Strahil's advice: Stagnation - how it harms us and how to deal with it

If you spend most of your day in a sitting position, do not get up from the desk, feel tension and low back pain at the end of the working day - this article is for you!

Now this topic is even more painful and urgent for all of us - given the current world situation. Many people are forced to stay and work, locked up at home for most of the day, unable to move enough and begin to feel the negative effects of this.

You may not believe it, but I also speak from personal experience! I work in the field of fitness and a healthy lifestyle, but I still have to spend hours in front of the computer every day, working with clients and everything else… So I also struggle with stagnation and this article is not limited to with a look at the problem, but shares personal experience and knowledge to overcome it.

Risks of a sedentary lifestyle

Even if you have some temporary physical activity, outside of work or your usual daily duties, it is very likely that you are still not moving enough to counteract the negative consequences of a sedentary daily life. A sedentary lifestyle definitely has a negative impact on our health and can significantly shorten life expectancy.

The risks are not limited to obesity and low back pain. Immobilization can lead to a number of other complications such as: heart disease, impaired respiratory function, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, muscle atrophy and mental stress.

That is why it is important to actively fight this problem and counteract it, ensuring sufficient movement and physical activity during the day.

How to overcome stagnation?

Fortunately, there are ways to increase your physical activity and movement for the day without necessarily taking a lot of time and effort to fit it into your program.

As you can see, there are many ways to improve your movement for the day without necessarily drastically changing your daily routine. And that's not all!

Improve your posture and you will improve your health!

Although the measures taken above are terribly effective, it is not entirely certain that they will solve all the problems associated with immobilization and stagnation. You may be suffering from pain in your back, neck, thighs and various muscle groups… If so - you probably need to take extra measures and pay attention to your posture.

When working at a desk, you need to provide the most ergonomic work environment possible, which will help you maintain proper posture during long hours of sitting, to prevent the development of circulatory problems.

To maintain proper posture, make sure that:

• You sit with your back straight, without stooping and with your shoulders down and back;
• The center of gravity is evenly distributed between the two thighs and does not bend sideways, overloading only one of them;
• If you step directly on the ground - the knees should be at an angle of approximately 90 degrees;
• Avoid crossing and lifting your legs on top of each other;
• You have an elbow rest equal to the height of the desk top;
• The monitor is at eye level, not below (or above) it;

The comfortable ergonomic chair and, if possible, a movable desk for sitting upright will solve most of these problems. Not everyone has the opportunity or environment for such equipment, so we will consider more easily accessible and budget options:

• Anatomical backrest - it is attached with the help of elastics to the back of each chair. The price of such a device is not more than BGN 5-10, and the effect is noticeable immediately. Helps you stand upright, not hunched over in a chair and significantly reduces stress on the spine and back muscles.
• Lifting footrest - a cheap device, in the range of BGN 20-30, which resembles a foot and is placed under the desk so that we can step on it and keep our feet a little higher than the ground. Thus, the bend of the knee does not rest constantly in the chair. This improves blood circulation in the legs and prevents tingling, varicose veins and other concomitant problems with poor circulation.
• Monitor stand / arm - with it he rises to eye level. Here again, you can bet on a ready-made solution, such as a lifting arm or a monitor stand. The price varies from BGN 20 to BGN 50-100, but you can also make one yourself - for free. Just lift the monitor into 2-3 thick books (or boxes) to align its top edge with the line of your eyes. This will relieve the strain on the neck and shoulders caused by constantly looking up or down at the monitor.

And a few more serious measures…

Of course, in addition to these small steps, you can take more significant steps to improve your shape and health and reduce the risk of diseases associated with immobilization to a minimum.

You can counteract them by significantly improving your own dietto replenish your body with all the necessary nutrients, vital macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat) and trace elements (vitamins and minerals) to make it feel charged, healthy and full of energy.

And also - take 60-90 minutes, once every 2-3 days, for strength training. Add and cardio in your program so that you stay in shape, improve your metabolism and avoid obesity, muscle atrophy and related problems.

In conclusion…

Stagnation is an increasingly common and widespread problem, which nowadays manifests itself in more and more people, by their choice or by the circumstances.… The consequences are many and serious, but they appear relatively slowly and unnoticed. This makes it even more dangerous, because many times a person does not realize the risk until it is too late and must not prevent it, but fight it.

Fortunately, there are ways to significantly improve our situation and avoid its complications. All it takes is a little imagination and, of course, desire and perseverance.

Everyone can find excuses, but the people who seek solutions, instead of excuses, are the same people who succeed in everything in their lives! Be one of them!