Sitting Sucks; Writing Doesn’t.
It’s not just a writer’s challenge. Plenty of people have desk jobs. But, as Mark Terry once put it, the writing lifestyle can be “wildly sedentary.” (I remember this because I thought those words side-by-side with this meaning were just the coolest way to put it—and extremely apt.)
I’ve just learned that working out doesn’t help. No matter how much you workout, sitting for long periods is unhealthy for you.
No matter how much you workout! The New York Times says so:
Your chair is your enemy.
It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.
This freaks me out. The options are to use a stand-up desk, sit in a rocking chair (and rock), use a treadmill desk, or replace your office chair with a therapeutic ball. (I can attest that the last option rocks. Very comfy and fun. Good if you like to fidget and roll as you work. 
)
I do my reading while walking around in the pool and doing water aerobics, for two hours a day or so, but that’s only four or five days a week. The sedentary nature of writing does start to drive me crazy. There’s a treadmill, and I’m going to see if I can’t put my laptop on top for part of the day.
The writing is in a “numbers” stage. I need to put in 4,000 words a day until April 30. Rah. Rah. Joy. Joy.
And I read the Vampire Academy series over the weekend. (Book 5 doesn’t come out until May.) WOW! I’m starting it over and reading it again, which is something I’ve never done with a series.
So how do you deal with the sedentary nature of the writing life? What stage are you in with your writing these days: numbers, crafting, editing? Read any good books, lately?
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Natasha Fondren is a writer traveling the U.S. in a camper with her four cats. She is currently enjoying the lizards and desert heat in Arizona.
I’m worried about diabetes. I got my sweet tooth from my dad. Just recently, Emory and I have started to cut certain foods out of our diet. It’s not easy, but when you read what certain foods do to your body, yikes. I’m trying to cut corn syrup out. It’s hard though. I like the sweets with corn syrup in it and corn syrup seems to be in everything. As for the working out, I should probably do more of it. I take walks and lately I’ve been hula hooping, trying to build up to do the tricks.
Richelle Mead does have a good series.
It’s odd, Christina. If you manage it, and then you eat corn syrup after time has passed, you’ll HATE the taste–you’ll actually be able to taste the difference. Sugar is so much better.
I gotta watch my sugar, too.
At some point in reading these stories I feel like saying “Well, life is ultimately unhealthy for you.” It is an interesting new thing to worry about. And, heck, if sitting is so bad can you imagine how deadly it must be to sleep lying down! Anyway, I don’t necessarily trust these strange little studies that manage to parade endlessly through the media. Lots of people are making a living off of studies like this and if you can get attention for your study by getting an alarmist story in the news then you’ve got a better chance for more funding.
This is a good point, Eric. I know I feel this lifestyle, though. At least when I was teaching, I used to walk around the room and pace. Hard to do while writing!
I like what Eric said. I’m not worrying about it. I have enough real things to worry about — like how to make an awful synopsis sound interesting.
Awww, good luck on your synopsis, Edie!
Because of the various physical maladies I suffer from, I make it a point not to sit for extended periods of time, except at home.
I also make a point of walking a lot every weekend.
Still in the writing stage and I have post coming up tomorrow (12th) about what I’m writing.
That’s awesome, G! I feel better when I’m moving around. I once spent about 8 years in bed, so… I get antsy when I’m not very active.
Actually, Eric, I don’t think it’s the studies that go after the media, it’s the media that’s attracted to alarmist stories. And I say that not just because I’m a writer who focuses on healthcare and biotechnology. The media loves health-related stories that sound alarming because people pay attention to them. There’s not a hell of a lot you can do with a story that says eat a balanced diet, watch your weight, get plenty of rest and you’ll stay moderately healthy. Rephrase it: eat blueberries to prevent Alzheimer’s (can’t hurt); there’s an American obesity epidemic caused by fructose corn syrup (instead of the fact that we overeat and don’t exercise); and American’s on average get 2-hours less sleep per night than are ideal.
