Sedentary Lifestyles

[extralizard13]

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Sitting-Kills-Finds-TV-Habits-Study-69108.html?wlc=1263794738

I wasn't entirely sure where to put this, since, after all, this is lack of exercise. So I decided health. Sorry if it should be in off topic.

As with most summarizations of studies, I take them with a grain of salt. However I think this generally is true. My knees lock-up and I can't move if I sit for too long and not move. I also tend to have sleep issues (probably due to lack of energy used). In general, though, I hate sitting. I fractured my tailbone about 7-8 years back and it used to excruciating to sit. (A doctor and physical therapist managed to fix my pelvis alignment and pain issues, however, instead of a searing pain, its a dull throb.) However, despite that, sitting is, nonetheless, aggravating. The position is just not natural to me. My step-mother would get irritated at me, as I'd usually have my legs crossed. Often, if I can't stand, I lie down. I can't read sitting. I shift, a lot. This seems to run in my family, as my aunt and father both hate sitting--often opting for standing desks as well.

How does everyone else feel about sitting?

[goodsamaritan]

I'm a linux geek / web developer so I have to be comfortable.
I get a big monitor, nice computer chair, nice mouse and keyboard.
Haven't been injured since I started becoming a geek at 16.

[extralizard13]

Haha! I'm big on the computer, sadly. I play World of Warcraft, watch TV (on my computer, lol--don't own a TV), computer games (along with consoles, which are, again, through my computer), searching the internet, and I love reading. I'm trying to get myself back into martial arts or some sort of weaponry. I used to, in high school, and loved the discipline. However, anything that has running, I'm terrible at. Its my shins. They burn like fire, and not that good burning. (I'm assuming its shin splints, which is probably due to unhealthy diet and bad footwear. I truly prefer being barefoot, but that doesn't go over so well when walking around stores and stuff.)

[RawZi]

    I don't like sitting.  Being sedentary is bad for me.  I've always liked to climb and be ready to run.  Even on a bike I can tend to be in a standing position most of the time.  I always remember my Mom on her feet, at mealtime too.  She always had the choice, but preferred it.  I could have gotten some of it from her.  

    Upon entering adulthood I thought up and considered a pact with myself to never sit on a chair (sofa nor bench either).

    At several times through life I preferred to never sit for a second and basically accomplished that for up to a year at a time and more straight.

    It is legal to be barefoot in many stores, by the way.

[extralizard13]

Upon entering adulthood I thought up and considered a pact with myself to never sit on a chair (sofa nor bench either).

It is legal to be barefoot in many stores, by the way.

I'm hoping to make my house free of chairs, haha.

As for the barefoot thing, I know that my college doesn't allow it. I talk to a girl who refuses to wear shoes anywhere, so often gets kicked out of buildings. I was thinking of maybe making makeshift shoes lacking a sole. For quite some time, my feet had great calluses. I've stepped on some needles and broken glass, with no injury. I find them very useful.

[RawZi]

... I was thinking of maybe making makeshift shoes lacking a sole. For quite some time, my feet had great calluses. I've stepped on some needles and broken glass, with no injury. I find them very useful.

    You mean these?:


    I've checked all the rules in front of a market, saw that they do not permit bare chests etc, but no mention of shoes.  Went in barefoot, security guard tried to throw me out, till I showed him their rules.  There are plenty of barefoot clubs online to check rules state to state.

[djr_81]

However, anything that has running, I'm terrible at. Its my shins. They burn like fire, and not that good burning. (I'm assuming its shin splints, which is probably due to unhealthy diet and bad footwear. I truly prefer being barefoot, but that doesn't go over so well when walking around stores and stuff.)

It could have something to do with diet and/or footwear but I'd wager your running form has the most to do with it. It's very easy to injure yourself or aggravate injuries if not running in a natural motion.
You should browse a bit through the Exercise and Fitness sub-forum.
There's even quite a bit of discussion on barefoot walking and running which may interest you much more than regular walking/running. This includes different footwear conducive to barefoot exercise but still offering a bit of protection (and thus a bit more socially acceptable for places like your college ).

