One of
my current health coaching clients is the management team of a manufacturing
company in Kentucky. They are a group of
talented and interesting people, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to work
with them on their health and wellness goals.
After doing an initial presentation for the group about a month ago, I
began a series of four trips to the company to have individual hour-long
sessions with each member of the team.
Last Tuesday I had a round of sessions scheduled, so I got on the road
by 6am to get there by 8am, had six hour-long sessions with one half-hour break
in the middle (which got truncated because we tended to run a bit over each
hour), and then got in my car to drive nearly 2 hours back to Cincinnati. As I started driving home that afternoon I
realized I could barely keep my eyes open, and I caught myself drifting off the
road more than once. Remember, this was
about 4:00 in the afternoon, not midnight, but I was nevertheless a danger to
myself and others! I stopped at
Starbucks for a soy latte (my second of the day), cranked the radio, deepened
my breathing to get more oxygen to my brain and extremities, and managed to
make it home in one piece. As I pulled
into the garage, I recalled getting home from work or a business trip in the
past (busy & stressful but not ACTIVE), and feeling the same type of
exhaustion. If I’d had a plan to work
out or go to a yoga class that evening, there’s no way I would’ve done it -- I
wanted to sit down with a glass of wine and do nothing!
What
was wrong with me? I realized that the
sum total of my physical movement during that whole day had been standing up
and down a few times to greet each new client, and walking to and from the
bathroom. And that wasn’t enough. Yet it had been the norm for me for years, and
it is the norm for millions of people who work mainly at a computer or on a
phone all day. It was so startling to me
because it’s no longer my norm, and I’m happy to report that individuals and
companies are also getting the message about the importance of movement and the
true danger of being sedentary. I now know
lots of people who stand at their desk at work or home, either all the time or
intermittently; another client of mine has rigged up her treadmill below her
standing-level desk. If I’m out in
downtown Cincinnati between 11am and 1pm I see numerous groups of coworkers
taking lunchtime walks, not to mention those who are able to change clothes and
take a yoga or pilates class or fit in a run during their workday!
As for
me, I consciously set up my home office to be “inconvenient” in small ways that
end up encouraging frequent movement even during my work time; for example, whenever
I print something I hike to the other end of the condo to the printer, and I
keep various office supplies in several different desks to necessitate a short
stroll to get an envelope & stamp, or my stapler & holepunch. I also sit on an exercise ball at my desk and
have realized that my file cabinet is a perfect height for standing computer
work, as long as I set my laptop on a couple of September-issue fashion
magazines, which are each over an inch thick as any fashionista knows!
I
encourage you to think about your daily routine and find ways to incorporate
small movements as often as possible. If
you need more convincing, check out “Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?” published
in the NYT last year (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html). The article summarizes a variety of research
on inactivity and introduces the concept of NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity
Thermogenesis – that links small movements to major health benefits.
A final
note: When I got home from the long
coaching day described above, I did indeed sit down and my husband did pour me a
glass of wine. When I told him about how
tired I’d become, he gave me a great idea which I will implement on my next
company visit: As each client comes in
for their session I will turn them right around and we’ll go outside for at
least a 15-minute walk to review their progress over the last couple weeks,
then come back in for the rest of the session.
Here’s hoping for pleasant weather!!!
