Exercises for a sedentary lifestyle: video instructions

A sedentary lifestyle has become commonplace. With the development of digital technology and the emergence of a huge number of home-based professions that require only a computer and the Internet, the phrase “sedentary lifestyle” has become applicable to thousands of remote workers. Office positions are no less dangerous in this regard. How does inactivity affect our health? How to avoid the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle if it is impossible to completely abandon it? You will find answers to these and other equally important questions in our article.

What kind of lifestyle is considered sedentary?

Inactivity or physical inactivity is a disruption of the body's activity due to insufficient physical activity or its absence.

The problem of a sedentary lifestyle arose as a result of scientific and technological progress, urbanization, and the spread of means of communication, which simplified our life and replaced active types of recreation (walks, outdoor games).

Determining whether you lead a “active” or sedentary lifestyle is very simple. If you do not move actively during the day for at least half an hour, this is considered inactive. Active movements mean walking, running, and physical exercise.

Cleaning and performing normal household chores do not count as activity. During their execution, the necessary load on the body muscles is not created. When working around the house, we occupy incorrect postures that leave many muscle groups unused.

Symptoms of physical inactivity

Physical inactivity is a pathological condition manifested by a violation of the vital functions of the body due to a significant decrease in the force of muscle contraction and a sedentary lifestyle. When physical inactivity occurs, all systems of the body suffer: cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and musculoskeletal systems.

There are the following types of physical inactivity:

• hypokinesia – a condition characterized by a limitation in the volume and pace of movements;
• hypotension is a condition characterized by decreased muscle tone and excessively low intensity of movements.
• Hypoergia is a condition characterized by a lack of total movement.

Physical inactivity develops gradually. Its symptoms include:

• increased fatigue;
• constant fatigue;
• decreased performance;
• insomnia at night and drowsiness during the day;
• increased irritability;
• rapid heartbeat even at rest;
• significant decrease or increase in appetite;
• dyspnea;
• headache;
• pain in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions;
• decreased concentration;
• sudden mood swings;
• increased blood pressure.

Over time, physical inactivity worsens. Lack of physical activity leads to decreased muscle mass and decreased strength. The appearance of neuro-reflex disorders against this background increases the risk of vegetative-vascular dystonia. Long-term physical inactivity contributes to the reduction of bone tissue, as a result of which various pathologies of the musculoskeletal system arise: intervertebral protrusions, hernias, joint diseases, etc. Insufficient physical activity slows down the metabolism, which leads to excess weight, which can turn into obesity. Inactivity contributes to poor circulation, which has a negative impact on all organs and increases the risk of various diseases.

The problem of a sedentary lifestyle is the scourge of our time. Most people who work in an office spend at least 10 hours a day sitting. This time includes not only time at the computer, but also traveling by transport, watching TV and other activities. Undoubtedly, these people are at risk. Scientists have proven that even one hour of continuous sitting is harmful to health, and more is out of the question. However, many people simply do not have the opportunity to reduce the time they spend in this position. What to do in such cases? Doctors recommend taking breaks every half hour, during which you need to do special exercises or take a walk in the fresh air.

Important: systematically sitting for a long time can cause more harm to health than smoking!

What does a sedentary lifestyle lead to, and why is it dangerous?

The consequences of a sedentary lifestyle are much more dangerous than many people think. This is a deterioration in the quality of life and a reduction in its duration.

If you spend 8 hours sitting at work every day and prefer to drive home instead of walking, you risk living 15-17 years less than those who sit less than 3 hours a day and try to move actively.

What are the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle? Judge for yourself!

1. The heart muscle is the first to suffer from immobility. The lack of active physical movements and cardiovascular exercise causes the heart to make less productive contractions, which significantly reduces the tone of the vascular walls.
2. Spine. While sitting, we load it almost twice as much as when we stand or walk.
3. Poor blood circulation in the brain provokes dizziness, tinnitus, fatigue, and decreased productivity.
4. Without activity, muscles lose tone. This leads to rapid physical fatigue, apathy, and a feeling of constant fatigue.
5. Low mobility leads to metabolic disorders. Blood moves more slowly through the body and does not sufficiently saturate the cells with oxygen and nutrients.
6. Sitting in one place for a long time provokes stagnation of blood and lymph in the pelvis, negatively affecting the functioning of the intestines and genitourinary system.

