1 . Are you sitting more than ever?     1     You’re probably sitting while reading this. Sometimes you sit when you are driving or attending a meeting. Other times you sit when you engage yourself in watching a movie or playing computer games. That’s undoubtedly a lot of sitting. The fact is, the amount of time spent sitting has increased over time.     2    

We know sitting too much is bad, and most of us naturally feel a little guilty after a long-time TV watching.     3     A study on nearly 8,000 adults suggests that there’s a direct relationship between the time spent sitting and our risk of early death of any cause. As the total sitting time increases, so does the risk of early death.

“Sit less, move more” is what the Heart Association encourages us to do.     4     It is like telling someone to just ”exercise“ without telling them how. Exercise guidelines are always more practical. For example, the Center for Disease Control recommends adults do exercise for two hours and 30 minutes every week, plus muscle strengthening activities two or more days a week. We need similar guidelines for sitting.

    5     “It would probably be like, for every 30 continuous minutes of sitting, stand up and move or walk for five minutes at a quick pace,” Diaz, the lead researcher said, adding that the study has put us a step closer to the satisfying guidelines. But more researches are needed to confirm their approach.

2 . As my head moved up and down on the Zoom screen, private messages poured in from my colleagues: “What are you doing there?” “Are you sitting on a ball?” “Are you walking?” I could feel their eyes on me — inquiring, interested, confused. Clearly, this wasn’t a normal faculty meeting. I replied I was walking on my new under desk treadmill (跑步机).

I didn’t have to worry about workday inactivity earlier in my career. As a graduate student and postdoc, I went on frequent field excursions to collect soil samples in remote places. The fieldwork was physically challenging, a contrast to the lab tasks and desk work that were also part of my job. But when I became a professor, fieldwork became a rarity.

During the pandemic the situation grew worse. My schedule filled up with one online meeting or seminar after the next. And I “traveled” to them without leaving my desk. Although I had the luxury of a height-adjustable desk, which gave me the option to stand, I still felt unbalanced, and I began to experience back pain.

At home, I’d occasionally tried to work on my wife’s treadmill, which I’d repurposed by putting a wooden board across the handles and my laptop on top. I thought that might be just what I needed in my campus office, so I bought a treadmill designed to go under a desk. I decided to spend my entire workday on the treadmill. It took me several days to adjust, but I eventually got the hang of typing and speaking while walking.

When I’m at my desk, I spend nearly all of my working hours in motion. In the first couple of weeks, I was a bit exhausted when I got home at night. But over time, I developed more endurance. My back pain disappeared and I came to enjoy the time at my desk.

Most of the scientists I work with have sent me reassuring feedback. Some have even bought treadmills of their own. That has made me view my walking as a way to silently communicate a crucial message to my colleagues: There’re always ways to stay active if you want!

3 . Important Parts of Every Healthy Workout

Every healthy workout has important parts, each one of which is essential for a productive and safe workout. If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry. We’ll go over each one of them in detail in this blog post.

Cardio (有氧运动) is a vital part of any workout plan. It helps to get your heart rate up, allowing you to burn more calories than other exercises. It can also provide health benefits such as improved heart health and prevention of diseases.     1    

    2     Not only will it help improve a person’s physical appearance, but it can also have numerous long-term health benefits. Increased muscle mass can help support better posture and even improve daily activities like walking up stairs or carrying heavy things.

Flexibility exercises can help improve your flexibility and reduce the risk of injury.     3     Doing flexibility exercises can also help reduce muscle tension and tiredness and increase range of motion. Make sure to take some time each day to focus on improving your flexibility.

Proper forms make sure you’re doing each exercise correctly to avoid injuring yourself. Using an improper form can lead to serious injury. Before beginning a new exercise routine, make sure to do some research and practice the exercises to ensure you’re doing them correctly.     4    

    5     A cooldown will help prevent soreness afterwards. They can help you get the most out of your workout. Some warm-up exercises could include jogging, rope jumping, or doing some dynamic stretching. For the cooldown, focus on stretching and breathing techniques to relax your body and mind.

5 . Yesterday, my daughter had to go to work earlier than usual. Since the gym where I work out is not far from her ___________, I decided to take her to work and then go to the gym.

At quite an earlier hour, the gym was ___________ full of men and women of all ages, working out. I ___________ go to the gym at this early hour, and was ___________ to see so many people. It seems that many go to the gym before going to ___________. Some want to lose weight, others want to ___________ their body, and a great number of people like to build their muscles (肌肉). I know how difficult it is for most people to start exercising. Most people know it is good for their body, ___________ they are too lazy to go to the gym, ___________ in the morning. They ___________ to spend an extra hour in bed before starting their ____________. In the afternoon, they are too ____________ after work, and want to stay at home or go out to meet friends.

If you’re one of them, you need to overcome (克服) your ____________. If you ____________ going to the gym and exercising, you will start to ____________ it. This usually ____________ when you see you’re losing weight, that your body is getting into a better shape, and that you feel stronger.

It is the same in every other area of life. Everything becomes easier if you have great motivation.