CHALLENGE TUESDAY: sitting still for many hours a day can be commonplace at the best of times and lockdown has increased this exponentially for many people.
As great as a workout is, 30-60 mins of exercise can’t unwind the impact on your muscles of sitting for most of the day. It typically:
- tightens your hip flexors (which are tight enough already for many pregnant and postnatal women!)
- weakens your glutes (no-one wants a flat bum); and
- puts significantly more pressure on your back.
Plus you obviously burn less calories not moving around which can impact on your weight.
Juggling work and / or children whilst complying with lockdown rules restricts much of the normal activity than many of us do and so your challenge today is to come up with new ways to get more movement in.
Here are some of my suggestions…
- set a timer on your phone to change position / move every 20 minutes for at least 2 mins
- consider replacing your desk chair with a exercise/pregnancy ball (I hope you’ve already looked at your desk set up more generally. I know it’s called a laptop, but don’t balance it on your lap hunched over all day!)
- similarly you might want to invest in a riser or standing desk (or simply prop your laptop up on some books) so that you can vary the position you’re working at. But remember that standing in one position all day isn’t great for you either!
- put your headphones in and walk around the house (or garden – the fresh air will do you good!) when on phone calls. And remember that all because someone scheduled a zoom doesn’t mean you have to be on video. We can still communicate perfectly well in most instances without.
- when you’re in the kitchen making any kind of food or drink, take a few moments to dance around, do some press ups on the counter, get some (supported) squats in. Similarly, pick 2/3 places around the house where you’ll find yourself several times throughout the day and associate an exercise or release with them. Every time you pass by or find yourself there do that exercise or release for 30 secs / 30 reps. For example…chest stretches every time you walk through the living room door or squats whilst brushing your teeth or getting your make up off.
- lunge (carefully) up and down the stairs and do it again for good measure to get a few more steps in.
- if you’re watching TV, do it with your feet up the wall or by whilst doing some mobility work. Not being on your phone you may even take in more of what you’re watching.
- And if you’re in my monthly membership press play on one of the glute activation videos to wake those bad boys up!
What others ideas have you got?
