How bad is sitting all day? We’ve all heard the line that “sitting is the new smoking”. There’s a lot of truth to that statement. 

At The Keys To Fitness, we simplify fitness for everyone and help heavier people who are ready to get fit and stay fit. 

And in this post, we’ll go over how sitting all day is bad for your health, sitting’s mental and physical impact, why exercise doesn’t fully undo sitting, and simple ways to sit less and move more. 

The Hidden Danger of Sitting All Day

Did you know that the average adult sits for 8-10 hours a day? If you have an office job, you’re more likely in this category. 

You may think that you don’t sit that long, but think about it. Most of us lie down for 8 hours a night (which is great), but then sit to eat, sit on the commute to work, sit at work, sit at lunch, sit on the way home, sit to relax, sit at dinner, and jump right back into bed for another 8 hours of lying down. 

You may be sitting down as you read these words right now. Don’t feel bad, I’m sitting down as I write them. 

The problem is that the human body was built to move, not remain sedentary for extended periods of time. 

Sitting obviously reduces your energy output, or simply put: you burn less calories when you sit a lot. And for prolonged bouts of being on your butt, you risk slowing down your metabolism and causing your body to gain fat. 

The only way to lose fat is to burn more calories than you eat. 

So if you’re not burning that many calories, you must either eat very little to maintain your weight (because you’re burning very little) or just gain a bunch of fat because your body has nothing else to do with the extra calories. 

This is why sitting for long portions of your day is linked to serious chronic health issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. 

This is because when you sit for extended periods of time, your muscles become inactive (especially in your legs, which are the biggest muscles on your body). 

This inactivity dramatically reduces your body’s ability to absorb and use glucose (sugar) effectively, which can increase your body’s resistance to insulin over time. This is how being sedentary can lead to raising your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

In addition to insulin resistance, chronic sitting leads to slowing down the blood flow, especially in the legs, and increases your chances of developing blood clots and poor circulation. 

These clots can become dangerous if they break loose and travel to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. 

At the same time, a long-term sedentary lifestyle will lower your HDL (aka the good cholesterol) and raise your triglycerides, both of which are strong risk factors for cardiovascular disease. 

It can also raise your blood pressure and increase inflammation throughout your body, which are also key contributors to heart disease.

And to tie this up in a neat little bow, sitting for long periods of time may shorten your life expectancy by years. Largely due to any combination of the detriments of sitting that we’ve already named, you can clearly start to understand how sitting is bad for your health. 

In fact, multiple large studies have found that people who sit for 6 plus hours a day have a significantly higher risk of an early death – even after controlling for physical activity. 

Basically, the more you sit, the higher the risk of an early death, often compared to smoking in terms of mortality.

Sadly, this is only the

of how horrible a sedentary lifestyle can be for your health. 

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The Physical and Mental Impact of Chronic Sitting

Staying in a seated position for long periods of time will lead to tight hips and hamstrings, weakened glutes, and low back pain. All of which are common issues caused by long-term sitting and even worse, usually each symptom worsens the other. 

Not to mention the postural problems caused by constantly leaning forward and rounding your shoulders. This excessive rounding of the shoulders causes the forward head, hunchback look you see more commonly today. 

Take a second to look up what upper cross syndrome is, you’ll recognize it everywhere you go these days. 

And if you needed more motivation to get up and move around, slouching can compress your organs, reduce your lung capacity, and reduce oxygen flow. 

No bueno. 

What’s not talked about enough is the mental impact that sitting all day can create. The reduced blood flow not only affects your heart and muscles, it affects your brain. 

Symptoms like mental fatigue, fogginess, mood swings, cognitive function, and focus can all be worsened with a lack of movement. 

In fact, being sedentary is linked to feelings of depression and anxiety. And in this study, they found that long-term sedentary behavior, or being sedentary for 600 minutes a day, was significantly associated with symptoms of depression. 

Over time, chronic sitting can even contribute to spinal disc problems and nerve compression. 

And even if you have a good mattress, poor posture from sitting all day usually leads to even worse sleep. And sleep is vital for your recovery and mood.

So if your sleep is bad, you’re only going to make things worse. And now it can become a never ending cycle. 

Why Exercise Doesn’t Fully Cancel Out Being Sedentary

You may be thinking to yourself that you get plenty of exercise every day. “I workout every single day, this doesn’t affect me!”

You might be working out every day l, and that’s great. 

But this is a numbers game. 

