Activate your muscles while seated

We sit in the car, while working, while eating, while we use the computer, watch TV and read … Do you ever think how it affects our health? If you are a person that sits six hours a day, this means that you are going to feel the effects in 10-20 years, and that you will shorten your life for seven years.

Because of the long hours of sitting the risk of fatal heart problems increases by 64 percent, while the risk of prostate cancer or breast cancer increases by 30 percent.

Prolonged sitting has a significant impact on your metabolism. This has a negative impact on blood sugar levels, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure and levels of “appetite hormone” leptin, biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

With sitting we sabotage the lymphatic system, which helps the body to suppress infections. Lymph vessels, which drain waste products, do not have a pump like the heart, they are controlled by the rhythmic contraction of the muscles in the legs. So, while you sit, the lymphatic system cannot do its job.

Most of today’s jobs require eight-hour sitting, which may cause some serious health problems. It is therefore essential that you get a bit of exercise every day, even if you are sitting down!

Fortunately, there are ways you can be active while you sit, so check out these simple ways to achieve that.

Sit on the edge of the chair

One of the best ways to activate your muscles while you are in a sitting position is to change the way you sit. It often happens that while we sit we bent our back and shoulders. Instead, spend some time sitting on the edge of your chair, so you will have to straighten your back and shoulders, and it will also give your arms greater activity. Except activating your muscles, sitting that way you will be able to rest your body from the bended position it was in.

Move your feet

This exercise can be done in two ways. One is to lift your feet, with the toes on the floor a few inches off the floor, and the second is making circular motions with your foot one at a time. This is a great way to activate your muscles, and also to help your circulation. Do this exercise at least once every hour.

Stretch your back

During sitting, your back is under pressure, so it is good to do a little stretch whenever you feel tension. Another way is to use the back of a chair and straighten your back. Do this several times a day, as this will prevent the occurrence of back pain, and do not forget to do this exercise every day.

Do arms exercises

Although it seems that while sitting your hands are not so much under pressure, after a while you get into a situation that you feel pain in your hands. Therefore, every day do a few short exercises for your arms and shoulders, so that you do 20 short circuits in a clockwise direction and in the opposite direction. Do the same with your joints.

Lift your legs

Same as lifting your feet, you should do the same workout with your legs also. Do this by straightening your back, and then raise both legs off the floor in a straight position and hold them like that for 2-3 seconds. Do a minimum of 10 such exercises daily.