In our 21st Century American culture, a new type of athlete has emerged:
The Keyboard Athlete. Almost all of us (including your trainers!) now spend hours a day seated, looking at a computer screen, typing on a keyboard. I'll be the first to admit- it's tiring! Maintaining a seated posture all day, looking at a small screen, and focusing only 2-3 feet in front of you are all taxing to your system. Not to mention the stress and demands that come along with the work we're doing behind these keyboards. With this high amount of stress, lack of movement, and "limited view of the world" come a lot of movement inefficiencies, bad patterns and posture, and decreased adaptability. What does this mean? It takes more energy to complete tasks that typically would be easy for us if we were able to work out, run, and play all day.
As we've all experienced, to some extent, these conditions are not ideal but necessary to survive and even thrive in our culture. Think of your energy stores as a "bank account." Each day you start out with a certain "available balance." As you go through your day, you chip away at that "available balance," and, hopefully, your balance is high enough to last through the day. The less efficiently we move, the more of that balance we spend each day.
You all are working out weekly to help build that account, but that's only 2-4 hours out of 168 in a week. So, what are some quick, easy strategies to help that Bank Account stay full longer throughout the hours you aren't training? There are several, but here are a few to get you started:
1) Take time to move! Set a timer at your desk for 30 minutes. Every time the timer goes off, do some basic mobility drills or take a short walk around the office or get outside if you can.
2) Move your Eyes! If you can't get away from your desk, still set your timer. Every 15-30 minutes, look away from your computer screen and allow your eyes to move around. Intentionally move them in all directions (try a circular or "box"pattern). Also, reset your "distance vision" by looking and trying to focus on something that's further away than your computer screen.
3) Breathe. With stress and poor posture come poor breathing. The "fight or flight" response to stress tenses the shoulders, abdominals, and rib cage, only allowing us to use the upper 1/3 of the lungs: that's only 1/3 of the potential oxygen we could be taking in! When the timer goes off, sit up straight, place your hands on your belly, just below your ribs, and breathe in focusing on "pushing the air" into your hands. Hold for 2-3 seconds, and then slowly exhale. Do this for 1 minute.
These are 3 easy ideas, each only taking up to 1 minute that can go a long way in keeping your Energy Bank a little more full throughout the day. We all know the benefits of having a more full bank account, right? Pick just one of these strategies, and commit to doing it every day for one week. Note how you feel at the end of your day each day. If you note some improvement, keep doing it! If not, pick another strategy. Just a little energy saved each day seems small, but when you add it up, that's a lot of energy over the course of a lifetime! Keep building that bank account so you can continue to enjoy life to the fullest!
Thanks to Z Health Master Trainer, Jennifer Waak, for this great concept and educating us about it! Check out her new program for more info and great resources at www.keyboardathletes.com
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