How do you feel after you go for a walk or manage to finish a 30-minute workout at the gym? You’ll probably feel great because our bodies are meant to move. Exercise is good for both our physical and mental health and fortunately, you don’t need to train like an olympian every day to feel the benefits.
So for those of us who are sedentary by choice or are tied to our desks all day thanks to remote work, how can we incorporate easy moves to make our bodies happier?
The Guardian spoke to Juliet and Kelly Starrett authors of Built to Move: The 10 Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully about how we can move our bodies on a daily basis.
Sit on the floor for 15 minutes
Simple exercises are enough to make you feel that slightly bit better – like sitting on the floor for 15 minutes. Yes, I know that sounds a bit strange but this exercise can do wonders for specific parts of your body.
If you spend 15 to 30 minutes a day sitting on the floor, it can help you take your hip joints into areas they don’t usually reach whilst loading your spine in advantageous way.
If you spend your day sitting in a chair, this exercise will help you undo some of the pain you might experience when sitting in a chair for long periods of time.
It’s suggested that you switch between three positions:
- Crisscross: take it back to primary school and sit with your legs crossed in front of you.
- 90/90: sit with one leg bent at 90 degrees in front of you (your thigh straight out from your hip). Rest on the front leg’s side of your bum ever so slightly and bend the other leg at a 90-degree angle so that its foot is behind you. Change sides after five minutes.
- Long sitting: sit with your legs straight in front of you, back straight, or with your torso leaning ahead to some degree.
Stand more
Spending your day sitting around is not great for your body. Women and men who spend more than six hours a day sitting are 37% and 18% more likely to die early than people who sit for less than three hours a day, The Guardian reported.
Additionally, women who spent a lot of time sitting down were twice as likely to get triple-negative breast cancer, which is the most aggressive form of the disease.
There’s “strong evidence” that greater levels of physical activity and reduced “sedentary time” will limit a woman’s chance of having breast cancer, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
So, you should really take the time to stand more. You can do this by getting a standing desk or working on a counter. If you aren’t able to do this, take standing breaks during the day.
When you’re out, take the stairs rather than lift, or stand on the bus or tube, eventually, it starts to become a habit.
Fidget
Standing is also encouraged as it allows us to naturally move our bodies for comfort. Fidgeting is a way of continuously moving our bodies. A study from the Mayo Clinic/Arizona State University Obesity Solutions found that compared with lying still, sitting expanded energy expenditure by only 6%. However, sitting and fidgeting increased it by 54%. (Standing and fidgeting increased it by 94%).