Fitness Friday

Tales from the Scale: 

Could you hear the chorus of angels singing when I stepped on the scale this morning????


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Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Haaa-leee-luuuuuu-JAAAAHHHHHHH! 

175.  Need I say more?

Body Wars:

I'm still in physical therapy and looks like I'm going until at least the end of this month.

Which is probably a good thing. I pulled my back again this morning helping Computer Geek move an eight foot long countertop. I knew it was a bad idea... But in the interest of having working printers upstairs with my computer, well, I went along.  I don't think I did too much damage, so hopefully it'll feel better tomorrow.

In the meantime, I've picked up a little more knowledge via a link from Reverb10.  One of the authors there, Patrick Reynolds, has written an e-book entitled "Survival Guide for Knowledge Workers".  It caught my attention so I paid the $9.98 and downloaded the book.

Reynolds' major premise is that man evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to be erect, bi-pedal beings. (disclaimer - I am not making a case either way for the evolution/creationism debate - just reporting) Through that process our bodies were designed to walk. In fact he estimates that our hunter-gatherer ancestors walked about twenty miles every day.

As a species we moved from that to agriculture - which meant less walking, but still being active from dawn til dusk - tilling, planting, havesting, tending.

Until 100 or so years ago. When we became an industrial society. And men spent eight hours a day in front of a machine, assembling parts of whatever. Then we became knowledge workers. And now we spend 15-16 hours a day sedentary - in front of a computer, or a television, or an iPod, iPad, gaming device, or driving a car.

15 -16 hours a day. ON. OUR. BUTTS. In bodies that were designed to walk and to move for that period of time.


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 The result, according to Reynolds, is that our hamstrings are shortening, pulling the pelvis forward, causing us to hunch at our computers... bringing us back to the posture of our early ancestors. How scary is that?

What caught  my attention most about this piece is the correlation between a sedentary lifestyle, hamstrings, and posture. As you are reading this, pay attention to how you are sitting. Are you up straight or hunched? And if hamstrings are shortened by sitting all day, then no wonder mine are so "tight" when I try to do anything other than sit!

Reynolds' advice?  SIT LESS.  WALK MORE.  and DO YOUR STRETCHES!    

Well Duh. Damn. I knew I was on to something big. Wish I didn't just spend $10 to confirm it!  And here, I've been giving this same advice away for free! ;-)