We have a new kid on the block called Sedentary Death Syndrome and it has quickly become the third leading cause of death in the US right after heart disease and cancer. But the problem is it is worse that any one single disease as it is actually linked to another 30 odd serious conditions and ailments from diabetes to depression to osteoporosis.



The cause of this villain is sitting and is responsible for 2 million deaths worldwide annually. We are literally sitting ourselves to death.

We are an immobile lot; in fact we are the most physically inactive population that has ever lived on this planet. We seem to be happiest when we are doing little other than sitting. After all we sit at work, in the car, on the couch, at the bar, at the movies, on the airplane, watching sport. We sit for hour's practically comatose watching television, at the computer surfing the internet or playing video games. A screen of any description can hold our interest for hours.

No real surprise that we send our bodies into a downward spiral of inactivity that progresses as we get older. We are developing pot bellies in our 20's, our arteries clog and our blood pressure zooms. Our blood is laden with harmful fats and our metabolism slows like a dwindling old engine. No real surprise when we succumb to premature and totally preventable disease.

Why have we let ourselves become so unhealthy? We know that proper exercise is not only good for us but has now become a matter of life and death. It is not some frivolous pastime that we find time for when we have nothing better to do.

Without enough vigorous physical activity our body has no way of staying healthy. It needs this movement to stimulate the necessary hormones that instruct every cell, tissue, system and process in the human body to repair, rebuild, renew and replace itself.

It is bad enough that people lead a no exercise lifestyle. But to add many hours of sitting each day into the mix and it becomes a serious health hazard. Modern technology has engineered our world to be ultra convenient and easy so that we can indeed go through life without ever having to do any strenuous physical exertion.

To save your own life and remain vigorous and healthy you might need to do something that might feel uncomfortable and unnatural, especially at first. You need to move and exert yourself but after you overcome your inertia and do some vigorous activity; you will become aware of the immediate benefits to your mental and physical well-being. You will also recognize that this was exactly what your body needed.

If you want to stay young and vital, you have to stay strong. A proper exercise program that contains at least 60% strength training exercise and a couple of sessions per week of interval training does not need to take much time.

If you seek the help of a fitness professional they can set up your program that is time efficient and effective so you are not wasting time doing things that will not produce the right results. Tap into their knowledge and experience and learn some tools and techniques to save you time for years to come.

If you are forced to sit for long hours at your work at least you can feel a little safer in the knowledge that you are doing something to balance this situation with your proper exercise program. This will go a long way to help balance the sedentary nature of a dangerously low level of activity and help you stay healthy.

Don't let your body deteriorate from lack of use. It's the only one you get issued with so it makes good sense to do some basic maintenance so it won't let you down somewhere down the track.