The Sedentary Athlete

I've noticed lately that there seem to be a lot of articles, news broadcasts and radio discussions about the dangers of being too sedentary.

In fact, sedentary seems to be the new smoking. Or the new overweight. It seems that we can do a lot of damage to our bodies by not moving and it can lead to all sorts of health problems.

On a typical week, I exercise six out of seven days. My swims are an hour and a half. My runs, right now anyway, are just under an hour. My bike rides are typically an hour and 15 minutes, give or take.

That's a lot of exercise. At least I like to think I'm pretty active.

Problem is that I don't move a heck of a lot other than that. My job is extremely sedentary and I sit at my desk for eight hours a day. I come home and spend part of my evening on the couch. I sleep for eight hours a night.

When I think about it, I lead a pretty sedentary life...with a few short intense bursts of activity thrown in.

Yes, I could do better at moving when I'm at work. I could force myself to get up every hour and walk around for a few minutes. I could take fifteen minutes in the afternoon to go for a walk around the block. Nobody in the office would mind and, in fact, I might have a few people who would like to join me.

As for after work, by that point I'm just tired (probably from having been sitting all day) and I don't want to do anything. That's why I do my exercise in the morning - when I want to move and when I'm full of energy. By evening time, I'm pooped and am quite happy to sit on the deck or the couch and read.

Should I make myself go for a walk? Would it make that much of a difference after all the exercise I do in the mornings?

It just seems crazy to think that, according to the news lately, I'm not moving enough.

But maybe I'm not...