Concerned college student page

[z90xhccs]

Hey guys,
so I am in college and as an unfortunate consequence, I must spend much of my time doing school work at the computer, not to mention all the sitting and doing nothing during class. I am worried that all my time spent sitting not really doing anything could impede on my results or cause some negative health side effect or something.
I'm not really looking for solutions as much as just wondering if I am being overly paranoid or not. I read some study awhile back about men who spent a certain amount of time being sedentary were less likely to get the health benefits of working out.
Thanks,
-Zach

[Alex Good]

Ever seen belly dancers ripple their stomachs? That is decent exercise, plus a good way to disgust your family if you're a man. Alternatives include handgrip exercises (either a really tough stress ball or things actually designed for that purpose) and fantasizing about the girl 3 rows down and 2 seats over (for cardio).

[runnergal]

replace your chair with a yoga ball or a standing desk

[Hedonist]

Don't sit too long without getting up and moving around, doing some exercises, etc. Seated exercises are great but don't sit more than a couple hours without getting up.

[geekgrrl]

Don't sit too long without getting up and moving around, doing some exercises, etc. Seated exercises are great but don't sit more than a couple hours without getting up.

sit a couple of hours? I'd take it a bit further and say half an hour. I work from home and work on a computer all day, but I frequently get up to do chores, make a coffee, let the dog in or out, and so on. I got some exercise gear for my birthday - weights and a resistance band. I LOVE the resistance band, you can do all sorts of movements with resistance to get a quick all-round workout.

The trick is to take the opportunity to move whenever you can. I do squats, lunges and calf raises in the kitchen. 'bench' presses doing pushups against the kitchen bench, or a doorway. dips the same. It's surprising what a difference it makes. When I go shopping, I lug a basket instead of leaning against a trolley (cart). All that stuff adds up.

So set a timer and every 30 minutes, drop and do some pushups and situps and lunges. You'll think clearer and get more out of the time you are working.

[Hedonist]

Great answer Geekgrrl. I meant moving at least every two hours as a minimum.

[jon tall tree]

It doesn't take alot of time to workout, 10-15 min two three times a week. Move slowly by walking 20-30 min a day. Any activity will be better than none. College is an easy place to get a group activity going. Pull out a frisbee, hacky sack, football, soccer ball, or tennis ball and all of a sudden people are gathering around. It's a good opportunity too get moving and relieve stress.

[geekgrrl]

Great answer Geekgrrl. I meant moving at least every two hours as a minimum.

I suppose it's not unusual for college students to spend hours immobile either working or playing games... with my busy household, sitting still for that long is just not an option

[Adrianag]

If you haven't downloaded the Primal Blueprint Fitness PDF, do it now. It will make you re-think coventional approaches to fitness.

[DFH]

Hey guys,
so I am in college and as an unfortunate consequence, I must spend much of my time doing school work at the computer, not to mention all the sitting and doing nothing during class. I am worried that all my time spent sitting not really doing anything could impede on my results or cause some negative health side effect or something.
I'm not really looking for solutions as much as just wondering if I am being overly paranoid or not. I read some study awhile back about men who spent a certain amount of time being sedentary were less likely to get the health benefits of working out.
Thanks,
-Zach

It depends on what you mean by "health benefits of working out."

If you mean fitness, as in sports endurance, you need to move.

If you mean managing weight, working out is way over rated. I lost 120 lb sitting on my can, because my doc helped me get chemistry sorted out first-VLC eating, and some thyroid issues. If managing weight is your concern - "blood chemistry first, exercise second."