Your 30 to 60 minute workouts every day doesn’t reverse 8-10 hours of daily inactivity. It’s simply impossible. 

Studies are now showing how chronic sitting can actually counterbalance the positive effects of exercise. Crazy. 

What people don’t understand is that movement throughout the day is essential for metabolic health. Long bouts of inactivity will spike your inflammation, regardless of your fitness level. 

Your level of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) drops with prolonged sitting, which can lead to slowing down your fat loss or speed up your fat gain. 

And if you didn’t know, all NEAT is are the regular movements you do every day. Things like fidgeting, tapping your feet, pacing, yard work, any movement really that isn’t structured exercise all count as NEAT. 

True health comes from your total daily movements, not just gym sessions or sports practices. 

Which is what we’ll get into next. 

Simple Ways to Sit Less and Move More

It’s obviously a good idea to get up and move around a little every once in a while. A great way to do this is to set an alarm to get up and move every 30 to 60 minutes. 

Most smartwatches, like fitbit, are capable of sending you a reminder to move to keep you from sitting too long. 

If you have an office job, try swapping your desk out for a standing desk. If you’re unable to make a complete swap, you can always buy a standing desk stand for your computer to sit on. It sits on top of your desk, lifting up your computer screen and forcing you to stand up. 

If you have meetings over the phone, try walking outside or around the office to build some activity into your workday. I’ve even heard that this boosts productivity for in-person meetings as well!

The goal here is to increase your NEAT, and another great habit to do that would be to take a short walk after each meal. 

This is an easy habit to add to your day. For me, I’ve watched this little habit boost my daily steps by 3k a day! Simply go for a 10 minute walk after each of your meals. And an extra benefit of this is that it helps you digest your food better!

Another awesome trick to increasing your activity is to park farther away from your destination. The next time you go to the store, park as far away from the store as possible within the parking lot. This way, you’ll have to walk further to and from your car when you’re running your errands. 

You can also build habits like pacing while you talk on the phone, stand while you read, walk while you brush your teeth, or stretch while you watch TV. 

If stretching isn’t your thing, mobility drills may be just what you need. A great hack I’ve heard from Adam Schaefer was to do mobility drills during commercial breaks every time he sat down to watch TV. Perfect. 

Adding just 5-10 minutes of stretching or mobility work will do wonders for your body in short order. This trick, I highly recommend. 

Another great idea is to drink from smaller water bottles. Because of this, you’ll have to get up more often to refill your drink. And in addition to this bottle hack, try increasing your water intake. 

By drinking more water, you’ll force yourself to get up more often because you’ll be moving yourself to the bathroom more often. This makes increasing your activity almost automatic!

Key Takeaway: Stand Up for Your Health

So, how bad is sitting all day? 

Pretty bad. 

Sitting by itself isn’t bad. To be clear, what’s bad is chronic sitting. Movement is thy medicine and your body needs it often throughout the day. 

The good thing is, you don’t really need to overhaul your entire life. All you need to do is simply interrupt long bouts of sitting consistently. 

Once you reduce the amount of time you spend being sedentary, you’ll begin to feel improvements in your mood, energy, posture, and long-term health. 

Just take one of these habits and tricks and start small. Even a break to get up and move around and stretch once every hour adds up to real change. 

Thankfully, most chronic issues caused by sitting all day can be reversed with regular movement. Just remember that your workouts matter but your daily activity matters more than what most think. 

So stand up, move around, and take control of your health one step at a time.

Let me know which habit or activity hack you’ll try to add into your life. Or tell me about some tricks you’ve added that weren’t mentioned here, I’d love to know!

The post How Bad is Sitting All Day for your Health? How Sitting is the New Smoking. appeared first on TheKeysToFitness.com.

Are you someone who likes being outside? Maybe you’re tired of being indoors for everything, like work, the gym, and staying in for the evenings. Or maybe you’re trying to save a little money by ditching your gym membership for the summer. Why not get a workout in the park?

At The Keys To Fitness, we simplify fitness for everyone and help heavier people who are ready to get fit and stay fit.

And in this article, we’ll discuss 3 great calisthenics exercises to try outside for your next workout, whether it’s indoors or outdoors.

Why A Workout in the Park During Summer Is a Game-Changer

Working out at the park (or outside) is great for your overall health and well-being. There are plenty of benefits to exercising outdoors that most people aren’t even aware of.

