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How to Improve Computer Posture in 5 Easy Habits (in a free checklist)

11/19/2015

"Sit up straight." Or, "use good posture."

We’ve heard things like this a million times before. But what do they really mean? How do you really do it? And what are the specific cues?

It’s not as simple as just “sitting up straight”. It’s actually a very intense process. The human body is the most complex body of work ever created. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t simplify the sitting process as much as possible.

Download my Free Computer Posture Checklist here

It’s not just about strength. There’s a lot of balance and technique involved.

First, we need to dissect the process of good sedentary ergonomics into 5 major regions of the human body:

Region 1: Back/Abs
Region 2: Hips
Region 3: Legs
Region 4: Head/Neck
Region 5: Arms/Shoulders

We also need to minimize the number of sedentary actions we are doing 2,000 hours per year (that’s how many you sit at a desk with a 40 hour per week desk job).

Action 1: Sitting
Action 2: Looking
Action 3: Typing/Clicking

Finally, we’ll relate all of these body parts and actions to the equipment we use throughout the day.

Equipment 1: Chair
Equipment 2: Monitor
Equipment 3: Keyboard/Mouse

It's not our fault....however, it is our responsibility....

As computer desk jockeys, it’s not our fault that sitting for a living is destroying our bodies and minds. However, it is our responsibility to make sure we minimize the negative effects and damage.

The below picture previews the first 2 of 5 habits on my computer posture checklist, but you can go download the whole thing here for free.

It's great for posting at your desk (to refresh your memory occasionally).

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Standing Workstations: How to Go From Sitting to Standing

6/20/2015

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A lot of desk jockeys are going full throttle with their future wellness practices. Meaning, they're going directly from sitting 8 hours per day to standing 8 hours per day. I love the ambition! But please keep these 5 key facts in mind...

1. Start off standing in small doses.

Let's run some quick #'s on just how much we've been sitting at a computer. Let's say we sit at a desk 50 weeks per year. If we times that by 40 hours per week, that puts us at the mercy of gravity and bad posture for 2,000 hours per year. Times 2,000 by the number of years in your career....

The point is, we've got a ton of repetitive strain to correct. It's not going to happen immediately by standing all day. If a person goes from one extreme to another (from sitting all day to standing all day), it's going to be a fast track to some very complex issues. The transition needs to be more gradual.

A sitting workstation causes repetitive strain injuries in certain muscles and tendons. A standing workstation also creates repetitive strain injuries, but in different muscles and tendons of the body. For that matter, doing anything, in any position, for any extended period of time, is going to create repetitive strain.

2. Use different positions throughout the day at your computer. For example:

2 hours standing
2 hours sitting in a chair
2 hours sitting on a balance ball
2 hours sitting on a stool

But make sure to lower/raise your keyboard, mouse, and monitor to appropriate heights with each position. Which brings us to #3 and 4...

3. Lower or raise your keyboard and mouse to appropriate heights with each position.

The keyboard should always be at the same height of your elbows, so that your forearms are parallel to the floor.

4. Lower or raise your monitor to appropriate heights with each position.

The top one-third portion of the monitor should be at eye level, especially when standing.

If you're working on a laptop while standing, make sure to use an additional monitor to extend your screen. Many laptop users make a very common, yet destructive mistake while using a standing workstation. They raise their laptop so their forearms are parallel to the floor, but they don't use a second monitor. They're looking down at their laptop screen, which is going to cause a ton of problems. It compresses and shortens the muscles in the front of the neck, but extends and lengthens the muscles in the back of their neck. It causes massive dysfunction. Also, the curvature in their spine is improper, which'll cause spinal degeneration eventually (which is irreversible).

5. Keep your spine "stacked" any time you are in any position for an extended period of time.

Regardless of whether you're sitting or standing, you want to keep the standard curve in your spine. When looking at a side view angle from the person's right side, this standard curve looks like a very slight "s". This picture (to the right) shows a healthy curve, with all of the vertebrae stacked correctly on top of each other. Make sure to keep a healthy lumbar curve in the lower back, too.

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The First Step to Heal Pain Caused By Sitting at a Computer is...

6/13/2015

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The first step to heal pain caused by sitting at a computer is becoming passionate about body awareness, not scheduling a doctor appointment.

To begin your journey, check out one of these articles:

4 Rookie Mistakes That Made My Posture Much Worse

How Much Water Do You Need to Drink a Day

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4 Rookie Mistakes That Made My Posture Much Worse

5/6/2015

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Sitting at a computer desk full-time caused the worst nagging injury I've ever had. However, many different variables also contributed to it. Don't sleep on these 4 rookie mistakes:

1. Excessive reps lifting weights in the gym. As athletes, we've all been guilty of it at one point or another. Thinking we had such an "awesome workout" because we're "so incredibly sore" multiple days afterwards. If you're so sore that it hurts to walk, or go up/down stairs, you're not fueling your body properly (see rookie mistake # 2).

