Am I being too lazy?

tumsbums

Hello all!

I'm sorry if this is a silly question, however I'm really wondering if I'm being very unhealthy with my level of activity. I think my paranoia has come from reading a few articles on how sitting often can have health implications...

For the past year now I have been living in a small town about 2 hours away from the nearest city. I usually walk to work etc in my town, but at least 2 days a week I travel into the city by bus. This is a 2 hour trip each way. 4 hours just sitting in the same spot at least 2 days a week. Is this not really helping my fitness and health?

Thankyou for reading!

Medilia

Sitting on a bus is fine. I work 8 hour days sitting at a desk. I work out 20-30 minutes and day and I am losing weight and getting fit.

If you are really concerned about how much you are sitting down look at these exercises (I think anyone can see them...)
http://www.maxworkouts.com/articles/entry/simple-ways-to-combat-low-back-pain-from-sitting?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Exercises to undo negative effects of sitting&utm_campaign=maxworkouts


This is from the work out regime I follow. Max Work outs

cwolfman13

If all you do is sit, there are going to be consequences. I have a desk job...i sit a good part of the day, five days per week...to boot, I have a two hour round trip commute by car every day...but I also exercise regularly and when I'm not at my desk or in my car I try to be generally active...I'm not too worried...I'm in better health now than i was in my mid twenties...I'm very fit, at a healthy BF%, and all my markers are good. Not too worried about it.

It's all relative...if you sit all day and then go home and sit some more...and then spend the weekend sitting around...and evenings just lazing about....yeah...there are going to be consequences to that.

Many of these studies about sitting is the new smoking, etc are really looking at overly sedentary lifestyles in general...one sits all day at work...sits in the car...and then goes home and sits down to dinner and then sits in front of the t.v. That's a lot of sitting...and no deliberate exercise. Everyone should be trying to get in at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise at least 5 days per week. IMHO, more is better...

karenlwashburn

As long as you work out a hour a day with exercise it won't matter your work activity. I sometimes sit all day at my desk and some days I walk around a lot on the road neither affect my health. The only problem I have is not eating enough as I'm too busy with deadlines to take a moment and refill my tank. I'm doing one months' worth of work this week so that messes up my normal food routine as its the Christmas season. Other months I'm fine. (I'm assuming you're not eating McDonald's all day etc and you have a healthy lifestyle.)

SLHysell

There is a lot of evidence that sitting all day long can be detrimental to your health in spite of the exercise you do at night. I've seen many of these recent articles as well. I work my butt off at night, but I still sit 8 hours a day too. I've been considering a standing desk. It might be something for you to consider as well.

Here's a sample article.

nbcnews.com/id/34956099/ns/health-fitness/t/you-sitting-down-experts-say-itll-kill-you/#.VIoF6Htu7CA

The scary part in the article to me is that "...in a study published last year that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for about a dozen years, researchers found people who sat more had a higher death risk, independently of whether or not they exercised."
- bold emphasis added by me.

JoRocka

^^^ truth

I try to get up and walk every hour or so. apparently that's better than nothing.

mightygirlruns

Make the best out of it. Read while on the bus. Exercise for your mind.