any good, but not sure I can do every half hour. I can try though.
And I loved that episode of Glee – hilarious!
LOVE THIS!!!! I tend to get up a lot anyway.. I not only get restless BUT I have to go to the bathroom a lot! 🙂 BUT, my computer is upstairs & I tend to leave stuff downstairs that forces me up & down the stairs which is a good thing. I also stand when I lift at the gym too rather than always sitting on a bench. This ahs really helped me to also get great control of my form & posture in order to do the weights right!
I am with you Charlotte. OH, never being pregnant, I got nothing for you on the labor thing.. sorry!
Cool. That makes sense…doing anything is better than jsut sitting. After being sick for days I'm loving this moving about freely with no pain and lots of energy business. I figure I used up my sitting privelidges for the next week or so 🙂
In the lab I'm pretty much standing all day, so it's tempting to just slack off when I get home. I'm finding that the less I sit, the more I do when I get home. It's much harder to crash and burn up time by the TV…Ilike the idea of making sure you get up every half hour or so…it's so easy to let the time get away from you andbe in a rut.
Good idea…
As soon as I read "sitting down causes your body to shut down" I was standig up. I may have to read all the blogs I follow standing from now on. Sounds like a good idea to get moving a little more.
I gained 40 lbs (ok, maybe closer to 60) from a decade of sitting, 10 hours a day at work & night school. I totally agree that it's deadly for your weight, health & mental health. I work at home now and I drink a ton of water & tea throughout the day — that makes frequent bathroom trips mandatory! I have an dog with housebreaking issues right now – he's been great for keeping me on my toes 😉
Standing desks can work really well, but you gotta wear good shoes, I've found. If you do a bump-up desk, consider some Dansko clogs, too 😉
Char –
You had me at hooking!!! Hahahaha
I wish you the best this week for getting that little baby girl outta there!!
Missing you around the gym!
I'm in. I've always worked in office settings but since March, this new gig is really cubicle bound. (Previously I had a lot of meetings to go to that would get my on to my feet. I've noticed it in my posture especially… I will set up posture reminders as well as stand up "breaks".
I'm in! The exception being during class – luckily most of my classes are in 1h30 blocks instead of 3h blocks (or 6h labs), and at oposite ends of the campus, so I do get a lot of walking at school! I'll need the timer for home.
I use the swivel motion of my desk chair to work my abs. Pull your feet off the floor, grip the edge of my desk with my hands, and use my stomach muscles to swivel the chair back and forth. I do this several times a day and have seen some results. It's not fabulous, but it's something, right? No real resistance except for the starting, coming to a complete stop, holding for two count, and starting in the opposite direction.
I'm in! This pregnancy has been taking a toll on my back, and I think it's because I sit at a desk all day… I keep saying I need to get up more often than just my hourly pee breaks.
As far as labor… um, my water broke right after 'doing the deed' with #1. Plus walking about an hour daily helped get things moving…
I've already started this challenge. We got the Wii Fit plus, and thanks to both an inability to let BK have a higher score on any games than me, and a craving for praise (even if it's handed to me by an inanimate object), I've been moving at least an hour more a day, although I'm not kidding myself that it's a "real" workout.
They kept lecturing till I sat back down 🙂
This was in graduate school, haha!!
"Unless you have a very active job – like waitressing, construction work or hooking – then you probably spend way more time off your feet than on them."
Well, while I'm sure hookers don't spend that much time sitting, I'm not sure I'd call much of what they do on their feet either. (Backs, yes. Feet, no.)
I wanted to add to make sure, if you have a computer job, you give your wrists a break too! One of my journalism professors was working at a major newspaper in the 80s. She told us that reporters there started getting severe cases of carpel tunnel – but for some reason, it was the non-smokers who were getting it, while the smokers in many ways seemed healthier. They quickly figured out it was because the smokers took a break about every hour or so to go outside and smoke, whereas nonsmokers tended to take few breaks other than lunch.
I'm a nonsmoker, but I get up about every hour to refill my water bottle. (And then to pee, quite frequently.) But whatever you do, make sure your break isn't just sitting at the computer checking facebook or playing solitaire – make sure you give your wrists a break too!
Count me in. I am totally bound to a desk and a phone usually craddled between my shoulder and head (another issue) and I could use a challenge like this. Plus I am working on more water which like someone acknowledged leads to more bathroom breaks. Both should go well together.