More isn't always better. When I was in college, a lot of muscle magazines would talk about "burn out" sets of 10 to 12 reps of this, 12 to 15 reps of that. What I didn't realize was those guys weren't sitting at a desk 8 to 10 hours per day, battling constant gravity and repetitive strain all day long. I learned the hard way to take this into consideration.

Getting that burn, or soreness, gives athletes that instant gratification that what they're doing HAS to be good for them. Mainly, because it's such a drastically different feeling that they're used to having.

Nowadays, I'm not concerned about how much I do in a workout (reps, time, weight) if I'm so sore that I can't work out the next day. Instead, I'm much more motivated about how energetic, pain-free, and strong I feel when I wake up the next morning.

2. Eating nutritionless foods. I talk a lot about eating real, healthy, nutrient-dense foods. Sometimes I come off as being perfect or whatever. Keep in mind, I'm far from perfect. I used to be an expert on Double Stacks from Wendy's and 6-packs of Taco Bell tacos.

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." -Hippocrates

The point is, we've got to stop thinking of it as simply "eating food". Instead, we need to think of it as "fueling our body optimally with high-performance fuel". A little over the top? Maybe. But whatever it takes to make us realize how detrimental fast food, junk food, and soda are for us.

If you want an eye-opener, check out a food documentary. A couple good ones are Food, Inc. and The Gerson Miracle.

One last thing. One of the main reasons people don't eat healthy is because they don't know what foods are healthy and what are not. Food companies are so sketchy with their marketing approaches these days. If you're overwhelmed about what healthy foods to buy when you go grocery shopping, check out my most important (simple) tip here.

3. Drinking caffeine EVERY day. There's such a huge misconception about caffeine these days.

Many people will talk about how caffeine's not bad for you. In low doses, they may be right. But in higher doses, it does a serious number on the hydration levels in your body. Combine that with (a) not drinking enough water, (b) sugar intake, and (c) dairy intake, then it will lead to a recipe for disaster when it comes to your muscle health.

A few years ago, I drank a TON of caffeine to get through the workday. Never coffee, it was mainly sugar-free energy drinks, or sometimes soda. There was a point where I became dependent on caffeine. I couldn't focus on my workday without it. Then, I got to a point where I couldn't focus even if I did drink caffeine.

I gave up caffeine 100% four years ago. I haven't craved it since and I've got plenty of energy these days. I never really get tired throughout the day. But when bed time comes around, I am out like a light. A lot of my daily energy comes from proper hydration and drinking one green juicy per day (homemade vegetables, fruits, and almonds, blended with distilled water).

I'll never go back to caffeine, unless it's a safety issue (driving at night on a long road trip or something). I know what you're prob saying, "that's crazy, I could never give up caffeine". If that's you, read this article here on hydration.

4. Long distance running with bad form. I'm a former heel striker. I've battled (and bounced back from) chronic pain in both legs, mainly knee tendonitis and shin splints. The main variable that caused these was running LSD (long, slow distances).

Today, I love to run/sprint anything less than 400 meters (1/4 mile). I'll basically only run more if my life depends on it. Running anything more than that is a completely different dynamic. There are many people that run LSD correctly. But they've put tons of mental thought and skill work into it.

Running is one of the most technical sports that exists. But a lot of people take that for granted. I used to be guilty of this. Back in the day, I'd sit at a desk all day, I wouldn't study running mechanics at all, I'd listen to music when I ran after work, and I'd heel strike like it was my job. I did all this just to get a short high from completing a full-body running workout. The main outcome was destroying my muscles through massive amounts of non-functional, repetitive impact. I could've gotten a much more effective, and pain-free, workout in many other ways.

Then one day, I took a CrossFit Running certification. It completely changed the way I looked at running. The functional mechanics I learned are crucial to anyone who has never really paid attention to their running technique in the past. I wrote a report about my experience of the certification. It contains the 14 most important tips to functional running form that I learned that weekend. You can download that report for free here.

Giving 100% physically, with little to no mental focus, just doesn't cut it anymore. It'll only lead us down a road of bodily destruction that's completely avoidable, simply with a little hard work and determination.

Take care y'all!
Todd B.

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Good Computer Desk Posture - The Most Important Element

3/26/2015

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I like to simplify computer desk posture into 4 separate actions.

