Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren vocal bomb here. We've all heard the grim news
Speaker 1: sitting is the new smoking. It's a troubling statement to
Speaker 1: see repeated in the headlines, especially since the average office
Speaker 1: worker sits for about ten hours every day and Netflix,
Speaker 1: we love you, but you're not helping. Not only has
Speaker 1: excessive sitting been associated with everything from strained muscles to
Speaker 1: spinal damage, but research has shown prolonged sedentary time is
Speaker 1: associated with harmful health outcomes regardless of physical activity. And
Speaker 1: while we all put our faith into standing desks as
Speaker 1: the obvious antidote, it turns out that strategy might be
Speaker 1: doing more harm than good. There might be a simpler
Speaker 1: solution that doesn't involve a fancy office successory or swollen
Speaker 1: ankles squatting. We spoke with Area Matlick, a New York
Speaker 1: based nurse practitioner. She said, when it comes to the
Speaker 1: human body, spending too much time in any single position
Speaker 1: has a cost. In the US today, we sit a lot,
Speaker 1: so it would do us good to squat a bit more.
Speaker 1: Jessica Gilbert, a California based certified personal trainer and group
Speaker 1: fitness instructor, agrees. She said we should most definitely be
Speaker 1: squatting more in our everyday lives for many reasons. The
Speaker 1: first and most important is that most people struggle from
Speaker 1: inactive gluteal muscles glutes and that can cause low back pain,
Speaker 1: knee pain, throw off your posture, and affect your everyday workouts.
Speaker 1: She says. That's squatting for just thirty seconds a few
Speaker 1: times a day can strengthen those inactive muscle groups. So
Speaker 1: why squatting? You might instead want to ask why not squatting?
Speaker 1: While you may not typically see people in the United
Speaker 1: States crouching with bent knees, but's hovering above their heels,
Speaker 1: you'll see that pose on the regular in other countries,
Speaker 1: particularly in places where squat toilets where the peon or
Speaker 1: bowls at floor level are common, like throughout Asia, India,
Speaker 1: and Africa. But people in other parts of the world
Speaker 1: also commonly issued chairs to squat when eating, talking, and
Speaker 1: just generally hanging out. And while the super low squat
Speaker 1: you'll see abroad may look much different than the standard
Speaker 1: issue jim move common in the United States, Gilbert says
Speaker 1: they both have their rightful place and booty building perks.
Speaker 1: She said a typical jim squat and squats in other
Speaker 1: countries are all fairly the same, but the depth, range
Speaker 1: of motion and uses are different. She explained that a
Speaker 1: jim squat will build strength, where squatting in daily life
Speaker 1: can build endurance. Matt Luck explained that it used to
Speaker 1: be more common for people all over the world to
Speaker 1: give birth and use the toilet in a squatting position.
Speaker 1: She said, the less we squat, the weaker the muscles
Speaker 1: that make squatting possible become a lot of fitness routines
Speaker 1: and yogic practices include squating exercises for good reason. Squatting
Speaker 1: increases leg strength and stability, gets the blood flowing, warms
Speaker 1: up the body, and improves muscle tone without putting excessive
Speaker 1: pressure on the joints. And while no one really likes
Speaker 1: to talk about it, that toilet thing is important, hence
Speaker 1: the success of the squatty potty. Victoria Albana, another New
Speaker 1: York based nurse practitioner and health coach, said, we definitely
Speaker 1: should all be squatting to have a bowel movement. When
Speaker 1: we're in a fully squatted position, it's a more natural
Speaker 1: position for our colon. When the Victorians came up with
Speaker 1: the concept of the throne toilet. It was a big
Speaker 1: step backward for bowel health. But beyond the bathroom, squatting
Speaker 1: has a ton of benefits that nonpractitioners are missing out on.
Speaker 1: Albana said, I also think when we're squatting all the
Speaker 1: time to do all sorts of things, we're engaging our
Speaker 1: core in our back and engaging a series of muscles
Speaker 1: that the average American is no longer engaging. We're having
Speaker 1: more back pain than ever before. I don't think it's
Speaker 1: a one to one correlation, but we're definitely sitting more
Speaker 1: and commuting more, and it's one part of the picture.
Speaker 1: While it's a good idea to get your squad on
Speaker 1: more often, it's also important to remember that not all
Speaker 1: squats are created equal. Matlick said, rapid, careless squatting can
Speaker 1: easily lead to back injuries, so it's important to engage
Speaker 1: the core muscles and keep the back straight. When adding
Speaker 1: squats to your daily routine, start with slow movements for
Speaker 1: one to three minutes and work up to a faster
Speaker 1: pace and longer duration. Whether you're squeezing more squats in
Speaker 1: for overall health and mobility or you're really looking to
Speaker 1: build some muscle. Gilbert has a few takeaway tips. She said,
Speaker 1: always keep the weight of your squats in your heels,
Speaker 1: keep your chest up and shoulder blades back. When you're
Speaker 1: doing a squat and coming up to the standing position,
Speaker 1: always squeeze your butt. If you're leaning forward or backward
Speaker 1: in your squats, you're more likely to injure yourself. So
Speaker 1: if you're new to working out or just want to
Speaker 1: improve your squatting technique, I recommend finding a bench and
Speaker 1: practice the sitting and standing technique. Even just taking a
Speaker 1: seat and then standing up fift twenty times in a
Speaker 1: row once a day can make a difference. It's almost
Speaker 1: the same idea as the gym technique. Today's episode was
Speaker 1: written by Michelle Kunstantinovski and produced by Tyler Clang for
Speaker 1: iHeart Media and How Stuff Works. For more on this
Speaker 1: and lots of other well toned topics, visit our home planet,
Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com.