Free Vitamin D Supplement

First of all, being outdoors gives you a boost in Vitamin D. The sunlight we receive gives us a natural dose of Vitamin D, which is crucial for mood, metabolism, and hormonal balance. In fact, 4 out of 10 Americans are deficient in this vitamin, making it a big deal to go outside and touch some grass.

Mental Refresh & Energy Booster

Exposure to nature also reduces cortisol (the stress hormone) and improves mental clarity. Just 20 minutes of being out in nature has been shown to lower stress and improve your mood. This is part of why you hear so many good things about nature walks.

The combination of fresh air, sunlight, and movement also spikes your energy levels better than caffeine, especially in the morning. Another positive side effect is that getting the sunlight in the morning in your eyes (without sunglasses) helps set your circadian rhythm and helps you fall asleep at night.

Bonus Tip: Try having your morning coffee after your morning workout for the ultimate wake-up to start your day!

Freedom To Move & Outdoor Conditioning

Parks also offer enough space for creative, full-body workouts. In other words, you should have plenty of space for sprinting, crawling, carrying, and more! This is a big plus because you won’t be limited by gym equipment or floor space like at your local gym.

Also, training in warm weather will improve your heat tolerance, blood flow, and cardiovascular fitness. You will likely sweat more, so make sure to increase your salt and water intake to replenish the sodium and fluids lost from your workouts.

[RELATED: 5 Simple Ways to Get 150 Minutes of Cardio Every Week]

In need of a Printable Exercise Tracker Because You’re Struggling to Stay Consistent?

Build better fitness habits with The Keys to Fitness: Weekly Habit Tracker! Download it for FREE and start tracking your progress today. Stay accountable, stay on track, and make fitness a lasting habit!

[Get Your Free Tracker Now!]

Exercise #1 – Bulgarian Split Squats

Bulgarian split squats are a great compound movement for the lower body. This exercise targets the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and the core.

By squatting with one leg at a time, they’re great for building unilateral (one-sided) lower-body strength and balance. When it comes to improving balance, using one leg at a time forces your body to deeply engage your stabilizing muscles.

And like most other lower-body unilateral exercises, Bulgarian split squats are great for fixing leg strength imbalances.

Exercise #2 – Inverted Rows

Inverted rows are another great compound movement to add to your workout in the park. Rows target your lats, upper back, biceps, and rear delts. This movement is invaluable in a world where most people do most things either hunched over or with bad posture.

This movement helps balance out push-heavy workouts by hitting your pulling muscles in the back. Not only that, but rows help build upper-body thickness and grip strength.

And as I touched on earlier, rows are great for improving your posture and shoulder health by strengthening the muscles in your upper back.    

Exercise #3 – Planks With Shoulder Taps

Last, but not least, are planks with shoulder taps. This exercise targets the core (especially the obliques), chest, and shoulders.

You could do just planks, but the addition of the shoulder taps comes with more benefits. Planks with shoulder taps will build your core stability while challenging your shoulder and trunk control.

The ability to control your trunk comes from the constant testing of your anti-rotation muscles that this exercise puts you through. Having better control over your core and strengthening it is very important and impactful for real-world movement.

A bonus effect of this exercise is that it can be turned into a cardio exercise if you speed up the pacing of your taps.

Free Park Workout Routine

Quick Warm-Up (2–3 Minutes)

• Start with 30 seconds of jumping jacks to get your heart rate up.
• Next, do 15 seconds of arm circles forward and 15 seconds backward to warm up your shoulders.
• Finish with 10 bodyweight squats to loosen up your hips, knees, and ankles.

This short warm-up should prep your joints and muscles while getting your body ready to move.

Main Workout (15-20 Minutes)

Perform all sets of each exercise before moving on to the next. Rest for 30 to 60 seconds between sets.

Focus on control and proper form.

1. Bulgarian Split Squats

• 3 sets of 8 reps per leg
• Use a bench or park step to elevate your back foot. 
• Keep your chest upright, engage your core, and drive through your front heel.

These target your quads, glutes, and balance.

2. Inverted Rows

• 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps
• Find a low bar or rail (like on a park bench, swing set, or ladder).
• Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Pull your chest toward the bar and control the lowering phase.

This strengthens your back, arms, and grip.

3. Plank to Shoulder Taps

• 3 sets of 10 taps per side (20 total)
• Start in a push-up position. 
• While keeping your hips steady, lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder, then alternate. 

Move slowly and with control to challenge your core and shoulder stability.

