Get Up, Stand UpSitting too much has been linked to a higher
risk of heart disease and some cancers. Move
more with these small habit shifts.BY KAREN ASP
PAY ATTENTION Change starts with
awareness. Start by taking note of how
much you sit throughout your day, at
home, in the offi ce, and in your car.
“Just being aware of this can trigger you
to react,” says Betsey Banker, a former
wellness educator for Ergotron in Eagan,
Minnesota. No need to formally log
your sitt ing time—Banker recommends
just mentally noting how much time
you’re spending in a chair.FOCUS ON ONE CHANGE Sitt ing is
a societal norm, so it can be tough to
break the habit, Banker says. To start,
choose one way you will stand instead of
sit each day. For instance, stand to check
that fi rst batch of emails in the morning,
read the morning news while standing at
the kitchen counter, or pledge to stand
or pace whenever you’re on the phone.CREATE NEW DEFAULTS Many
people sit by default in certain situa-
tions, such as when waiting at a restau-
rant, doctor’s offi ce, or airport. Try to
notice whenever you zoom right to a
bench or chair, and try standing instead.
“Waiting time can be a great way to
stand, even move, more,” Banker says.
It may feel a litt le awkward at fi rst, espe-
cially if you’re the only one standing. But
soon it can feel so second-nature that
you may start wondering why the whole
room isn’t standing too.WORK UP TO THE 30-30 RULE
A good goal to work toward is trying to
stand for 30 minutes for every 30 min-
utes that you spend sitt ing. One caveat?
“You need to build gradually to standing
for 30 minutes at a time,” Banker says.
Otherwise, it will be like walking a 10Kwithout having trained for it: because
your body isn’t ready for the challenge,
you could risk injury. Start by standing
for two minutes every half-hour, and
slowly increase that time.MOVE WHILE SITTING While stand-
ing and moving is best, it’s not always
possible. Fortunately, you can move a
litt le whenever you’re sitt ing to get that
blood fl owing, says Rick Katt ouf II,
O.D., a personal trainer and triathlon
coach in Greenville, South Carolina.
He suggests knee lift s (alternate lift ing
one knee a few inches above your chair
and then lowering it back down), leg
extensions (alternate extending one leg
straight out in front of you and then
back down), and calf raises (keep the
balls of your feet on the fl oor while lift -
ing your heels up and down).Remake