Most of know that sitting a lot is not ideal for our bodies. It is, however, important to point out here that the actual act of sitting is not bad for us. It is the fact that we sit too much over the course of the day that is bad for us.
If you think about it, we often sit to have breakfast, we sit in the car on the way to work, we sit at work, sit in the car on the way home and then often sit at night to have dinner or watch TV.
All of this sitting adds up. Have you thought about how many hours you sit in a day?
Hopefully you are doing some exercise, sport or mobility work to help counteract this sedentary lifestyle, but even 3 moderate to vigorous workouts a week is still not enough to counteract the negative effects of the sitting.
The easy answer is to just don't sit as much. This can be easier said than done though. At least aim to reduce some of the time you spend sitting, try using standing desks, standing more regularly, adding more movement to your day etc.
If we are going to sit, at least try to explore some different sitting positions and that is the aim of this post.
The best time to do these would be at night. If you are going to watch a bit of TV, rather than sit/slouch on the couch, why not try sitting on the floor and try a few of these different sitting positions.
In the pictures below I show you the 8 different sitting positions to try. Some are easy and some are hard but they will definitely show up some of your weaknesses (if you have any).
It is important to always try to 'sit up tall' and not slouch in these positions. We don't want any turtle heading here. Always work hard to keep your shoulders down and not up by your ears.
I encourage you to get on the floor and try them out and see how you find them. Try for at least 10-20 minutes and see how your body feels
Hopefully you have tried these different positions. The important thing to note with these is:
- Can you get into the positions.
- How does it feel to be in these positions
- How long can you stay in them for (tall kneeling for example really makes your Glutes work hard and we should be able to maintain this position for a good 5 minutes)
If you have tried them, comment below and let me know how you went.