How much sleep do you need per day?

Physical activity and good sleep go hand in hand. Moderate to vigorous activity can help you fall asleep faster and get deeper sleep.

In adults, lack of sleep is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and kidney disease. Adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day .

Children also suffer when they don't get enough sleep. Lack of sleep slows down the production of growth hormone. Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep , and children 6-12 years old need 9-12 hours .

Research on sedentary behavior is not yet complete. There are no final recommendations that all scientists would accept yet. But it's reasonable to assume that skipping sleep is a bad idea. Do more physical activity and exercise. Sit less. And when you are sitting at your desk or about every half hour, get up for a few minutes and take a break for a short walk.

How does a sedentary lifestyle affect the body from the inside?

Sitting every day in the office, in public transport, at home at the dining table or on the sofa watching TV has a negative impact not only on posture and muscle tone, but also provokes the development of a wide range of diseases.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

Those whose work is closely related to sitting at a computer suffer from lumbar and cervical osteochondrosis. Most often, the localization of cervical osteochondrosis is right-sided, since the right hand works with a computer mouse, writes, and performs other actions.

Also, “adherents” of a sedentary lifestyle often have intercostal neuralgia, lumbago, radiculitis, dizziness and headaches.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

Slow blood circulation provokes the development of venous insufficiency (varicose veins) and thrombosis. Without proper load, the heart suffers. The heart muscle “gets used” to working at half strength, disrupting the general condition of the circulatory system in the body, which affects all organs. The likelihood of strokes and heart attacks increases. Life expectancy is reduced.

Overweight

Lack of physical activity, non-compliance with the principles of a healthy diet, stress are factors leading to excess weight gain. Sitting in the office, we spend fewer calories than we consume, which causes “beer bellies” to appear, “breeches” in the thighs, and body weight to increase.

According to the forecasts of the weekly medical journal “The Lancet”, by 2025, 20% of our planet’s population will suffer from excess weight, including due to a sedentary lifestyle.

Constipation and hemorrhoids

Impaired intestinal motility, caused by immobility during the day, leads to chronic constipation. Constipation, in turn, becomes the cause of another unpleasant disease - hemorrhoids.

If you have prerequisites for constipation, do not let it become chronic. Warm up, regularly change the position in which you sit, pump up your abs, massage your abdomen, and watch your diet. This will significantly reduce the likelihood of hemorrhoids.

Which is better to work - sitting or lying down?

How to deal with this is still unclear. Obviously, we need to return to normal life, but doing this at once is not so easy. And many quite logically ask the question: if working while sitting is so harmful to health, can the situation be improved by taking a lying or reclining position? Instead of sitting upright (or slouching) at your desk all day, wouldn't it be better to lie down on the sofa, or relax in a hammock, or lean back in your chair? After all, your body will be positioned differently. Scientists say it doesn't matter.

It’s high time to add to the “sedentary lifestyle” not only sitting, but also everything that is associated with a low level of energy consumption. Including lying and reclining positions. They are no more beneficial than sitting in a chair all day, says Arthur Veltman, a professor of physiology at the University of Virginia (USA).

It doesn’t matter how or where you sit - this lifestyle is harmful to your health.

Consequences of a sedentary lifestyle

Sitting at your desk, on the couch, or at the dinner table for long periods of time does no one any good. Doctors share the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle for men and women.

For men

A sedentary lifestyle has a negative impact on the prostate. Poor circulation and stagnation of blood flow and lymph in the pelvic organs leads to prostatitis, which in turn leads to a decrease in potency. Today there are already a large number of infertile couples due to poor sperm motility and prostatitis. In addition to sexual problems, men who lead a sedentary lifestyle are often bothered by hemorrhoids.

