Here’s a question for you.

How much time do you spend sitting down each day?

Think about it. You might get up early and do an I.C.E. or F.I.R.E. session. Great start to the day. But then you drive to work.

You get to work, then sit at a desk for several hours. Sit down for lunch. Drive home. Have dinner.

And perhaps finish the evening watching a bit of television.

Before you know it, you’ve spent a large part of your day sitting.

Even though you’ve exercised!

But I already exercise!

And that’s fantastic.

Regular exercise is one of the best things we can do for our health.

But here’s something worth understanding.

Exercising regularly and spending too much time sitting are two different issues.

Research has consistently linked high amounts of sedentary time with poorer health outcomes.

And while regular exercise helps reduce those risks, it doesn’t necessarily mean we should ignore what happens during the other hours of our day.

In other words, a great workout in the morning doesn’t make movement during the rest of the day irrelevant.

Our bodies were designed to move

Think about what happens when we sit for long periods.

Our muscles aren’t doing much work.

We’re using very little energy.

Our joints stay in much the same position.

And we miss opportunities to move, stretch and use our bodies.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with sitting.

We all need to sit.

The problem is when sitting becomes what we do for most of our waking hours.

And particularly when we do it for long periods without a break.

The solution isn’t another workout

This is the good news.

You don’t necessarily need to add another exercise session to your day.

Sometimes it’s simply about finding more opportunities to move.

For example:

• Get up and walk around for a few minutes between periods of desk work.
• Take a walk during your lunch break
• Take a short walk after lunch.
• Stand up when you’re taking a phone call.
• Walk over and speak to someone rather than sending another email.
• Park a little further away.
• Take the stairs when practical.
• Get outside for a short walk after dinner.

Nothing particularly complicated.

And none of these things needs to leave you puffing and sweating.

We’re simply trying to reduce the amount of time we spend sitting still.

It’s not all about getting 10,000 steps

I’m a big advocate for walking.

But I also don’t want people becoming obsessed with hitting an arbitrary number every day (yes, I know... but I've reformed and are now no obsessed!).

There’s nothing magical about exactly 10,000 steps.

The important thing is getting regular movement into your day.

And if you’re currently doing 4,000 steps, moving towards 5,000 or 6,000 is a positive change.

Just as importantly, think about how those steps are spread throughout the day.

A few short walks can be a practical way to break up long periods of sitting.

Chris’ Challenge

Here’s your challenge for this week.

Every time you’ve been sitting for about an hour, get up and move for a few minutes.

Walk around the office.

Go outside.

Climb some stairs.

Do a lap of the house.

Whatever works for you.

You don’t need to make a big production of it.

Just make it a habit.

And see how you feel at the end of the week.

Because when it comes to looking after our health, it’s not only about what we do during our workouts.

It’s also about what we do between them.

Yours in health and fitness,

Chris

P.S. At Excite, we encourage a combination of structured exercise and regular everyday movement.

Our I.C.E. and F.I.R.E. programs help develop your cardiovascular fitness and strength, while those little movement habits help keep you active throughout the day.

If you’d like some help getting started, just REPLY to this EMAIL and let’s have a chat.