Standing up, balance and improved fitness

(and some tips on movements that could help all!)
There are many benefits of standing up more, as well as improving balance. Both show significant impacts on our health, wellbeing and longevity.
Strengthening effects on balance and falls –
Just like strength, balance declines with age.  And with loss of balance comes increased risk of injury and loss of mobility.  Strength and balance training can improve your ability to stay centered and stable on your feet. Older women who got at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5x/week had a 26% lower risk of falls than those who are less active, according to an Australian study of 7,139 women with an average age of 67. The exercisers were also 30% less likely to have a fall that caused an injury compared with those who were more sedentary. Staying as active as possible may help prevent trips and slips by improving balance and endurance and by maintaining muscle strength.
Woman enjoying life
Stand up for better health

Spending hour after hour sitting down is associated with serious health problems, including an increased risk for certain cancers, cardiovascular conditions, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and feelings of depression and anxiety.   Prolonged sitting is now considered as bad as smoking.

What can make a significant difference in alleviating some of the risks include light exercise and more reasons to get up and move throughout the day. In a study of 12,000 older adults, those sedentary for more than 12 hours a day were 38% more likely to die during the study than those who are sedentary for only about 10 hours.

Getting at least 22 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity was enough to eliminate the excess risk of early death. The more time people spent inactive past 9 1/2 hours the higher the risk of developing dementia according to another study that followed almost 50,000 older adults for nearly 7 years.

People who were sedentary for 15 hours a day where more than 3x as likely to develop dementia as those who are inactive for about 9 hours a day. And exercise didn’t eliminate that risk. So bottom line is no matter how much good exercise you do there’s still not enough to counteract the potential harmful effects of lots of sitting.

Ways to break up sitting too long –

Get up more often, if you are seated for long periods of time, try to take a break after 20 minutes, stand for a few and maybe walk around as well.  Try to reduce the overall sitting time by being on your feet earlier in the day, set a reminder, or use your watch or phone to remind you to get up.  Build in activities, anything that can reduce your sitting adds up, such as taking phone calls standing up or strolling, or doing household tasks.  Maybe plan a walk or some movement after every meal.

Also, consider what you can do while sitting, such as sitting in ways that force you to think about your posture or help with the blood flow. Try using an active sitting chair, such as a ball, which forces you to balance and engage your core, or maybe look into an under the desk pedaling device that allows you to cycle a bit as you sit.  (from Consumer Reports On Health May 2024)

Easy movements for healthier bones, improved balance and greater strength-
We know that strength training has significant impact on bone strength as well as physical strength and could reduce the chances of osteoporosis, amongst other benefits.  For stronger bones, any impact, such as walking, strength training, low or high impact aerobics, can make a difference.
Here are some exercises and movements that could help-
– Squats (sit down, almost! and stand up repeatedly)
– Backwards lunge (from standing, step back into lunge, return to neutral, step back with other leg)
– Heel lifts (on edge of steps)
– Stomp (incorporate into your walking, like stomping on a big bug!)
– Stair climb
– Leg lifts (seated straight leg)
– Push away (Modified on wall or table)
– Row (or pull something toward you, arms parallel to floor)
– Pick up and pull toward you (like you are picking up your grandchild or groceries)
– Press overhead, like putting something on the shelf
The above exercises are focused on the larger muscle groups and are easy to do, in fact we do many of them anyways, so let’s do more and get more benefit!

As always, I am here to answer questions and support you to better health and longevity. I can provide the information, but consider how can implement this?  Yes, I know it is difficult to start, but start easy and small steps, and once you get going it will get easier.  Let me know how it goes for you!

Best,
Joelle