Nowadays, many people’s lives can be resumed in this pattern: waking up; getting ready for work; driving to work; sitting at a desk to work; ordering lunch from your computer without getting up; driving back home; preparing dinner; grabbing a snack and sitting on the couch to catch up on your favourite series, heading to bed and repeating the same process the next day.
According to research, people spend more than 90% of their lifetime indoors – and 70% of each day sitting. This shows how sedentary our lifestyles have become. While it might feel more comfortable to kick back in an armchair than go to the gym, living a sedentary lifestyle has a direct, negative impact on our health and wellness. In fact, it may explain why you’re always tired, always stressed and always struggling to lose weight.
Contents
How to Beat Sedentary Life?
Create a Morning Exercise Routine
If you work from home, it can become a habit to “ease” into your day slowly. To prevent this, consider starting your day with an exercise morning routine. It can be anything like walking for an hour, running in the park, or even pedalling an exercise bike from the comfort of your home. Start your day with a commitment to an early morning exercise session and notice how your productivity and energy will increase.
Get a Sit Stand Computer Desk Workstation
One of the main causes of illness and injury at work is improper ergonomics combined with sitting at a desk all day. Does your setup allow for proper posture and body mechanics? The best strategy for creating an ergonomic workstation is investing in a sit stand computer desk workstation and making it a habit to change its position from sitting to standing at least a few times a day.
Long periods of seating have a significant impact on your health and wellbeing including strain on your neck, herniated discs, muscle degeneration and weakened bones, etc. Being able to switch between sitting and standing can help reduce the physical stress which your body tolerates. A sit stand computer desk workstation helps keeps you active at work and improves your productivity throughout the day.
It has been scientifically proven that the use of a sit-stand desk improves concentration and creativity. The reason for this is, when you’re standing, some of your body’s largest muscles are working, so this increases blood flow to the brain. Therefore, it improves the way you feel and the way you work. The use of more muscles also means you burn more calories whilst using a sit stand workstation due to the increase in blow flow. Standing also uses 10% more energy over the course of an eight-hour day. This accumulates to four hours standing, burning the equivalent to what you would if you went on a 40-minute walk.
Experts recommend spending at least a minimum of two hours on your feet while working on a desk, being 4 hours the ideal goal. Just as too much seating isn’t good for you, isn’t also too much standing. Make sure to regularly change or shift weight between your legs to reduce leg fatigue.
Park Far Away
We tend to look for a spot as close to our destination as possible. Instead, try to get into the habit of parking a block away or parking at the farthest parking spot. When grocery shopping, you can park in the store’s lot but choose the back row. After all, you wouldn’t want to be caught pushing a shopping cart down the street trying to get your car.
Ditch the Elevator
If it is just a couple of floors, always take the stairs. If you need to go up/down several floors, then consider taking the stairs to a couple of floors above/below and then take the elevator. As your physical condition improves, increase the number of floors you use the stairs for. When parking in a level parking lot, park in one of the higher levels and walk down.
If Possible, Bike to Work
If you live in a place where pollution is less and your workplace is relatively close by, then choose to bike instead of driving. For that, you’ll need to get a bike. When checking online bike stores, you’ll come across a wide range of different bikes. Which bike to choose to ride to work will depend on a number of factors including distance, terrain, where you live and of course, your taste. However, there is one bike type that is considered the best all-round commuting bike – the hybrid bike.
The best way to describe a hybrid bike is: a hardy road bike that takes some influence from mountain bikes, uses its off-road cousin’s flat handlebars and offers a more upright, traffic and comfort-friendly position. Most of the modern hybrid bikes you’ll find at online bike shops are usually build around 700c wheels. Their often wider tyres allow you to traverse rough roads and gravel paths comfortably.
Hybrid bikes also tend to have a front suspension to smooth out small bumps. Models without any suspension can be rigid to ride. Gears help take the strain out of pedalling. For the most part, these bikes use derailleur gears, with mechanisms that move the chain around sprockets on the rear wheel and cranks. If you’ll only ride flat terrain, you won’t need as many low gears to power up a hill, so you can get away with fewer gears, which will keep your bike light. Front and/or cargo racks can be convenient as they offer you a place to hold your groceries or belongs.
Fairly quick, light and simple to use and maintain, hugely versatile, and with a confidence-inspiring upright position, this type of bike is perfect for beginners looking for a bike for general use. Whether you are a woman, man, old, young, there’s no limit to who the hybrid is suitable for.