1. Sitting in a desk chair
2. Looking at a monitor
3. Typing on a keyboard
4. Using a mouse

We can't just keep using the huge umbrella term of "bad posture" when we describe our pain from sitting at a computer desk. There are so many variables and so many things to correct. We need to dissect it into those 4 smaller actions.

I'll get into all 4 of them in due time, but today I want to keep it simple.

I'm purposefully not showing any complete pictures of good computer desk posture in today's article. The reason for that is I'd like readers not to get overwhelmed. Let's look at the starting point today. Practice that. Then, we'll just take it one step at a time. Today's article will be categorized under the first action of "sitting in a desk chair".

We've been sitting with bad posture at computer desks for 10, 20, even 30 years for some of us. It's not going to get fixed overnight. Also, we're going to be sitting at computer desks for a long time to come. Today, let's just focus on the most basic, most important element.

Good Computer Desk Posture - What's the most important element?

The most important thing is to "keep the spine stacked". You want to keep the standard curve in your spine any time you are in a position for a prolonged period of time. When looking at a side view angle from the person's right side, this standard curve looks like a very slight "S".

The picture to the right shows a healthy curve, with all of the vertebrae stacked correctly on top of each other.

Slouching forward is the most common, most destructive bad habit when sitting at a desk. Once a person slouches forward, all of the vertebrae are no longer stacked on top of each other. This sets off a chain reaction of many other problems (hips overextend, spine curves, head strains the neck, shoulders internally rotate, etc). We won't get into all that right now. Again, just want to keep it simple today and not overwhelm.

I know what you're thinking, "it's not that simple". I know, I know :)

There are plenty of variables involved in order to keep your spine stacked. Height of desk, height of chair, etc, etc. A functional ergonomic desk set-up is unique to just about all of us. Just keep experimenting. Keep adjusting until you find that sweet spot.

Comment below with any questions you have for me :)

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7 Steps to Heal Sitting Pain

2/11/2015

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"Many a false step was made by standing still."

-Fortune Cookie

Better yet, in our case it should read "sitting still". If you sit at a computer desk for a living, that quote should resonate with you. And this is a perfect time and place for you to start counteracting that sedentary lifestyle you've lived for years.

Sitting at a desk 40 hours a week (for 12 years) caused the worst injuries I've ever had.

Until one day, 5 years ago, I had enough. I took 100% responsibility for my own health and wellness. I committed to aggressively changing my daily habits. I began taking a healthier, more conscious approach to my life from many different angles.

Get started by downloading my 7 Steps to Heal Sitting Pain Cheat Sheet.

Before that day 5 years ago, I would ask myself:

"Why am I in so much pain?"

"Why is my posture so weak while trying to sit at a computer for 8 hours a day?"

The only logical explanation I came up with was:

"I need to workout harder."

Well, I did that. And I couldn't have been more wrong. I learned the hard way that I needed to take a much more balanced approach towards healing through various muscle decompression practices.

I've invested thousands of dollars, and thousands of hours, in researching the most effective ways of healing pain caused by sitting at a desk (due to repetitive strain injuries).

My mission is to help as many sedentary people as possible, teaching them to take a more balanced approach toward their every day habits.

IT'S A NO-BRAINER. The only other option is to continue with our normal habits, sitting at a desk every day, watching and feeling the destruction of our bodies continue.

That's no way to live life. Some of the most effective changes I've made only take between 1 to 5 minutes per day. Oftentimes, these changes are super-easy. Accepting the fact we need to change, that's the hard part.

I've done it. And I want to share everything I've learned.

Join us for this journey of healing by downloading my 7 Steps to Healing Pain Caused by Sitting at a Computer Desk.

It's going to be an amazing ride!

Todd Bowen
High Speed Health
Heal Sitting Pain

P.S. Take a second to congratulate yourself for getting started. Accepting the fact that we need to change our habits we've had for 10, 20, 30 years.....that is an incredibly powerful thing!

P.P.S. Share this powerful message with your friends who need it in their life. I promise y'all won't be disappointed! Thank you.

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Why sitting at a computer desk causes pain...

2/5/2015

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I gave a presentation in January at Hatch Norfolk (a startup accelerator). A few people have asked if it was recorded. Unfortunately, it was not. So, I did the next best thing. I took my slides from that night and I go over them here in episode 2 of The High Speed Health Show. I actually got into much more detail on this episode than I did on the original night of the presentation.

In this episode, I state the High Speed Health mission statement. I define the term "repetitive strain injury". I also dissect that definition so we can understand it better. I talk plenty about why sitting at a desk causes pain. I get into the approaches my book takes on healing pain with self-maintenance. Last but not least, I talk about all the end results that are very attainable if we take an aggressive approach of self-healing. I hope you enjoy it!

