Should you Ditch the Chair? A case for "active rest"

Second Wind Fitness with Brock Armstrong

The research paper: Sitting, squatting, and the evolutionary biology of human inactivity published in the proceedings of the national academy of science concludes with this: “Based on our results, we introduce the Inactivity Mismatch Hypothesis and propose that human physiology is likely adapted to more consistently active muscles derived from both physical activity and from nonambulatory postures with higher levels of muscle contraction.”

This translates to something like…

Hunter-gatherers have high levels of inactive time — around 10 hours per day, which is surprisingly similar to the inactive time in industrialized populations like here in Canada where I am and likely near you, wherever you are listening to this podcast right now.

What?!? I know right? So what the hell is going on?.

The researchers went on to say” However - and this is a big however – in Hadza adults, inactive time often occurred in a squatting position, which increased levels of muscle recruitment and could be considered “active rest”, in contrast to sitting in a lumbar supported car, then transferring to an expensive office chair, only to conclude the day on a pillowy couch.

In this episode, I get into some practical antidotes to this issue.

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