#004: Why I Never Sit Down and the Magic of a Standing Desk

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1 1 #004: Why I Never Sit Down and the Magic of a Standing Desk July 22, 2013 Introduction The 5 am Miracle - Episode #4 [INTRO SONG] Good morning and welcome to the 4th episode of The 5 AM Miracle. I am Jeff Sanders and this is THE podcast dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast. My goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy. In today's episode I discuss why I never sit down and the magic of a standing desk. But first, today s episode is brought to you by AmbitiousCoaching.com, which is my personal

2 2 coaching program. I will share more about Ambitious Coaching at the end of the episode, so stick around. Also, if you have not yet joined my awesome newsletter, you can become a part of our stellar community and get a free copy of my ebook, also titled, The 5 AM Miracle. Just head on over to 5amMiracle.com Now, let s get started with today s feature segment! -7.5 db [MUSICAL INTERLUDE] Feature Segment Before I get into the content, I will mention right up front that I am about to discuss a bunch of resources and websites. But, have no fear. All of the links are in the show notes for this episode, which you can find at JeffSanders.com/004, as in Episode #4. Now, let s get started for real. I have been standing up for a long time In fact, I stand almost all day long, every day Outside of driving, eating lunch, and using the

3 3 restroom, I stand Most people find it odd that I don t have a desk chair at work or at home I gave away my chairs over a year ago and I have no plans to replace them WHY? Great question I Don t Like Sitting Down and I have good reasons for it: #1 - Sitting increases the likelihood that you will die by up to 40% Even if you exercise, sitting 6 hours a day or more adds up to death. Studies have shown that even if you run before work, sitting all day in a chair actually makes the exercise almost pointless Human beings need to be in motion #2 - Sitting makes you fat

4 4 Obese people sit about 2.5 hours more per day than thin people. Yes, there is more going on than sitting vs. standing when it comes to obesity, but sitting does make a difference. And consider this, you burn more calories chewing gum than you do while sitting. #3 - Sitting Starts Damaging Your Body Immediately As soon as you sit the electrical energy in your legs shut down, you virtually stop burning calories, and your body slows down it s process to burn fat by 90%. People who watch TV for 3 hours a day are 64% more likely to die from heart disease. Lastly, #4 - People with sitting jobs are twice as likely to die of a heart attack as people with standing jobs I have had many standing jobs in my life: building door frames at a construction company, shelving textbooks in a book warehouse, teaching high school kids how to dance, waiting tables at 4 different restaurants, selling computers at Apple, selling phone service door-to-door, managing a retail store, selling Real Estate, starting my

5 5 business at JeffSanders.com, and even my first job: delivering newspapers in the 8th grade. Yes, I have worked MANY different jobs ( hence my first book title: Graduated and Clueless ) I am naturally attracted to jobs that require me to move my body. I am an active and ambitious guy, so the jobs that required me to stand, or walk the streets for miles a day, didn t discourage me - they forced me to rise to the challenge. Where did I learn all this stuff about dying from sitting down? Orginally, Michael Hyatt. Michael got the info from a Medical website that helps Medical Billers and Coders stand up more often because their job normally involves sitting for long hours and attracts people who are less likely to be physically fit. My Response to Learning This Stuff: I Custom Built Two Standing Desks

6 6 How did I build it? First, my desk at work: 1. Add wooden planks and textbooks on top of my current desk 2. Ditched my chair - replaced it with a mat from Amazon (link in the show notes) Second, my desk at home: 1. Bought supplies at Home Depot 2. Custom-built a desk on top of my current desk 3. I also ditched my chair - but I don t use a mat there because the carpet is plush enough - and I don t spend as much time working there. STORY: My first week with a standing desk 1. Sore back 2. Wanted to quit 3. Everything felt awkward, but I adjusted within a few days 4. People thought I was crazy 5. I felt great about my decision almost immediately 7 Benefits of a Standing Desk 1. More energy