Quick Cooldown (2–3 Minutes)

• Stand and stretch one quad by pulling your foot to your glutes for 20 seconds per leg.
• Bend forward at the hips and reach for your toes to stretch the hamstrings for 30 seconds.
• Finish with three slow, deep breaths to help your body relax and reset. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. 

Key Takeaway: Take Your Fitness Routine Outside for Big Benefits

Working out in the park offers more than just a change of scenery; it’s a fantastic way to boost your health, save money, and get outside. Calisthenics exercises like Bulgarian split squats, inverted rows, and planks with shoulder taps are effective movements you can do anywhere, requiring minimal equipment while providing you with maximum results.

Key Takeaways:

• Bulgarian split squats help with balance, strength, and addressing leg imbalances.
  
• Inverted rows improve posture, upper-body strength, and grip.
  
• Planks with shoulder taps enhance core stability and shoulder control, offering a challenge for both strength and endurance.
  

These exercises can help you build a full-body workout while enjoying the benefits of fresh air and natural sunlight, which are crucial for your mood, energy levels, and overall health.

If you’re looking to add variety to your fitness routine and take advantage of the great outdoors, why not give this park workout a try? Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned fitness enthusiast, there’s always room to grow and improve in a new environment.

Have you tried working out in the park before? What are your favorite outdoor exercises? Let me know in the comments or share your thoughts! I encourage you to take action, head outside and apply these exercises next time you hit the park. Your body (and mind) will thank you!

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The post Calisthenics Exercises: 3 Great Movements For Your Workout In The Park appeared first on TheKeysToFitness.com.

We’ve all had those days where you’re cruising just fine and then all of a sudden — BAM — you hit the dreaded afternoon slump and your energy tanks. Sound familiar?

At The Keys To Fitness, we simplify fitness for everyone and help heavier people who are ready to get fit and stay fit.

And this article will be your go-to guide for breaking through your afternoon slump by improving your lunch, using activity, and building a sleep schedule to stay sharp when it matters most. 

What is The Afternoon Slump?

The afternoon slump is a natural dip in energy due to our circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is our body’s natural internal process that regulates our sleep cycles. The energy dip can also be worsened through your lifestyle choices. 

The problem with this slump is that it can kill your productivity, zap your motivation, and ignite your bad habits (like sugar binges or doom-scrolling online). 

This slump tends to hit most people between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., right after most people’s lunch break and with about half the work day left. There’s a crazy statistic that says most people get about 3 hours’ worth of work done in an 8-hour shift. I’d bet the afternoon slump has a large part to play in this unproductive statistic. 

I also wonder how much work got done in an 8 hour period by the surveyors for this study, but that’s a different conversation for a different day. 

So, if you understand how crippling this dip in energy can be, you must be wondering how much more you can actually get done within your work day. So am I!

Well, let’s dive into 5 ways to overcome the afternoon slump to maximize our productivity on the job. 

Rethink Your Lunch (and Your Morning Fuel)

The slump often starts with lunch, not at lunch. This is a common misconception. What you put into your body fuels your body. 

The majority of people eat fast food or highly processed foods for lunch. While these options are fast, convenient, portable, and widely available for solid prices, the price you actually end up paying for is with your health — and to a lesser degree, your productivity. 

[RELATED: The Truth About Junk Food and Fitness—What You Need to Know]

Carb-heavy, greasy, ultra-processed foods will spike your blood sugar. Spiking your blood sugar makes your pancreas work harder to balance your blood sugar levels by pumping insulin into the bloodstream. 

Sometimes this attempt to level your blood sugar can be over corrected by using too much insulin. The excess insulin is what causes you to be tired, sluggish, mentally foggy, irritable, or even hungry again. Think about how the massive Thanksgiving dinner makes the entire family fall asleep on the couch. 

This is why. 

To avoid putting your pancreas into overdrive, you’ll want to balance your meals with whole, natural foods. Protein, healthy fats, and fiber all slow down the digestion of food, causing the blood sugar levels to rise more slowly than consuming the higher-carb, sugary foods. 

With the slower absorption of food comes the slower rise in blood sugar, which means the pancreas doesn’t have to work as hard to quickly balance out the level of sugar in your blood. 

No hard-working pancreas = no overcorrection of insulin in the bloodstream.  AKA, no slump in energy.

In need of a Printable Exercise Tracker Because You’re Struggling to Stay Consistent?

Build better fitness habits with The Keys to Fitness: Weekly Habit Tracker! Download it for FREE and start tracking your progress today. Stay accountable, stay on track, and make fitness a lasting habit!

