Running on the trail, as you know, Is much more difficult than running on a treadmill. My new training partner Joan can attest to that fact. Prior to today’s trail run, she had difficulty starting. She knew we were going to climb Maine Bar, and that may have had something to do with it. Trouble getting off the couch is something that we’ve all encountered at some time or another. We know that it is imperative to begin talking positives to ourselves like “Going out is good for me” or Just do it.” Some use negatives like calling self a wimp seem work too. Joan used her own “Pep talk” to get her going today. Find and discover your own” Pep Talk.”
On another note, during my recent lectures at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chautauqua Institute, and Fleet Feet Running Camp, my discussion regarding the hazards of sitting elicited quite a response. So, I am providing the data again.
* Be Like a Caveman and Keep Moving
How much sitting in a chair, during a 24 hour day, are you doing? Sitting in a chair, for long amounts of time, is a major contributor to poor health in this country. Think about it for a moment. Would it be interesting to you to know how many minutes or hours a day you find yourself sitting down? How much time do you spend driving in a car, eating your meals, at your computer or at some other electronic device, in an office, or sitting around talking to friends and family?
Why not with a stopwatch record time spent sitting during a week day and evening along with one day, from the weekend. This will give you some idea as to how much time spent being active, vs. time spent being inactive. Sitting is detrimental to your health.
The body, regardless of age, adapts to whatever you do with it. Too much time spent without moving results in your body becoming stiff and uncomfortable to move. Further, being sedentary results in muscle fiber connective tissue contracting since the fibers gets stiffer and less flexible. When this happens, the body produces less and less of its natural lubricating substances. When tissues, muscles become dry, short and inflexible they are more likely to tear since lack of movement lowers the blood supply in the bones. With a lower blood supply, bones become brittle and more fragile.
*Other significant findings of too much sitting include the following: 1. when sitting, the electrical activity in the leg muscles shuts off. 2. Calorie burning drops to one per minute. 3. Enzymes that help break down fat drops by 90%. . 4. After two hours of sitting, good cholesterol drops by 20%. 5. When, in a fixed position, like sitting, the muscles in the torso, neck and shoulders squeeze blood vessels, reducing blood flow and causing fatigue. 6. Insulin levels effectiveness drops and the risk of diabetes rises. 7. High amounts of stress are placed on the spine specifically the lower back and neck. 8. Blood often pools in the lower legs which can cause numbness and varicose veins. 9. Decreased fitness reduces lung and heart efficiency, and a higher risk for injury and disease.
Sources include: British Medical Journal; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Science Daily; Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
Keep moving my friends.
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