7 7 Fewer low-energy dips during my work day and I no longer allowed myself to slouch in a chair, take naps behind my desk 2. More Productivity When I stand up I have increased blood flow and oxygen all over my body, which jacks up my energy and, therefore, allows me to continue to work when I otherwise would have let myself be lazy. 3. More Space I think of the space behind my desk as my kitchen. Would you like to cook with an arm-chair in front of the stove? Probably not. 4. Better Posture My lower back was sore in the first few days. Why? Because my posture was terrible and my muscles were too weak. The most obvious solution was to continue standing and increase back exercises when I lifted weights. It worked. My posture is strong, but maybe not army

8 8 strong. 5. Easy to Maneuver I also noticed this benefit on the first day. Instead of wheeling my chair all over the office to get files out of cabinets or answer the phone, I just walked over and took care of my task. 6. Better Digestion Sitting cramps your gut and slows things down. When you stand, you open up your internal organs, which allows everything to move. Standing all day is at the top of my list of requirements for healthy living. Takeaways Now that you know all my my standing life - what should your first move be? If you are convinced you want to get started, make sure you buy a standing mat immediately.

9 9 Then, reorganize your desk (or all of your desks) and start working without a chair. REMEMBER: the goal is not standing - it s movement. Even if you sit - get up and move whenever you can. The real winner here is not the person who stands longest, but the person who improves their circulation and keeps their body active all day, every day. [MUSICAL INTERLUDE] Tip of the Week And now it s time for the Tip of the Week Today tip is my favorite magazine in the world. In fact, it s the only magazine I subscribe to. This magazine is published by the legendary personal development genius, Darren Hardy, and it is none other than SUCCESS. SUCCESS Magazine is a phenomenal monthly resource if you want to start a business, improve your productivity, or just push forward in life and get some great advice along the way. I have subscribed to SUCCESS for about four years

10 10 now, and the best part is always the audio CD that comes with it. To learn more about SUCCESS magazine, just visit JeffSanders.com/success [FADE IN OUTRO SONG] Announcements Just 3 quick announcements here at the end of this episode. The first is that if you are interested in writing a guest blog post for my website, please visit JeffSanders.com/guestpost. I would love to have you contribute your thoughts because I am sure you are wiser than I am. My 2nd announcement is that if you are preparing to transform your diet, run your first marathon, or make stellar progress towards your biggest goal, check out AmbitiousCoaching.com. Ambitious Coaching is my personal coaching program where I can help you work towards your life's biggest goals. We can work together in person here in Nashville, or

11 11 online if you live anywhere around the globe with an internet connection. Check out AmbitiousCoaching.com to learn more. My 3rd announcement is that my next podcast episode will be on the topic of 3 Habits to Adopt for a Powerful Morning Ritual. If you have a question about this topic, please leave me a voic message at JeffSanders.com/podcastquestion. This is an awesome way to get direct feedback from me and you can also promote your website because I will link to it in the show notes. Also, if you don t want to leave a voic , but you have a question or two that you would like me to address here on the podcast - then send me an Jeff@JeffSanders.com Final Thoughts Also, I would be grateful if you would rate my podcast in itunes with a full 5 stars. That helps tremendously with keeping my podcast visible so that people who have never heard of it can discover it. Just head over to JeffSanders.com/itunes to

12 12 subscribe today. Also, if you would like to comment on this episode, please go to JeffSanders.com/004, as in Episode 4, and scroll to the bottom of the show notes where you can leave a comment or a question. Well, that's it for this episode of The 5 AM Miracle. Until next time remember, you have the power to change your life, and it begins bright and early.

[Extract a Segment From Laura s Interview]

1 #019: Successful Before Breakfast: An Interview with Laura Vanderkam November 4, 2013 Introduction The 5 am Miracle - Episode #19 [Extract a Segment From Laura s Interview] [Intro Song] Good morning