Olympics 2012: A Beach Volleyball Butt. Without the Sweaty, Sandy Bit.

Wed, 1 August 2012 5:20PM

Has all this Olympics business inspired you to hit the treadmill … or simply sit on your sofa in front of the television for even longer at night? If it’s the latter you might not love what I’m going to blog about today. Because it’s mostly about how sitting down for too long is – up there with sugar and smoking – apparently one of the worst things we can do for our health.

Sorry, talk about a mood killer, I know.

But it’s a subject close to my heart. As well as butt, seeing as the state and size of said butt seems to correlate with each particular job I have, and how active (or not) that job has allowed me to be. In my last gig, I lived near my office, so I could – and did – walk to work. Now I have to drive. Which means even more time spent on my backside – which is threatening once more to blow out.

And that’s not so joyous when there’s only a month to go until Spring. Nor a nice thought to have while watching, say, the diving or beach volleyball, with all those fabulously fit butts everywhere:

But it’s not just our bums that suffer from all this sitting around. It’s our waists, too. In one study I read, the top 25% of people who took the most breaks while working had waists around 4 centimetres smaller than those people in the bottom 25%. And larger waists mean a higher risk for things like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

I’ve heard it referred to as the sitting disease. And it’s a worry because we’re increasingly leading sedentary lives. And do you know what’s most depressing about this whole thing? Another study I read insists that no amount of gym time can make up for a day spent mostly sitting down. The damage that is done during the day is such that even the craziest after-work workout won’t undo it. Sigh.

So, do I have a solution dammit, I hear you ask. Well this is the part of the article where I roll out advice like “hop off the bus a stop earlier”, “stand up when you take a call”, “walk to talk to your colleagues face to face instead of emailing them” and “take the stairs instead of the lift.” I’ve also heard about pedal machines you can pop under desks so your feet can at least move even while the rest of you can’t.

But this option is likely to most appeal: It’s called Sit Tight and it’s by Soap & Glory, $34.95, Kit.

It’s had rave, five-star reviews all over the place. I’ve only just started trying it so I’ll report back on how I (and my backside) go. But basically this is how it works: you work it into your butt and thighs (really kneading it, like you would dough, sorry for the unfortunate analogy), let it absorb for a minute and then … sit! That’s it. No fine print about the need to do a thousand star jumps to make it work. Apparently sitting down is all that’s required to activate the skin-firming actives in the formulation. Genius. Oh and how cute is this message on the tube: “Sit Tight was tested on a group of well-rounded ladies who wanted to break anything (fast, bread, dance) but a sweat”. Love it.

Look, I should also say that a recent study, reported just last week, has scoffed at the idea that sitting down is the cause of our obesity crisis. The researchers here say that we expend the same kilojoules as our hunter-gatherer ancestors, which means the main reason we’re all super-sizing is our over-processed diet.

This was one of the things that drove me bananas about writing health in my last job: experts and studies forever contradict each other. But I guess there’s some truth to both sides in this case; whether you think it’s more crucial to exercise (both incidentally and at the gym) or eat right, it’s not like the other is not important.

So, perhaps tonight when you’re cosied up on the couch, watching the Olympics and all those fit little butts, jiggle your feet a little and eat popcorn instead of chips.

 

What about you, Primpettes? Got any tips on how to keep active during the day despite a desk job?

And have you tried any great thigh-firmers lately? Come on, share! After all, there’s only one more month of winter to go. Eek!

 

Kat x

Posted by: Katrina Lawrence

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Tags: 2012 olympics, bottom, cellulite, fitness, glycation, health, soap & glory, sugar, thighs