For women

The same reason - stagnation in the pelvis - provokes disorders in the sexual sphere in women and becomes the cause of uterine pathologies (polyps, endometriosis), as well as painful menstruation.

A general deterioration in well-being due to a sedentary lifestyle and frequent stress cause hormonal disorders, mastopathy, ovarian cysts, and menstrual irregularities.

This video is very detailed, simple and clear:

How to lose weight with a sedentary lifestyle and stay healthy

Even if you clearly understand what a sedentary lifestyle is, you are unlikely to be able to get even with it from the start, once and for all. Few people would agree to quit a well-paid, much less a promising job because they have to spend eight hours at a desk. At the same time, getting to work on foot, especially for residents of large cities, is not possible in the majority of cases. So what can you do to minimize the harm from a sedentary lifestyle? There is definitely no need to fall into despair, but it is better to listen to useful advice and recommendations.

More movement: physical education will help

Choose the opportunity and time to play sports, there is no other choice. Adjust them in such a way that they do not interfere with your work, and most importantly, do not put them on the back burner. It is not necessary to sign up for a gym and go there five times a week, because such a routine is not available to everyone. You can exercise on your own at home, start jogging in the morning, or purchase a home exercise machine.

In addition, industrial gymnastics at work with a sedentary lifestyle helps to cope with the problem perfectly. It will allow you not only to restore your own physical shape, improve your health and prevent possible illnesses, but also to involve colleagues in the process who also need help.

Sit correctly or work standing

Doctors believe that a sitting position is generally unnatural for humans. Thousands of years of evolution have adapted our body to either lie down or run and walk in search of food. As a last resort, we can stand, but sitting is not recommended. The spine, as well as the muscular corset, are poorly adapted to support the body in an upright position, and all internal organs are compressed and suffer when sitting.

• Clearly control the time you sit continuously, this is very important. You can sit in a row for no more than 2-3 hours, it is better to make a smaller choice. After this, you need to get up and do gymnastics. At work, you can just walk around the office, and at home play with your children or pets. Even this will be enough to weaken the negative effect.
• During lunch, go outside the office and walk at least a short distance. At home, it’s also a good idea to go for a walk regularly. If this is not possible, you can even walk around at your desk or TV.
• There is a good method to force yourself to walk around the house if you are not alone. Make it a rule never to call anyone, but to come on your own to communicate what is needed. For example, do not shout from the kitchen to your child that it is time to eat, but go to the nursery yourself.
• While sitting, always watch your posture, place your hands correctly when typing on the keyboard, and control your movements. You can’t put your foot under you, but taking a small bench is quite acceptable. Nowadays, special ergonomic “chairs” have been developed that allow half-standing work at the table. If possible, buy yourself something similar.

Doing athletics, fitness, running regularly or going to the gym only makes sense if you don't sit for more than four or five hours at a time. If you continue to sit all day long, the effect of training will be completely neutralized and you will not receive any benefit. This does not mean that you need to give up sports, but only that you should think about the correctness of your “sitting”.

Proper nutrition

In order not to gain excess weight with a sedentary lifestyle, you will have to not only ensure physical activity, but also adjust your diet. When you are inactive, your body burns fewer calories and therefore needs less nutrition to function properly.

• Strict dietary restrictions are not suitable for people who exercise little. Therefore, diets of this type should be postponed until better times. You already suffer from a slow metabolism and low activity, so removing nutrients from your diet will only worsen the situation.
• Create a personalized nutrition plan, routine and routine. This will allow you not only to receive everything necessary for the functioning of all life-support systems, but also to plan your working time more competently. Moreover, it will discipline you and allow you to make time for physical activity.
• Reduce portions while increasing the number of meals. At work, this can be realized with the help of healthy snacks to overcome the false feeling of hunger.
• Eliminating harmful “goodies” will make your diet more healthy. Avoid fast food, baked goods, excessive amounts of sweets, smoked foods, and eliminate fatty foods. All this does not bring any benefit, but is harmful to health.

If you work full time, always eat breakfast at home. Morning meals are important for starting metabolic processes. Drinking tea with colleagues does not qualify as a breakfast, and it is better to completely remove buns, cookies, and cakes from your diet.

