Am I too Sedentary?

tumsbums

Hi! So I have read quite a few scary articles recently on the dangers of "sitting" to much and leading a Sedentary lifestyle, and I have been trying to look into my own way of living to see if I am being too much of a couch potato!

I'm a 21 year old student. On most days, I usually go an sit in lectures, sit with friends for a coffee and most of my hobbies involve sitting (such as watching a movie with friends in the evening) or having "meetings". I try to walk around when I can..but I am starting to get a little worried. Am I doing myself damage with this lifestyle?

I also have to travel at least 2 hours by bus to get to see family, and the fear from this "sitting is dangerous" talk is actually putting me off going..which is not a way I want to live my life!

Does anyone have any insights or opinions on this?

Thank you!

Machka9

Can you start to make changes such as going for a walk with your friends instead of sitting over coffee or playing an outdoor sport with your friends instead of sitting and watching movies?

What about errands ... can you walk to get your groceries and do other errands?

And this bus trip to see your family ... can you walk before boarding the bus? Or climb up and down stairs or something? At airports, I walk several kilometers before boarding the plane and I do a lot of stretching ... makes me feel better. Does the bus stop or does it go straight through? If it stops somewhere, can you get off for 5 or 10 minutes and walk up and down the platform? When you arrive, is there some way to be active? Even just getting up once an hour and doing a little walk somewhere?

earth_echo

From Wiki:

Extremely inactive - example: Cerebral Palsy patient
Sedentary - example: Office worker getting little or no exercise
Moderately active - example: Construction worker or person running one hour daily
Vigorously active - example: Agricultural worker (non mechanized) or person swimming two hours daily
Extremely active - example: Competitive cyclist

tumsbums

Thanks Machka9, I do walk for errands etc...I would love to do more sports, however this is around 9,10pm so it can be a little difficult to do an outdoor activity. Thank you for the suggestion though!

I do already walk when I can to do things like groceries etc, but for my bus it doesn't stop over the 2 and a bit hours sadly. I will try and take a little walk after I arrive though. Thanks.

Unknown

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successgal1

While sitting too much can be a "danger" there are thousands of people here, right now, who had a similar school lifestyle and we've all lived to tell the tale. My question, does the school have a fitness center? If so, I'd suggest taking advantage of it. Look into bodyweight exercise that you can do without so much as leaving your bedroom. Look into office worker exercising, there's lots of little things you can do throughout the day to keep your blood pumping. Walk on your lunch break. Probably the biggest danger to you is having your current sedentary lifestyle become your permanent way of being. Start incorporating new activities into your life now so that being active is your habit.

Michael190lbs

Get a step tracker and see just how active you truly are you might be a lot more active than you give yourself credit for. Try to hit 10,000 steps a day it gets addictive I average over 20,000 a day and actively make sure I get 20,000 everyday..

FredKing1

An occasional bus ride won't hurt - this sounds like a rationalization. Go see your family. Unless you go to a miniscule city college - you're probably doing quite a bit of walking already. I agree with the tracker idea. Also, you likely have a gym you can use. Research or consult - there are very effective routines you can complete in 30 minutes which will suffice. Prioritize it and schedule that time as though it were a class. As noted above, millions of collge students survive the ordeal - what you want to be conscious of is the lifestyle and habits you are sowing.

liznotyet

There is even such a thing as active sitting. Plant your feet and sit bones firmly and with all your might. Engage your thighs and core to lengthen your torso and open your spine. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.

FitPhillygirl

Michael190lbs wrote: »

Get a step tracker and see just how active you truly are you might be a lot more active than you give yourself credit for. Try to hit 10,000 steps a day it gets addictive I average over 20,000 a day and actively make sure I get 20,000 everyday..

This is a great suggestion. My daughter got the FB flex in Sep. for her first year in College so she could do challenges with her friends.

47Jacqueline

Get off the bus a stop sooner and walk the rest of the way. If your phone can track steps, turn that function on and link it to MFP. To get out of the sedentary category you should be doing moderate movement for at least 150 minutes a week. It's not hard.

ejbronte

Michael190lbs wrote: »

Get a step tracker and see just how active you truly are you might be a lot more active than you give yourself credit for. Try to hit 10,000 steps a day it gets addictive I average over 20,000 a day and actively make sure I get 20,000 everyday..

So very true! Often, when I get home, I'm just a couple of thousand steps from the magic number, so I start jogging in place till it gets there. The cats kind of huddle together and watch with mild concern till I'm "normal" again.

cafeaulait7

There are many DVDs/youtube videos you can do for a half hour or so at night, too. They don't always get counted by fitness trackers because they aren't always step-based, but they certainly count towards being sedentary or not.

lorrpb

Go see your family. A 2 hr bus ride is not going to do any permanent harm. Especially if the alternative is sitting on the couch watching movies! But do follow some of the suggestions given above to be more active the rest of the time.

ericGold15

Learn to fidget

ericGold15

ejbronte wrote: »

So very true! Often, when I get home, I'm just a couple of thousand steps from the magic number, so I start jogging in place till it gets there. The cats kind of huddle together and watch with mild concern till I'm "normal" again.

:-)

One of my cats seems to enjoy being in the same room when I exercise. He often rolls on the floor, attacks the scratch pad, and then sits nearby when I am stretching. A true personal coach.

ejbronte

ericGold15 wrote: »

ejbronte wrote: »

So very true! Often, when I get home, I'm just a couple of thousand steps from the magic number, so I start jogging in place till it gets there. The cats kind of huddle together and watch with mild concern till I'm "normal" again.

:-)

One of my cats seems to enjoy being in the same room when I exercise. He often rolls on the floor, attacks the scratch pad, and then sits nearby when I am stretching. A true personal coach.

How sweet is that! Too, he might be showing you "how it's really done".