As for the labor, I know of nothing other than the typical, spicy food, long walks, the activity that lead to your current state, etc. Good luck!
Oh my! So soon! I don't know any tricks being spawn-less but I wish you the most painless/easiest/safest delivery ever! 🙂
This is not conducive to helping me with NaNoWriMo, hehe. I can't promise every 30 mins, but I will stop trying to hold my bladder until the very last minute so I can avoid walking to the bathroom. And make a better effort. I do pretty well at home with getting up and fidgiting with things, but at work I get tied to my compy easily.
I doubt the findings – a few years back I did bump my computer up to standing height (I program all day long) because I found I was slouching too much. I stand most of the day, sitting once in a while on a long call. I have not noticed any change in my waistline (it has only gotten larger) but do notice that my calves swell. Maybe had I not done it my waist would be even larger?
Sounds very good to me. I know that once I've sweated it out at the gym, I can sit for hours and it's just plain bad!
Oh btw, my hubby (remember the one you told me to keep – who makes sherry trifle and quotes Kipling?) has one of those desks- not the treadmill one (THAT would totally be mine)…the high one. He LOVES it!
Oh gosh I'm getting nervous on your behalf! I just hope it's Nice & Easy (like the hair coloring) 🙂
C'mon, baby!
Well, Charlotte sounds like you'll need to get the hang of nursing standing up, if you haven't already mastered this skill with your other babies! I got pretty good at nursing with a sling so I could be more mobile.
As far as jumpstarting labor, I'm as stumped as you are–and just as pregnant. I am NOT trying castor oil, that's for sure. Been walking like crazy. And sex? Well, it's getting about as uncomfortable as a dose of castor oil. I think I definitely jinxed myself by assuming this baby would come at 38 weeks like the other two and being more prepared this go-around.
They come when they are ready, and if some natural inducement remedy works, most likely you were ready to go into labor anyway.
You've inspired me! I'm totally going to do it. As for what I currently do, or at least what I've been trying to do, is while I'm watching my favorite TV shows I have to be moving. I brought my 'gazelle' upstairs into the living room by the TV and I either use that or do jumping jacks, or whatever… I just keep moving. I realized that I don't feel as bad about the 2 or 3 hours that I spend watching the shows I've pre-recorded with my DVR when I'm doing something productive too! (plus the kiddies enjoy that time now too cuz they can be involved!)
I want to try the standing thing. I am going to try it starting today!
And you need spicy food. Something spicy helps, as long as it won't give you heartburn.
Also, I wonder if they have an app for that yet?
I'm so in…I feel like my blogger butt grows everyday. LOVE THIS CHALLENGE Charlotte, and so interesting that the stability ball didn't work for you. I've always been curious but too cheap to try it.
I hope you're in labor RIGHT NOW. I can't offer any labor-starting tips, sadly, because MY girl, born after three boys? Was EIGHT DAYS LATE. And then they had to break my water to get things going (on the plus side, no pitocin needed, and only 1.5 hours of labor). You have my most sincere sympathies.
And I will be trying the standing thing too, but please? Pretty please, pretty Charlotte? Go ahead and sit down after the baby is born. It's okay to rest and recover. I promise.
OMG, you've destroyed me. I've known all along that I should be standing when I ride the subway to work, but I was too lazy. After reading your post I am FINALLY shamed into standing up on the subway every single day!
Also I'm thinking about buying the stability ball chair if I don't win it off of MizFit's website first!
Thanks for motivating me to CHANGE MY LIFE!
I have heard that a big Italian meal (esp. pasta and pizza) can help with setting of labor. Good luck and sending lots of good energy your way.
Another M (usually a lurker).
Oh and if it makes you feel better, I was born by c-section because they were scared something was wrong with me – because (my poor mother) I was 16 days late. I turned out just fine!
This is what I do all the time! I stand up in front of my computer at home and at work. The only time I ever seem to be sitting in a chair is when I'm in class, the rare times I'm in a car, or when I'm riding my bike… and when I'm hanging out with people. Though many of my friends understand my love for and obsession with standing 😀
And yeah. It really does make a difference. I'm pretty sure that it's increased my core strength drastically, to be honest… I have better core strength than anyone that I've ever worked out with and that's no word of a lie.