Routine and sleep

Enough has already been said and written about the benefits of a clear daily routine and adherence to the regime. We will not repeat ourselves, we will only note that clear control over your time will allow you to allocate more free time. This way you can find time to really take care of your health, go to the gym or just do gymnastics.

It is important to maintain a sleep schedule. A healthy adult needs proper rest, otherwise you will constantly feel drowsy, tired, and weak. Learn to go to bed no later than ten in the evening, so that it will be easier to get up in the morning, feeling rested.

Rejection of bad habits

Alcohol, smoking and other negative attachments cannot bring any benefit to the body. There is a misconception that if you quit smoking, you will immediately gain excess weight. However, in reality, with proper diet planning and sufficient physical activity, this will not happen. You can read how to quit smoking while minimizing the difficulties of the process in a separate material on our website.

Wellness treatments

Even if you are not overweight yet, you should not refuse general strengthening procedures and health improvement. But what will be useful for those who spend most of their lives at a desk, computer or in a car?

• Massage . There are many types of this useful procedure, you can try them all or choose something to suit your taste. All this will provide organs and tissues with blood flow, therefore, nutrition with nutrients and oxygen.
• Swimming . Sign up for a swimming pool, it brings a lot of benefits. This will give you the opportunity to lose weight and maintain physical fitness, and at the same time train your heart muscle. You can swim in the nearest lake or river, but this method is limited to the summer, and you need to be healthy all year round.
• Stretching . Exercises to increase the mobility of ligaments and joints will help you maintain youth much longer and avoid accidental injuries and sprains.
• Cold and hot shower. It was not for nothing that our ancestors regularly practiced jumping into a lake or a snowdrift after a bath, and many still love such fun. Pouring hot and cold water has serious advantages; they help you lose weight and keep your body in good shape.

All health procedures must be performed wisely. First, you should go to your doctor, get tested and undergo tests to be completely sure that there are no serious medical contraindications.

Walks and active hobbies

Sports are not for everyone, so you can find an alternative. This will allow you not to force yourself to go to the gym at the allotted time, which does not bring anything good. There are a lot of options. Many people like Eastern practices, such as yoga, meditation, breathing exercises and others. Others prefer dancing. For example, a dance like Zumba is very helpful in losing excess weight even with a sedentary lifestyle.

However, if there is no opportunity to devote yourself to full-fledged training, there will definitely be a way out. You definitely need to walk more in the fresh air. Whenever possible, it is worth making forays into nature, to the river, to the forest, or at least to the nearest park. They will help not only keep fit, but also improve mood, tone, and saturate the body with oxygen.

How to avoid the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle?

Even if you have a clear idea of ​​the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, you are unlikely to be able to completely get rid of it. Shouldn’t you give up a promising job in a good office or the clients you’ve accumulated through many years of freelance work? And not everyone has the opportunity to get to work on foot to compensate for the harm of sitting for eight hours.

What to do? Exercise, nutritional adjustments, and little tricks that you can use in your workplace today will help reduce the negative impact of sitting at your workplace.

Physical activity + exercises you can do right at your workplace

Try to change your body position every 15-20 minutes. Get up from your desk more often to stretch, do a couple of side bends, and stretch your legs. This way the blood in the body will circulate normally.

Exercises you can do while sitting at your desk:

