Sitting will be the death of me by Cynthia Reese

I'm sure you've heard that sitting is the new smoking. And that's bad news for people like me. After all, I'm a writer, and writers sit. A lot.

Oh, yeah, I've heard of the treadmill desk. And sometimes I even write standing up. For the most part, though, my favorite writing position is me propped up on my sofa, my laptop on my lap. 

I have never been one for sweaty endeavors. At six years old I was 36 inches tall and 36 pounds. I never got much bigger than that, so the fields of play were not my strong suit. Reading and scribbling were the two things I did best. 

And I never much worried about it. After all, I was a healthy weight. But now I hear so much about how bad it is to sit all the time.

So I have adopted the "at least I can do this" school of thought about exercise. Every morning when I get up, I do at least 50 squats. If I'm feeling particularly froggy, I'll add in a few push-ups, some tricep dips, some dive bombers. Emphasis on the word "few."

I tell you, I've been surprised at the results. Even though I haven't lost any weight, I can fit in pants I haven't been able to fit in for two years.

Does it counteract my sitting habit? According to all the scholarly studies, no. But I AM glad to have my pants back.

Comments

  1. I hadn't heard that sitting was the new smoking, so now I have something new to worry about. Enjoyed the post anyway!

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  2. Congrats on getting into old pants. That's an accomplishment. I don't know how writers get away from sitting. I don't think I could write standing up.

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  3. I’m some two-hundred feet from the fitness center at the college, and because I’m an employee, I can use it practically for free. If I could only get the energy to participate. Last time I was there, I was watching the Twin Towers come down on the TV screen mounted over the treadmill. Thanks for the push from you and Liz in yesterday's post; I’m going to look into it again.

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  4. I am a walker. I walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Most days it's 20,000 plus I play tennis twice a week for an hour an a half at a time. Walking helps in two ways, obviously the exercise, and the second is I think about my characters or the scene. I set my iPhone for every hour and I get up and walk 1,000 steps. When I'm watching television, I get up during commercials and walk.

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    1. What a good idea that is. I get up and move, but not much and not for long!

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  5. Cynthia - good for you on getting back into the pants. That makes you feel so good. Whatever the critics say, I can't believe that getting even a little exercise isn't better than just sitting. I know we do have to watch out for those blood clots. Take a tip from Shirley and get up every hour and walk around the room. You have to stay healthy to keep those books coming.

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  6. Good for you, Cynthia! I try to do the treadmill every day and light weights twice a week, but I'm still not fitting into any old pants. In fact, I just put several pairs in the Goodwill bag. Love your idea, Shirley, but how on earth do you get to 10K steps much less 20K?? That is impressive. Maybe I should get out my pedometer to see how few steps I'm probably doing. And get up to move around during TV ads. I do worry about all the evening sitting around.

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    1. I wrote reply and the machine ate it. Anyway, it doesn't take a lot to get the steps in. I doe figure 8's through the house. I wear a pedometer all the time and I'm conscious of how many steps I've done. If' I'm low I walk a little faster.

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  7. Squats are good for the knees, too. I take time to exercise every morning before I begin working, then I take a break around 4 to either go to water aerobics or Pilates. Otherwise I am facing knee replacement. That's my motivator. :-)

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  8. Great post, Cynthia! I am trying to be more intentional about movement and exercise. Congrats on your success!

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  9. Sitting is the new smoking? Yikes! I'm waiting for napping to be the new jogging.

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