January 28, 2018 – 

Well, as long as you are going to sit there you might as well make it effective.  I think when people sit down they often do so without posture because it feels good to slouch.  Perhaps, but that slouch that feels so good is honestly hurting your body and making your spinal muscles weak.  If you sit slumped over, you’re demanding your spine to hold up all that weight just hoping your discs are resilient enough to not get pinched (impinged) or herniated.  Yes, that is how it happens by the way.

To avoid simple injuries, just be conscious and use your core to sit up.  Pull your shoulders back and your head over them, feels good huh!!  Yes, you made posture.  Now to maintain that required thought, and until it becomes second nature it requires a tiny bit of work and conscious effort.  To really make sitting a calorie-burning extravaganza, sit on an exercise ball!

Replacing your desk chair with a stability ball seems like a good way to sneak in some core exercise while you work. But how effective is it, really?  Well, sitting on a chair requires no muscle activity at all and it actually puts your posture muscles in ‘slack’ and decreases core strength.  While sitting on a ball it is difficult and uncomfortable to slouch.  Sitting properly requires subtle muscle contractions of the core, hip and leg muscles to maintain balance, which contributes to muscle tone.  BONUS!  And at the same time aids in developing balance and that is good for every body.

At least alternate between the two options of chair and ball.  Maybe begin by trying 20 minutes per hour for a start?  Feet on floor, posture, and core engaged.  Feels good too.  You can work your balance a little bit by picking up one foot then alternating with the other foot … what the heck, just pick them both up!

Be sure to inflate the ball to its proper height; your thighs should be parallel to the floor when you’re seated on the ball. If you do not want to go ball shopping, you can visit my website store where Amazon ships it to your house.  A few items that I utilize here at FIT are on the store site but the ball should have this info; a 45cm ball ($22) works best if you are less than 5’ tall, 55cm 5’-5’7”, and 65cm 5’8”-6’2’, and for those of us 6’3” and up well we need the big daddy 75cm!

NOW, aside from sitting with posture and working on your balance there happens to be a plethora of exercises that can be performed on that bouncy ball.  Below is a link to review with ‘exercises on a ball for beginners’ you can try.

Beginner Exercise Ball Exercises

Your core is your friend!

In good health,

Bob

‘My idea of exercise is a good brisk sit.’
-Phyllis Diller