​Reset Your Fitness Practices To Help You Live Your Best Healthy Life Part 2

Reset Your Fitness Part 2

Last week we began discussing the health challenges of sitting in our blog series titled Reset Your Fitness Practices To Help You Live Your Best Healthy Life and the link to read the full post is here - https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/reset-your-fitness-practices-to-help-you-live-your-best-healthy-life 

Today we are diving deeper into this topic to help you find your own inspiration and motivation to move your body more and move it well on a regular basis for your best healthy life. 

Are Their Health Concerns With Sitting Too Long That Effect Health?

Sitting as a health issue is not a new topic. We know today that the human body wasn’t built to sit all day. Do you know that if you engage in more than 8 hours of sitting, this starts to cause serious damage to your circulatory system? 

According to Dr. Erin Michos at Hopkins Medicine, once you hit 10 hours or more of sitting per day, your risk of cardiovascular disease increases dramatically. As does your risk of dying from a stroke, this is because your heart isn’t working that hard to pump the blood in your body when you sit. Check out the article here - https://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/09/14/sitting-disease-moving-your-way-to-a-healthier-heart 

And it’s not just your heart which suffers. When you sit all day, your muscles relax, and when this happens, they absorb very little glucose from your blood, and the scientists at Harvard Health have found this to be a leading cause of diabetes. 

And sitting for long periods of time can also lead to a high risk of obesity, which comes with a whole host of additional chronic diseases that could ultimately lead to death.

There is no health when living with the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or other chronic diseases. 

I Never Knew That Because I Work Out Hard Half An Hour A Day!

Unfortunately, Dr. Erin Michos says exercising for thirty minutes each day, then sitting the other 23 and a half hours isn’t going to save you from sedentary related disease. Although high level exercise has been shown in some studies to lower the risks of sedentary disease, this was only true in studies where the test subjects completed 60 to 75 minutes of high intensity activity per day. And this is a lot of exercise to squeeze into a busy work and social life.  

Dr. Michos advises wearing a fitness tracker. Even if you work out each morning, you may be surprised to find that you spend the rest of the day sedentary, and don’t make the recommended 10,000 steps a day even with your workout. So, instead of trying to make your workout longer and harder, Dr. Michos says it’s simply easier to try and become less sedentary.

Action Steps To Implement? 

We suggest that in order to lower your risk of sedentary related diseases, it’s vital to get up and get moving whenever you can. Of course, this can be difficult depending on your profession.

This is why the doctors at Mayo Clinic recommend trying out a standing desk if this is something your boss will allow. And if it isn’t allowed in your workplace, consider standing while you talk on the phone or watch TV. This will help lower the number of hours you are sitting per day. 

You can also take a timed break for every hour that you sit. The doctors at Harvard Health recommend setting a timer for this so you don’t forget. Also schedule walking meetings, walk to visit coworkers instead of calling, and plan active meetups with friends. 

Overall, no matter how you look at it, living a life where you spend your entire day sedentary is bad for your health. And although you may work out for half an hour a day, this often isn’t enough to cancel out 8 or 10 hours of sitting. 

Therefore it is critically important that you make every effort in your life to spend more time standing or walking to lower your chances of developing a chronic health condition. 

What we know for sure is that walking is the link to living a healthy and vibrant life. We believe walking inspires the mind, activates the body, and nourishes the soul.

Join our FREE Walking Challenge Here - This is appropriate for all fitness levels, though it is tailored to beginners. You will also get a tip a day, which gives you a little more insight into how to walk, what to wear, going outside or using the treadmill, and even journal entries about your experience.

Share any ideas, questions or comments below. 

If you are looking for a home workout fitness system we recommend The Revolutionary Turbulence Training System Here  for all the details. 

If you have been following us for a while now you will know we have a passion for Kettlebell Training and recommend this program. 

Let us know how we can help you. 

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