Wellness: Sitting is the New Smoking - Director of Wellness Maria Hicks, CHC, CPT - CUPA-HR Chapter Resources
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Wellness: Sitting is the New Smoking Maria Hicks, CHC, CPT Director of Wellness
Presenter Bio
Maria Hicks serves as the Director of Wellness at Cambridge Consulting Group. She helps
clients build corporate wellness programs to foster healthy lifestyles and facilitate well-being
within the workplace.
She has provided weight management counseling for ten years, teaching a variety of fitness
training classes and has extensive experience creating corporate workplace wellness programs
with over eight years of experience working with employees and engaging them in wellness
initiatives.
Outside of Cambridge, Maria enjoys educating, encouraging and motivating others to achieve
better health and fitness. Her interests include running 5K races, biking, healthy baking, board
games with friends and spending time with her family.
Maria lives in Farmington Hills, MI.
Maria Hicks Credentials, Designations and Memberships:
Michigan State University, Bachelor of Science/Health Promotion
Director of Wellness Wellness Coaching Institute, Certified Health Coach
Cambridge Consulting Group American Council on Exercise, Certified Health Coach
American Council on Exercise, Certified Fitness Professional
Well coaches Training, Participant
Wellness Council of Arizona, Health Coach of the Year 2010
Frequent health and wellness speaker
2
SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
Let me paint this picture….
How do you feel
It’s a Tuesday and you are in a conference physically and
room, the meeting is 4 hours and you have mentally
from sitting?
been sitting there the whole time. You spend
time crossing and un-crossing your legs,
swiveling around, adjusting your position,
maybe a neck roll or two. Your muscles are
getting stiff, and you are thinking…
“WHEN WILL THIS MEETING END?”
3SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
You probably feel exhausted and you are not doing anything but sitting…
that’s because our bodies are not meant to sit all day long.
1. We sit at breakfast
2. We sit on the commute to work
3. We sit for an average of 7+ hours at work
4. We sit on our commute home
5. We sit at dinner and in front of the TV
Simply too much sitting and inactivity in our day….
Even one hour of cardio will not combat sitting all day.
4The idea that "smoking is bad" has been
drilled into all of us
When you embrace the concept that "Sitting
SITTING IS THE is the New Smoking," you will find that the
less you sit, the more engaged you are at
whatever you're doing
NEW SMOKING Get up to walk, stretch and simply stand in
your work space – every hour is preferable
for 3-5 minutes
Moving your muscles creates blood flow and
sends nutrients to the brain – you will think
better and be more productive in your work
day
5SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
How sedentary 67%
is the typical 3 of Americans hate sitting
American each hours
day? 86% of Americans sit all day at work
21 53% would rather stand more while working
than do 30 minutes of cardio a day
hours
96% of people say they feel better physically
and mentally after going for a walk
6SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
Key fat burners shut off the minute we sit, calorie burning drops
1. to 1 per minute; enzymes that break down fat also drop
Every 2 hours spent sitting reduces blood flow, raises blood sugar
2. and drops good cholesterol by 20%
Excessive sitting is cited as a key risk factor in 4 of the top 7 U.S.
3. killers: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers.
People with sitting jobs have twice the rate of heart disease vs
4. people with standing jobs
5. Sitting makes you more tired and less energetic for your day
7Excessive sitting hurts your body by:
Causes mushy abs - you don’t engage your core muscles by sitting all day
Foggy brain – moving muscles pump fresh blood and oxygen through the brain
and trigger the release of all sorts of brain and mood enhancing chemicals.
Being sedentary slows down brain function, oxygen and blood flow
Inflexible spine – spines that don’t move become inflexible and susceptible to
damage and back strains
Soft bones – weight-bearing activities such as walking and running stimulate hip
and lower-body bones to grow thicker and stronger (inactivity doesn’t promote
bone strength!)
Heart disease – muscles burn less fat and blood flows more sluggishly during
long periods of sitting leading to heart disease
8DON’T WORRY, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS
Simply standing, stretching and walking during your day
Reduces the negative effects of sitting
Improves heart health
Tones muscles
Improves posture
Increases blood flow
Ramps up metabolism
Burns extra calories
Increases productivity
9SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
Get more activity into each day
› Stand-up more at work (every hour for Stretch every
just 3-5 minutes will do the trick) hour
› March in place – in your office space
› Take the stairs, as much as possible
› Stand while talking on the phone
› Stand during the next webinar Do 50 squats Wear a
› Hold a walking meeting an hour fitness device
› Stand in your next meeting
› Use an exercise band throughout the day
10SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
What can you do at your workplace?
Post information on your break room bulletin board about the dangers of
1. sitting and tips to be more active
Encourage your employees to walk outside before or after lunch and have
2. someone lead the walks
Implement walking, squat, plank or any activity challenge and have a raffle
3. prize drawing to encourage participation
4. Take the chairs out of the conference room for the next meeting
YOUR CHALLENGE:
Hold a walking or standing meeting
11More ways to implement activity into the workplace:
Sitting on something wobbly – such as an exercise ball or even a backless
stool to force your core muscles to work. Sit up straight and keep your feet
flat on the floor in front of you
Stretching the hip flexors – 3 minutes per side, once a day
Alternate between standing and sitting – purchase a stand-up desk (or sit to
stand desk), stand while on a webinar or phone, stand in meetings
Try yoga poses – to stretch back and improve posture (cat/cow yoga pose)
Send out company-wide emails on a daily basis to remind people to take a
walking or standing break (10am and 2pm daily)
Be the leader at your workplace and start the movement! Implement
standing and walking meetings
Sign up for a company 5K race and encourage employees and co-workers to
join the team and train together
12CURRENT LIFESTYLE TRENDS
Significant Room for Improvement!
80% of adolescents do not
do enough physical activity
Only 5% of adults to meet the suggested
participate in 30 minutes guidelines for youth Children now average >7.5
of physical activity on a Only 1 in 3 adults receive hours/day in front of a
daily basis the recommended amount screen (e.g., TV, video
of physical activity on a games, computers, etc.)
weekly basis Only 1 in 3 children are
physically active every day
*Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
13“ EXERCISE is the most
POTENT and
UNDERUTILIZED “
…and it’s free
“
WHEN
I LIKE how
I WORKOUT,
my BRAIN
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