This may be an assumption but I’m going to go ahead and say most people don’t get enough daily exercise. Whether it’s time constraints, the weather, an injury or just laziness I don’t think people are getting in their daily 30-60 minutes. I’m not going to tell you why you should exercise- you already know that. So I won’t lecture, but I will make a suggestion- stand up.
Yeah, that’s my suggestion, stand up. Sounds simple, right? Think about how much you sit all day. In the car, at the table, at your job (I know not everybody has a desk job but many do), in the car again, at a sporting event, at the computer again, on the couch….I think you get my point. Now, you can’t stand up in the car, but what if you stood up at your desk at work? Would you be allowed to make a stand up station at work? I was fortunate enough to be able to.
It’s not pretty, my set up, but it works. I can get my job done while standing with the help of some cardboard boxes and a clever stacking plan. Now, I can’t claim the stand-up desk helped me lose weight but I can say, without any other changes in my routine I slowly lost the extra 5 lbs. I had gained over the first two years at my job. Like I mentioned above, we sit a lot throughout our day- so if you take eight hours or so that were regularly spent sitting and switch to standing you’ll be expending more energy, all without adding in a workout. Fairly simple, right?
If it isn’t an option at work, try incorporating more standing somewhere else in your day. Watching a kid’s soccer game? Stand instead of sit on the cold bleachers and maybe take a walk during half time. I’m sure you get the idea, move or stand when you can. It all adds up- happy standing!