[jessica]

rawzi its weird how similar we are in the no sitting respect, i have definitely made it a point to sit as little as possible...even making sure my job is congruent with the idea! i get really antsy after a period of sitting and feel like i jolt up and have to walk about a bit or i get bored or irritated or something

extralizard i think that there are all kinds of forms of exercise besides running if you have knee/shin issues....even just starting to take nice walks is a good idea...doing body weight exercises, yoga and martial arts are good forms
if you want to run i would suggest trail running or just starting with running/walking
running on a slight accent will lessen the impact, the surface is softer than concrete, its variation is excellent to build muscle and ligament strength and to improve coordination/reactions
i run in really old worn out classic vans with little sole to where i feel i can grip things with my feet, i agree footwear(or lack of) and form are extremely important and something to be conscious of

[majormark]

I recently set up my height-adjustable desk and for the last few days I've been standing when at home. It feels a little strange after more than 1 hour passes because I keep balancing my weight from one foot to the other. I tend to want to get off the desk often when standing.

Overall I feel much more comfortable sitting. Especially using the Feldenkrais technique.

Anyway prolonged sitting of standing is not healthy in general. We should be moving around.
 

[RawZi]

    Squatting just seems so much more natural and prohealth.  Sitting seems like it's for weaker people, non-paleos:

[djr_81]

    Squatting just seems so much more natural and prohealth.  Sitting seems like it's for weaker people, non-paleos:

That's funny.
I've always preferred squatting to sitting since I was a little kid. Even now I'm more likely to squat if I'm tired of standing than actually sitting down. People always joked about it as a kid but maybe I was just instinctively doing something better for me.

[William]

I'm a linux geek / web developer so I have to be comfortable.
I get a big monitor, nice computer chair, nice mouse and keyboard.
Haven't been injured since I started becoming a geek at 16.

I took the geek test after reading of it on linuxquestions.org, it was much longer than this:
http://www.innergeek.us/geek-test.html
and was surprised to find that I am a geek, because when I was young a geek was the man who bit the heads off chickens when the carnival came to town. Times change.

What is a nice mouse? Maybe different for me, as I have very large hands.

Lying is better than sitting, but haven't yet figured out how to lie at the computer.

[RawZi]

Lying is better than sitting, but haven't yet figured out how to lie at the computer.

    Get the right pillows.  Did paleo-time people use a sort of pillow of any kind for sleeping (or for anything else)?

[TylerDurden]

    Get the right pillows.  Did paleo-time people use a sort of pillow of any kind for sleeping (or for anything else)?

  I think I read somewhere once that HGs routinely would hollow out the part of the ground where the head would lie during sleep. That's all.

[extralizard13]

It could have something to do with diet and/or footwear but I'd wager your running form has the most to do with it. It's very easy to injure yourself or aggravate injuries if not running in a natural motion.
You should browse a bit through the Exercise and Fitness sub-forum.
There's even quite a bit of discussion on barefoot walking and running which may interest you much more than regular walking/running. This includes different footwear conducive to barefoot exercise but still offering a bit of protection (and thus a bit more socially acceptable for places like your college ).

That's true too. My legs tend to feel better when I run in sneakers, so I know it must partially be footware. However, I also haven't ran since my physical therapy, so my stance should be much better. It used to be a pain to go up stairs or walk, because my pelvis was out of line, making it very difficult.

[extralizard13]

    Squatting just seems so much more natural and prohealth.  Sitting seems like it's for weaker people, non-paleos:

That's actually how I tend to sit in chairs (unless at a dinner table, then its seen as rude). It's the only time in which my tailbone isn't in pain, haha.

[Ioanna]

anyone sit a lot during work hours?  i absolutely hate to sit and always have, and it hurts my butt after 30 min but what's a way to sit t the computer comfortably?  I got a memory foam cushion that helps a little, but i still hate to be still!

[TylerDurden]

anyone sit a lot during work hours?  i absolutely hate to sit and always have, and it hurts my butt after 30 min but what's a way to sit t the computer comfortably?  I got a memory foam cushion that helps a little, but i still hate to be still!