Without further delay, here we go! Just click the red play button.

This episode is brought to you by none other than High Speed Health (my book). Pick up a copy at www.highspeedhealth.com/book.

If you'd like to advertise on The High Speed Health Show, email me here.

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We Can Learn a lot from a 7 Year Old Triathlete

2/1/2015

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In the first episode of the High Speed Health Podcast, I interviewed my nephew, Brady. He's a 7 year old triathlete.

The episode is 30 minutes of cool. He talks about sports, school, and eating healthy. Click the red play button to check it out.

If you have any questions you'd like me to answer on a future podcast, email them to me HERE.

If you'd like to advertise on the High Speed Health Podcast, send me a note HERE.

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Office Productivity - 3 Reasons Not to Eat Lunch at Your Desk

1/19/2015

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An amazing burger from my favorite food truck in VA Beach, The Coop.

Did you eat lunch at your desk today?

If so, you may have gotten an extra 30 to 60 minutes of work done.

However, was it quality work that you got done?

More importantly, what was the quality of your work the entire afternoon?

Would it have been higher quality if you took an hour to do these 3 things?

1. Get away from your desk

The physical aspect speaks for itself. Any of my readers will tell you that sitting in a position for more than 1 hour (much less 4 hours) is incredibly destructive to your body. It doesn't matter if you're sitting with good posture, bad posture, even standing for more than an hour. Repetitive strain doesn't discriminate. It will cause pain and injury in any position....good posture or bad.

2. Disconnect mentally from your work

We're only allotted a certain amount of mental energy per day. If we're dehydrated and also eating a poor, nutrition-less diet, we get even less mental energy. But that's a whole other story for another day.

The fact is that we need to rest from mental work just as we need to rest from physical work. You wouldn't work in the yard for 8 hours straight. You'd take a break to eat. You wouldn't eat while you're pushing the lawnmower. The same should go for working at a computer desk.

Plus, you may have read articles about super successful people, such as Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, who decrease their mental energy output everyday by wearing the same outfit each morning. They don't wear the EXACT same shirt and pants. But, Zuckerberg will always wear a neutral color t-shirt and/or hoodie. He's comfortable in it, not to mention he just throws it on in the morning, compared to stressing or expending mental energy trying to figure out what to wear.

3. Focus on enjoying your food

When you eat food in front of your computer, you're not 100 percent focused on eating. You're swallowing the food without chewing it. If you don't chew your food up completely before you swallow it, it makes your digestive system work harder to break the food down. This takes even more of your body's energy. That is why juicing vegetables and fruits is such an incredibly effective method for getting energy. The ingredients are liquified, so the vitamins and minerals take much less time and energy to get into your system compared to if you had to eat all those fruits and vegetables.

Another thing, the longer food is in your mouth, the more satisfying the meal is. If you're not chewing the food completely, you're not enjoying the meal. You're hungry an hour later. Your taste buds are in your mouth. Once food passes into your throat, you can't taste the meal any more.

To read more reasons why not to eat at your desk, there's a great article in my local paper written by Phillip Walzer. It's titled "Thinking About Skipping Your Lunch Break? Don't."

Phil quoted me in the article a couple times. (;

He's got a cool perspective on routines and efficiency. He also quotes a couple other people who really know their stuff. You can read it HERE.

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Startup Night at Hatch Norfolk

1/8/2015

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Heads up wellness and/or startup enthusiasts, big night in downtown Norfolk next week. The first Startup Night of 2015 is goin down at Hatch Norfolk.

I'll be talking about High Speed Health. Specifically, I'll be covering ways to heal, prevent, and understand pain that's caused by sitting at a computer desk.

I'll have paperback copies of my book available on sale for $10 each.

The two other presenters will be Lucien Frelin from Crafty's and Jess Horton from The Fit Petite.

When:
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)

Where:
Hatch
111 Granby St
Norfolk, VA 23510
(Meter parking is free downtown after 6pm)

How much $:
It's free. Just RSVP here.

More info:
Startup Night, started in Feb '10, is a chance to meet other entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts who come together to network and watch demos of hot new local technologies.

The schedule goes like this:
6-6:20- Networking
6:25-6:30 Introductions, upcoming events, etc
6:30-7:30 Presentations
8:00 Wrap-up and head to local establishment

A big thanks goes out to Zack Miller from Hatch for putting on this event. We'll see ya there!

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"Sit up straight." Or, "use good posture."

It's not our fault....however, it is our responsibility....

Good Computer Desk Posture - What's the most important element?

Writer: Todd Bowen

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