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Leverage Movement to Reset Your Energy

Movement is a natural energy booster. Luckily, you don’t have to go through an all out workout to raise your energy levels. A simple 5 to 10 minute walk, a few minutes of light stretching, or even 30 seconds of squats could do the trick. 

Most people sit for hours a day due to their sedentary jobs or lifestyle. The problem with sitting is that it reduces the circulation of blood throughout your body, which can compound your level of fatigue. Getting up every hour or two to break up long periods of inactivity will help get the blood pumping and transport nutrients to where they need to go. 

And to get more bang for your buck, try taking a 10 minute walk outside right after your lunch. Walking is great for not only boosting your energy through movement, but it’s also great for your digestion. In addition to helping your last meal digest and beating your afternoon slump, walking outside gives you the benefits of getting vitamin D. 

Many people don’t get enough vitamin D everyday. In fact, over 1 billion people worldwide are either vitamin D deficient or insufficient. 

Vitamin D provides plenty of benefits, to name a few:

• Boosts immune function
  
• Supports bone health (helps absorb calcium)
  
• Improves mood (linked to lower risk of depression)
  
• Aids muscle function and recovery
  
• May reduce inflammation
  

And you can get all of this (and more!) for the small price of Free.99 every single day of the week. I’ll even throw in the bonus of getting fresh air and the calming effects you get from being in nature or outside!

Build a Consistent Sleep-Wake Cycle

Your energy dips get much worse when your sleep is off. Even one hour less than your normal amount will affect your energy. 

What most people miss is that it’s not just about the amount of sleep you get, but the quality of the sleep you’re getting. Always aim to get deep, uninterrupted sleep. Ideally, you’d want to get both great sleep and lots of it.

One of the best habits you can have to improve your sleep is to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. And yes, on the weekends too! Your body (and sleep cycle) thrives on consistency. 

By waking up and going to bed at the same time, your body will adapt and stabilize your circadian rhythm (aka your internal clock), keep your hormones (like cortisol and melatonin) in sync, and reduce your energy crashes. 

Everyone has heard of the Morning Routine, but an underrated and lesser-known game changer is the Night Time Routine. Having a consistent nighttime routine will help you wind down and ease right into longer, better, and deeper sleep on a consistent basis. 

Bonus tip: Limit your caffeine after about noon so you don’t interfere with your nighttime sleep and make the next day worse. It takes about 5 hours to get rid of half the caffeine you’ve ingested and about 12 hours for it to completely clear the body.

[RELATED: Want Better Workouts and Faster Fat Loss? Sleep Might Be the Missing Piece]

What You Can Do To Prevent The Slump

Now that we know what to do, how can you implement what we’ve learned into your daily life?

Start by tracking your slumps to pinpoint when they normally happen. Most of the time they happen about 6 to 8 hours after waking up. Start there and then fine tune when exactly the dip takes place. 

Once you figure out when it happens, now we can start to add some of the tips you’ve learned. 

First of all, you should have a consistent sleep and wake-up time every day. Whether or not your energy dips, having a consistent sleep schedule is great for plenty of things. Too many things to mention in this article. 

Next, start with upgrading your meal choices. Pick healthier options that are good for you. You’re looking for foods that give you energy, not foods that drag you down and make you feel sluggish. In other words, try eating more whole, natural foods and less ultra-processed foods. 

Once your food choices are in order, start timing your meals and activity around your regular slump times. This could look like eating your meal about 30 minutes before your usual slump and then taking a short walk right after. 

It doesn’t have to be complicated, eat your meal and just schedule your choice of activity about 15 to 30 minutes before your afternoon slump kicks in and you should be good to go!

Key Takeaway: Beat the Afternoon Slump Before It Beats You

The afternoon slump isn’t just about feeling a little tired; it’s about losing focus, wasting time, and falling behind on what matters most.

But here’s the good news: it’s not inevitable.

When you take small, strategic steps (like upgrading your lunch, getting sunlight and movement, and staying consistent with your sleep), you can completely transform how you feel and perform in the second half of your day.

The key is being proactive, not reactive. Don’t wait until you’re drained to fix it — plan ahead and implement these habits 15–30 minutes before the slump usually hits. Your energy, focus, and productivity will thank you for it.

Which of these tips will you start with today? Try one, test it out, and build from there. The more consistent you are, the less the slump stands a chance.

The post How to Overcome The Afternoon Slump appeared first on TheKeysToFitness.com.