 My father was big into comfy computer-chairs. He even got one of those chairs which don't have a back-rest but put you slightly-forward facing. When I used it, it seemed to work for me, and my back was usually shot in pre-rpd days.

[RawZi]

 He even got one of those chairs which don't have a back-rest but put you slightly-forward facing.

    A good sturdy ergonomic "chair" can be helpful with that.

[wodgina]

Crap work chairs, spend heaps of time driving. Spend most of my time sitting on whatever I can find.

I find the slouch position the most comfortable and put my feet up on the desk if it's been a long day.

[William]

Crap work chairs, spend heaps of time driving. Spend most of my time sitting on whatever I can find.

I find the slouch position the most comfortable and put my feet up on the desk if it's been a long day.

After a horrible 5 day drive with sciatica I bought an Obus forme backrest and seat pad for my car, and never again had sciatica. this was 10 years ago, I still use them for driving.
http://www.obusforme.com/category_nav.asp   (No, I don't own stock in the company)

[jessica]

instead of buying fancy chairs and car seat impliments, you can roll up a sweater or towel and stick it in the area behind the small of your back, keep aware of pulling your chest up

i think having poor posture is more detrimental than we assume! yes it is bad for your back, creates aches, but it also creates a weakness in several muscle groups, the shoulders, the chest, and also causes us to not breath as deeply as we should.  oxygen deficiency is the number one deficiency in the world!!!!!! perhaps not that dramatic but learning to keep a proper posture(chest up, ribs stretched, shoulders back, pelvis back(kind of sticking the butt out with a tucked pelvis?) and knees not locked) and also proper walking gait, swinging of arms is totally important!

i have to stand all day at work and sometimes just in the same location preparing food, although i keep my knees bent and kinda bounce around if i stuck in one place...sometimes this leads to swollen ankles so i do some yoga poses that stretch the back and also elevate the feet.  if you look at the spinal column, bending foward compresses the virtebrae while bending backwards lengthens them so it is important to do both and if you can do shoulder stands, bridge pose, and also childs pose for the shoulders....i dont know yoga is a good remedy for these issues

[miles]

Haha! I'm big on the computer, sadly. I play World of Warcraft, watch TV (on my computer, lol--don't own a TV), computer games (along with consoles, which are, again, through my computer), searching the internet, and I love reading. I'm trying to get myself back into martial arts or some sort of weaponry. I used to, in high school, and loved the discipline. However, anything that has running, I'm terrible at. Its my shins. They burn like fire, and not that good burning. (I'm assuming its shin splints, which is probably due to unhealthy diet and bad footwear. I truly prefer being barefoot, but that doesn't go over so well when walking around stores and stuff.)

Lol I played WoW about 5years ago... What server? >_<

With regards to running... run barefoot.

You guys who squat... Is it ok to squat on your toes/ball(for long times I mean)? I can not be balanced if back on my heels... Is it only people who wear heeled shoes who can do this? The Caveman in that picture is actually sitting also..

[djr_81]

You guys who squat... Is it ok to squat on your toes/ball(for long times I mean)? I can not be balanced if back on my heels... Is it only people who wear heeled shoes who can do this? The Caveman in that picture is actually sitting also..

I don't see why it'd be an issue. You might be more sore at first since it's putting extra stress on muscles which are lesser used but even this would be minimal if you're used to striking with the forefoot when running.

[extralizard13]

Lol I played WoW about 5years ago... What server? >_<

With regards to running... run barefoot.

You guys who squat... Is it ok to squat on your toes/ball(for long times I mean)? I can not be balanced if back on my heels... Is it only people who wear heeled shoes who can do this? The Caveman in that picture is actually sitting also..

Haha, I play on the Medivh server, Horde. I like Trolls, lol!

I'll have to try running barefoot.

I know if you walk on the balls of your feet, growing up, you can no longer walk with your heels flat. Whether that's bad or not, I have no idea. I usually walk, when barefoot, on the balls of my feet--it's quieter. My step-brother and step-sister are always really loud and stomp a lot, when walking, but my father and are ghosts, lol.