WHAT’S THIS EPISODE ABOUT?
Let’s Get Active Podcasters!
We, as podcasters, have a mostly a sedentary lifestyle. Between editing, promoting, and recording, there’s a lot of sitting on your butt. A fellow podcaster, former client, and personal trainer, Amy Connell, had the fantastic idea to share with us some of the ways we can get off of our rears and get active as podcasters. So let’s break down some of the things Amy suggests we do to help move our bodies a little more.
1. Stretching
Take your hands, clasp them behind your back, and roll your shoulders back. This takes your chest muscles from being in a flexed state and opens them up.
“If we’re not counterbalancing our muscles, this is where we can get injured.”
-Amy
2. Let’s Talk About the Phone
There’s a better way for all of us to be on our phones. Hold your phone at about chest level so your eyes can go down but your head still stays in a comfortable position.
3. Posture
What can bad posture do to our bodies over time? You are definitely more prone to injure yourself – even doing normal everyday things – when you suffer from bad posture and not stretching often. Amy and I chat about our own experiences lifting kids while they’re asleep and picking things up at Costco. (It’s not all about gym injuries!)
So make sure you’re aware of how you’re seated at your desk if you’re going to be there for extended periods of time.
4. Standing Desk Options
We talked about Amy’s new standing desk and how obsessed she is with it! I also have a standing desk and it’s been a game-changer for my posture and energy while working in my office.
Here’s a highly recommended brand to check out for standing desk options that are customizable for your needs:www.upliftdesk.com
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How Can We Get Active While Podcasting?
We talked about some of the ways you can ease into a lifestyle where you aren’t sitting all day every day. Because let’s be honest, if you’ve been sitting all day and suddenly want to stand for 12+ hours, your body ain’t gonna like that!
Here’s how to ease into standing more throughout the day:
- Stand until your legs get tired and then sit until your butt hurts.
- Take a five-minute walk outside.
- This is also great for getting your brain to start flowing more creatively.
- Drink a ton of water!
- When you drink more water, your body forces you to get up – because you’ll have to go to the bathroom more often.
- Move for three minutes every thirty minutes.
- Amy recommends setting a timer/reminder to get up and get moving.
- Dance parties always work for me and the fam too! 🙂
More Stretching to Help You Get Active
We talked about chest opener stretches, but we also need to talk about your lower body and hips.
HIP CIRCLES
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and do circles to stretch your hip muscles.
STAND ON ONE LEG THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Amy suggests doing this while you’re brushing your teeth in the morning. I actually do this often when I’m standing at my desk.
You can check out Amy’s Resources to find videos that’ll help you with more stretches and exercises you can do at home.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis
I’ve been an athlete in some capacity all of my life, so when Amy started to talk about the concept of NEAT, I went down an internet rabbit hole. If you’re interested too, here’s the definition of NEAT from the National Library of Medicine:
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. It ranges from the energy expended walking to work, typing, performing yard work, undertaking agricultural tasks and fidgeting. Even trivial physical activities increase metabolic rate substantially and it is the cumulative impact of a multitude of exothermic actions that culminate in an individual’s daily NEAT. It is, therefore, not surprising that NEAT explains a vast majority of an individual’s non-resting energy needs.
Epidemiological studies highlight the importance of culture in promoting and quashing NEAT. Agricultural and manual workers have high NEAT, whereas wealth and industrialization appear to decrease NEAT. Physiological studies demonstrate, intriguingly, that NEAT is modulated with changes in energy balance; NEAT increases with overfeeding and decreases with underfeeding.
Thus, NEAT could be a critical component in how we maintain our body weight and/or develop obesity or lose weight. The mechanism that regulates NEAT is unknown. However, hypothalamic factors have been identified that specifically and directly increase NEAT in animals. By understanding how NEAT is regulated we may come to appreciate that spontaneous physical activity is not spontaneous at all but carefully programmed.”
About Amy Connell
Amy Connell is a Certified Personal Trainer and has been in the fitness industry for almost 15 years. She’s a recovering step counter, imperfect eater, and host of the Graced Health podcast. Amy encourages women to strive for balanced, sustainable health and appreciate their God-created bodies, no matter what that looks like. She lives in the Houston, TX area with her husband, two always-hungry teen boys, and her stray-turned-princess pitbull named Grace.
Ways to Learn More About Amy Connell
Check out Amy’s amazing resources here: www.gracedhealth.com/resources/
Our Rapid Fire Questions
- What advice would you give to a brand new podcaster?
- Which podcast would be your dream podcast to guest on?
- Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?
Links Mentioned in This Episode:
- Graced Health Podcast
- Amy’s Fitness Resources
- Everything Happens with Kate Bowler
- For the Love with Jen Hatmaker
- Fierce, Free and Full of Fire by Jen Hatmaker
- Podcast Checklist
- ProffittPodcasting.com
- Proffitt Podcast Online Community Facebook Group
- Podcast YouTube Channel
- Resource Library
- 5-Day Podcast Bootcamp
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