Revisiting the desk....

I was reading my Yahoo daily news on-line today, as I do nearly everyday when I stumbled across an article that spoke to me. http://health.yahoo.net/experts/menshealth/most-dangerous-thing-youll-do-all-day Apparently when I wrote my piece "Riding the Desk", I was on to something. The statistics in this commentary are pretty scary, but if you are a slave to a desk, as I tend to be, you can recognize the truth in everything the author is saying.



Harley Days

Prior to taking on the job I have been doing for the last seven years, I worked as a Manager at the local Harley Davidson store. I was on my feet all day, and am sure if I had worn a pedometer, I would have clocked multiple miles a day simply from crossing back and forth across the store. When I moved to my new position, I initially worked from home, so while I was definitely sitting more than in my previous position, I was still up and down as I multi-tasked throughout the day.. Even so I probably gained about five pounds just from reducing my activity levels, and started having problems with my lower back as well.Three years ago, I moved from my home into an office just down the street. That is when I truly began to "ride the desk". I probably gained another five pounds and took on a more curvy silhouette, and while I was still not heavy, I had a trouble area, my belly, which to me seemed to protrude more that I was comfortable with. More noticably; however, I started having more and more problems with my back.

Curvier

So as I read through the attached article, I could see myself in the descriptions, and it concerned me. If what the author says is true, exercise alone isn't enough to combat the problems that occur the more and more we sit. My husband is living proof of that. He has always been a fitness nut, regularly maintaining a PT schedule even after he retired from the military to a consulting position. However, now that he is forced to remain sedentary for much of the day, he is finding it more of a challenge to maintain his weight.

Today

What does this mean to me? While I think I've been on the right track with my three daily fitness breaks, according to this article, I still need to be doing more, and that is why I am writing a second posting on the subject.I am going to try to start putting some of these ideas into practice, and simply insure I am standing a little more throughout the day. While I know the author was not speaking about me specifically, he was certainly speaking to me when he said, "Stop trying to be fit, and start trying to live fit." I started this journey to "live fit", and part of that journey is going to be learning exactly what that means through reading articles like this one. Today I confirmed I am on the right track, but I can still do better.