1. Sit back in your chair and straighten your legs. Bend and straighten your knees 10-15 times each.
2. Straighten your leg, pull up your toes and perform circular movements with your ankle 10-15 times on each leg.
3. Slowly rotate your head clockwise and counterclockwise 5 times.
4. With cervical osteochondrosis, it is advisable not to make rotational movements of the head. Instead, stretch your arms out to the sides and try to reach your left shoulder with your right hand, placing your right hand behind your head. Do this 15-20 times with one and the other hand, and then 15-20 times with both hands at the same time. Pull the top of your head up. Try not to tilt your head forward.
5. Do 10 shoulder rolls back and 10 forwards.
6. Tighten and relax your buttock muscles 20-25 times.
7. While sitting on a chair, alternately raise and lower your right and left arms 10-15 times.
8. Place one palm against the other and forcefully press your palms against each other. Keep your palms tense several times for 10-15 seconds.
9. Squeeze and unclench your fingers. Stretch with your fingers interlocked.
10. Lower your arms along your body, relax them and shake your hands for a few seconds.
11. Move your chair back, lean forward and bring your shoulder blades together as much as possible. Repeat several times.
12. Sit on the edge of a chair, straighten up and suck in your stomach for a few seconds. Do at least 50 times.
13. Alternately lift your toes and heels off the floor.
14. Lift your shoulders up as you inhale and sharply “throw” them down as you exhale.
15. Move away from the table, straighten your legs and try to reach the toes of your shoes as much as possible with your fingers.
16. Take off your shoes and roll a glue stick or other round stationery across the floor.

Try to make such a warm-up a “mandatory program” every day. Don't be afraid to cause confusion among your work colleagues. Remember that preventing a problem is much better than fighting it. Below is a video that will help you have a clearer understanding of gymnastics right “on a chair”:

Don't forget about morning exercises. Let her become your faithful companion every morning. Table with exercises for morning exercises:

Download the list of exercises here so you don’t lose it.

Nutrition

In order not to gain excess weight, to always be full of strength and energy, it is important not only to maintain physical activity, but also to monitor nutrition. Going on a strict diet is not an option: since the body already suffers from a lack of activity and a slow metabolism, strict dietary restrictions will not benefit it.

Four simple rules of nutrition for a sedentary lifestyle:

1. Follow a meal schedule. Eating at the same time disciplines, helps plan work time taking into account the lunch break, and promotes maximum absorption of nutrients and vitamins from food. All meals, even snacks, should be fixed in time.
2. Eat smaller portions. Get up from the table feeling like you haven't eaten enough. A slight feeling that you are hungry is good for the body. Dull it with a healthy snack: a banana, nuts, an apple, a mug of tea. The total number of meals per day should be at least 5.
3. If you work in an office, don't forget to have breakfast at home. Breakfast is an important meal for the body. By skipping it, you disrupt your entire diet.
4. Eliminate fast food from your diet. Pizza, burgers, buns, cakes and other sweets are contraindicated for a sedentary lifestyle. They contain too many calories that you simply cannot burn while typing on your keyboard throughout the day.

Other tips

If it is impossible to escape from a sedentary lifestyle, make sure that it causes as little harm as possible. Since you spend most of your time sitting at your desk, consider ways to stay physically active while at work.

Three tips for setting up your workplace:

1. Remove unnecessary objects that may prevent you from stretching your legs under your desk and stretching them during the day.
2. If possible, have snacks, tea and lunch not at your workplace, but in a special designated area of ​​the office or in the kitchen. To do this, you will at least get up from your chair and walk around, plus you can stand by the window while you drink tea.
3. Try to get out of your chair more often. Even if you have the necessary documents and objects at arm's length, do not drive up to them in a chair and do not ask your colleagues to hand them over, but stand up and take them yourself.

Problem No. 6. Hemorrhoids

I don’t advise anyone to turn a blind eye to constipation, because it can cause hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids quite often occur due to a sedentary lifestyle, or if a person is forced to keep his body in one position for a long time.

Coping with this disease is quite difficult. For many, hemorrhoids gradually migrate to the chronic stage, in which the nodes can increase at any time. And then life turns into real torture - with constant pain, itching, burning, bleeding and other troubles.

Article on the topic

Hemorrhoids: myths and truth about the disease Before starting treatment, it is necessary to determine at what stage of development the disease is already at. Of course, treatment with pills is somehow easier and more pleasant, but they can only help at the initial stage. I can recommend a folk recipe that is quite effective.

Direct a stream of hot water from the shower onto the hemorrhoids. Repeat the procedure several times a day. It helps many, especially at the very beginning of the disease.

In later stages, when the hemorrhoidal node can no longer be removed on its own, only surgery will help. But this is another topic for discussion.