I’m sure that you have seen the various articles and studies about how sitting is killing us.
picture by Robin Davey from the TIME article at: http:/time.com/sitting
Alice Park wrote an article for Time Magazine in Sept of 2014 titled “Sitting is Killing You.” In addition to that article having an awesome image (seen above), it had some wonderful information.
A recent review of 43 studies analyzing daily activity and cancer rates found that people who reported sitting for more hours of the day had a 24% greater risk of developing colon cancer, a 32% higher risk of endometrial cancer and a 21% higher risk of lung cancer—regardless of how much they exercised. In another study involving a group of men and women who reported exercising the same amount, each additional hour they spent sitting was linked to a drop in their fitness levels. In other words, sitting was chipping away at some of the benefits of exercise
So, in addition to giving us cancer, you only get the benefits of running 5 miles, not 10… Umm..I don’t like that.
In February of 2013, Popular Science was talking about it. Increased risk of High Blood Pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. This was irrelevant of BMI, or how much exercise was being done.
Even WebMD, that site that constantly lets me know that my symptoms are indicative of dying (regardless of the symptoms) in April of 2014, let me know that in addition to all the above, sitting for long hours is linked to worse mental health, and a higher risk of being disabled.
So, in short -in addition to taking time away from the fun things I WANT to do, work is killing me, making me unhappy and will eventually stop me from eating the tasty treats I want to.. Because of sitting.
That’s just not acceptable. So my solution.. a $24 Ikea Hack. (I know the article says $22, but when I bought everything it was 24.. Plus I bought another table for an additional 8 bucks.. so really its a $32 hack..) I actually had built this setup at my last job in Maryland.. I added additional tables, so that I had a place to pile papers!
It also has the added bonus of giving you two levels to pile “important papers.”
Now, I do need to clean up the wires.. I admit that. However, thanks to these Ikea tables, I’m going to be able to keep eating cheeseburgers for much longer in life!
It did interfere with my running a bit, as getting used to standing is a process. It has, unsurprisingly, caused my Plantar Fasciitis to flare up, but that is something I am experienced at dealing with now, so I will work through it.
That is one of my ways to stay healthy while not running! Let me know if you have any day-to-day modifications in your life, to keep yourself healthier!
I run, because I am a runner. Having realized that I have always "been a runner" - even when I went years with out running, I am learning how it has integrated itself in all aspects of my life. When I started running in highschool, my perspective on life changed. Funny that I didn't realize how much it had affected it until just recently.
Once and Future Runner 
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