Good point, Mark. I totally feed Glenn blueberries.
And I hate corn syrup. If you cut it from your diet for a few months, you can actually taste the difference between that and sugar. It tastes gross!
As a designer, there’s very little you can do that’s NOT at your desk, so I got in the habit of taking a lap or two around the office every hour. I drink a ton of water so I rarely had to actually PLAN a reason to get up, but it made a big difference. I would also do stretches and leg lifts in the bathroom to keep my blood flowing.
That would suck, Melanie! Those are good things. I think the article actually suggested such things!
That seems like a nice amount of exercise to me! Most people don’t get 4 to 5 times a week of a real work-out. I remember when magazines like Glamour would show you exercises you could do in the office with your chair. I always thought, “Wow! I’d rather be fat!”
LOLOL! My mother used to have a whole book of exercises where you don’t move. Those were pretty cool, LOL!
I have a desk that sits over an exercise cycle so that I at least feel like it’s more healthy, even if it’s not!
That rocks, Rick!!! Totally!
Rick Moore, my desk faces the window so I can watch people jog by. Good enough for me, lol.
Mark Terry, now that’s what I’m talking about! The media’s newest focus (or maybe not so new) is in doing what sells. Thanks for the great break-down.
I look at life like this: Something has to kill me, so I may as well enjoy living rather than worry about the inevitable. Thus, as writers we’ll kill ourselves trying, lol.(Now ain’t that a fun thought?)
Pretty, Kath! I always wanted to write with a pretty view!
Good point. I tend to be sorta health-conscious, since my health is naturally pretty weak. I have to very, very good to be half as energetic as sixty year olds in not-that-great health, LOL.
Lucky for me I don’t believe much that the mass media has to say.
As for recent reads, I just finished “The Double Vision of Star Trek.” I enjoyed some of the philosophical points it made. Some I had never considered. Good book.
Really?! Wow, Lana, that sounds right up my alley. I’m going to see if Borders has it tomorrow.
I would be very interested in hearing the medical reasons why long periods of sitting lead to these diseases EVEN IF there is also regular, vigorous exercise in the picture! That said, I am horribly sedentary. It seems that everything I like to do is best done while sitting on my ass – playing horn, playing piano, computer games, writing, reading, coloring with my kids, etc. etc.
I am working with a wellness researcher who helps sedentary, pre-diabetic people like myself become more active. I wear a pedometer now, and it’s amazing how motivating it is to get off your butt if you know you will log points. It’s very competitive, like a game – you want to beat yesterday’s score of steps logged! It’s really fun. The highest I’ve gotten lately is around 9,000, but that’s still not considered active. Sheesh! Anyway, Natasha, you are amazing, and I applaud and admire your efforts to become less sedentary! XOXO
Isn’t that crazy, Darcy?! (If you follow the link, that article links to the studies.)
I hear you. Remember how the guys used to joke about “piano butt?” Argh!!!
I love that. I need to get a pedometer!
I get up a lot, to let the dog out, to do laundry, to stop and mop a floor or scrub a bathroom. My house is only ever clean in bits because I have to do some each day rather than a massive “cleaning day.”
Every time the phone rings, I get up and go do something while I talk.
And I try to just get out for an errand or something. The kids help with that.
You answer the phone? LOL! Seriously, though, that sounds perfect, Betsy!
Right now I’m at the old computer, which is at the Architect’s drafting table, so I’m swinging my legs around like a five-year-old. Usually, though, I get up and do things–vacuum, clean the pellet stove, do laundry, and mow and rake in season. I could use a bit more cardio, though.
I’m currently reading The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams and loving it. It’s a standalone of his (one of the few), so it’s a low commitment at around six hundred pages. ; )
LOLOLOL! That’ll be a quick read, Avery!
I love high tables like that. My legs get tingly after awhile, but I still love them.