The Dangers of the Desk Job

If you're like me and a large percentage of the working population that have desk jobs, we spend long hours sitting and starring at a computer screen. This unnatural posture, caused by improper sitting, results in increased neck, mid and lower back, shoulder, and leg pain. In particular, sitting for long periods of time causes your hips to be flexed for a prolonged period. Also, there is a tendency for the shoulders and head to fatigue under the constant influence of gravity which leads to rounding of the head and shoulders. If typing is a large part of your job, carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful progressive condition caused by compression of a key nerve in the wrist, might also be imminent. So, we know we still have to work, what should we do?

Having your body in alignment is the key to neuromuscular efficiency, the ability of the nervous system to communicate effectively with the muscular system. In order to do this, you have to work on fixing any postural distortions you might already have. (Shameful plug: get a free fitness assessment at Core!). Some of these distortions include having your feet turn out uncontrollably during a squat, shoulder elevation during a seated chest press, and an excessive forward lean when walking on the treadmill, just to name a few*. Once you've done the stretches and exercises to fix any distortions, you can properly train. This will prevent injury and keep you from placing more stress on joints and muscles that are not properly aligned.

In the meantime, try these tips that will help prevent postural distortions.

• Get up and stretch every hour (or more frequent if possible), especially your hips and wrists!
• Get an ergonic office chair, keyboard and mouse to keep your hands and back in a natural position.
• Ladies, try and refrain from crossing your legs at your desk, but do try sitting closer to the edge of your seat to keep your posture.
• Keep your monitor at eye level to refrain from straining your neck
• Even if you're tense, focus on pushing your shoulders down, away from your ears.
• Drink lots of water! This will not only keep you hydrated, but the frequent bathroom trips will keep you moving throughout the day.
• If you really want to work on stabilization and posture, toss out the office chair and go for a stability ball, there's no slouching on that thing!

I hope this information was helpful, remember to see a Core Health and Fitness expert personal trainer to get properly assessed. It will make a world of a difference!

Best of Luck!

Amy Willis - NASM CPT

* It is recommended to get properly assessed by a Certified Personal Trainer before diagnosing postural distortions.

Source: National Academy of Sports Medicine

FITNESS COACHING SERIES - PHASE 1 - GOAL SETTING

Step 1:

Trying to achieve your goals without writing them down and looking at them each day is like trying to get to a small town 1000 miles away that you don’t know the name of and have never been to, without a map, navigation or directions. You can make some assumptions and stop and ask for help along the way, but unless you have a clear vision, specific directions and a source that you continue to use for guidance daily – you will either never get there, you will end up there by accident or you will get there one day a long time from your start….maybe. You will probably travel a long time, down a lot of roads, make a lot of seriously wrong turns and get very distracted and discouraged along the way. Does that sound like any way to reach a destination that you really want to get to and actually enjoy the journey along the way? Probably not. Zig Ziglar puts it perfectly by asking, “How could you possibly hit a target that you can’t even see?”

So Step 1 of Phase 1 is to SET 3 VERY SPECIFIC AND MEASURABLE GOALS – CHOOSE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT SHORT, MID AND LONG TERM GOAL.

In this step numbers are critical. In order to achieve true success you must have goal check points along the way. You can’t have a check point if you do not have a goal that you can measure in some way. I also want you to let your deepest desires surface here. Don’t worry – we will set realistic deadlines for them later – so dream big for the mid and long term goals! The smaller one will come more quickly and the bigger ones can not be reached without achieving the smaller ones as stepping stones – here’s why: Remember that - "The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get." – Jim Rohn

If you ultimately want to lose 100lbs or run a full marathon, first you must be able to lose 5lbs or walk 1 mile. “The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

Step 1:
Set Specific & Measurable Short Term and Long Term Goals
(Don’t worry about exact timelines yet. Just set realistic goals you can achieve in 30 days, 90 days and 1 Year.)

Examples:
30 Day: Lose 10lbs
90 Day: Lose 15% Body Fat (You can choose a 6 month goal instead of 90 days if you’d like.)
1 Year: Run the Boston Marathon in 9:30 a mile or less.

1 Point = Email me all 3 goals very specific, very measureable goals
1 Point = Post all three specific, measurable goals on our Face Book and our Blog for accountability from our fitness community.

E-mail to sadie@corehouston.com & don't forget to post it too!

Tell Us Your Secret.

We've all got fitness secrets that we swear by. We want to hear yours!

Receive VERY Valuable Reward for Participating In New Fitness Coaching Series at Core Health & Fitness - On Line:

Fitness Coaching Series

The Fitness Coaching Series is designed to help you achieve your goals - absolutely without fail. It is extremely valuable for many reasons. Clients pay Fitness Coaches and Fitness Trainers thousands of dollars for this type of guidance and accountability over a period of time. This series will provide you with a tremendous amount of personal growth toward achieving your fitness goals and for free - just for being a member or client of Core Health & Fitness. To start the Series off with a bang - I will be holding a challenge with a generous fitness reward for completing the challenge thoroughly.

Rules:

1. 
   
   You must complete each step 100% - save it in a word document and e-mail it to me as completed one step at a time. You will e-mail it to sadie@corehouston.com. You will receive one point for thoroughly completing each step.


2. 
   
   You can receive an additional point for each step if you post your completed task on our Face Book Page. Sharing it with our Fitness Community will also provide you with added accountability and support.


3. 
   
   There are 20 total points possible. 10 points for completing each step and e-mailing it to me and 10 additional points for posting the completed step on our Face Book.


4. 
   
   Challenge ends August 24th. All of the above must be 100% complete by Midnight on August 24th 2009.


5. 
   
   You must be a member or a client of some kind at Core Health & Fitness - Grant Rd. Cypress, TX to participate.

Let me know if there are any questions! I can only afford to give the reward for completing the challenge away to 10 people. It is very valuable. If you are serious about achieving your goals and would like to participate - let me know asap on the Blog, Face Book or E-mail me. The first 10 people to respond will qualify. Who's in?

Step #1 of 10 will be posted very shortly.

Your Virtual Personal Trainer and Dietitian!

WELCOME:

Total Body Training, Total Body Extreme

and Core Health and Fitness Clients!

We have started this blog to give you constant access to all of our expert trainers and dietitian on a regular basis. You can use this blog to ask all of the questions that your fitness heart desires!

Use this blog for questions on:

Nutrition - Post and Pre-Workout Nutrition, "How many grams of _____should I be eating a day?" "What's the best low-calorie alcohol beverage that I can have without blowing my week?" "Anyone have a recipe for _________ ?" Anything at all that you can think of - ASK!

Fitness - "How much cardio should I do on strength training days?" "How do I get by abs flat?" "How do I get rid of cellulite?" "How do I get my biceps popping?" "Do you think I am ready to compete?" ASK ANYTHING!

This will get our community hopping with great material that everyone looks forward to and can use! If you have a question, I can assure you - someone else has the same one! You will be doing everyone a favor by asking and asking and asking!

We will also post daily fitness and nutrition tips to keep your healthy lifestyle in the front of your mind! Let us know what you want to hear about, talk about, learn about, communicate about, need support on. Anything at all! We are 100% here for you and making ourselves available in every way that we can to serve you better and better all the time!

I look forward to hearing from every single client about their progress, challenges, questions, concerns, interests, likes and dislikes.

We absolutely love our clients and members and will do anything to help you achieve your goals and get and/or keep you and your family fit for life!

In health & fitness,
Sadie Catania
Owner
Core Health & Fitness
http://www.corefitnesshouston.com/