Wellness: Go ahead, take that smoke break...

You've heard this new adage, but so what? What can you possibly do about this? You have to sit, you work. Your job isn't "cushy" and you can't just take off in the middle of the afternoon to get that cardio in that you missed this morning.  So, you're stuck. Right? 

Wrong! There are some things you can do in order to combat this nasty habit we now call sitting, even if you have a 9-5!   We say, go ahead and take that deserved smoke break... Look, I get it.  You can get into the "groove" and you're "stuck" there, so why not just sit there at your desk counting the minutes away until you leave, but seriously, you have to get up and get moving.  A recent study showed that sitting at your desk for hours can lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome.  It has been researched that it can also increase your risk of cancer by more than 60%. But don't think that your haphazard workout schedule, you know a workout here a walk there, well that doesn't seem to do much to combat the sitting epidemic. In order to stay healthy and combat the effects of sitting you should take breaks as often as possible from your desk!

“We’ve become so sedentary that 30 minutes a day at the gym may not counteract the detrimental effects of 8, 9 or 10 hours of sitting.  Genevieve Healy, PhD 

                                                              

You should attempt to combat this issue throughout your day. Here are a couple of things you can try to incorporate to combat the affects of endless sitting:

Stand and do shoulder blade squeezes- this will help improve your hunched posture.  You know, that position that you have picked up from hunching over to tap on the keyboard of that outdate PC.

If you can, ditch the conference room and opt for a walking meeting with colleagues.

On a conference call? Stand up and do tricep dips.  This will keep your arms on point! Face away from your desk and place your hands shoulder-width apart with extended. Bend your arms then straighten them while still keeping tension on your triceps and off your elbows.

How do you feel about sitting all day? Do you do anything to keep moving during your workday?  Let me know your ideas.  It's easy, just comment below!