I have a bone-chilling message for all of you: your chairs, all of them, are trying to kill you.
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Glossary
- putz – a stupid or worthless person
- to cripple sb – cause (someone) to become unable to walk or move properly
- to perch on sth – (of a person) sit on something high or narrow
- shoe cobbler – a mender or maker of shoes and often of other leather goods
- vertebrae – the series of small bones forming the backbone, having several projections for articulation and muscle attachment, and a hole through which the spinal cord passes
- to slouch – stand, move, or sit in a lazy, drooping way
- to pony up for sth – to pay what you owe or settle your debt
- pelvis – the large bony frame near the base of the spine to which the hindlimbs or legs are attached in humans and many other vertebrates
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Answer the questions below.
- How have chairs changed over hundreds of years?
- How have chairs been designed for the last 100 years?
- Why are current chairs bad for your back?
- What kind of chairs should you avoid?
- What two options should you prefer over sitting?
Practice Makes Perfect
GERUND VS INFINITIVE: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in backets. Go to Vogue to find out more.
Have you ever, in the middle of a particularly stressful day at work, thought to yourself, “This job will be the death of me?” If you sit at a desk, it turns out you may be right. Over the last few years, there’s been a growing body of evidence that suggests that sitting for extended periods could be damaging to your health.
These are the three key tips for counteracting the damage caused by sitting:
Avoid chairs outside of your nine to five, especially when you’re at home.
“If you’re sitting all day, make sure that you avoid chairs when you’re at home. Honestly, the best option is to sit on the floor, even if it’s just while you’re watching TV or eating dinner. I would actually suggest 1.________ (get) a dedicated mat. Firstly, it serves as a physical reminder to do your exercises if it’s just there in the corner, guilt-tripping you. Secondly, it makes you feel less weird about sitting on the floor rather than the couch. When you sit on the ground, you automatically move into a position that’s more natural for you.
“If you’re at your desk for hours and hours, you’re going to get tightness in certain muscles. First of all, your hip flexors are compressed while sitting, so balance that out at night with lots of quad stretches. 2.________ (be) on a chair also makes us arch our back and push our shoulders forward. To counteract that, try regularly 3.________(put) your arms behind and/or over your head. Finally, as weird as it sounds, make sure 4._________(squeeze) your glutes. We were never designed to sit on tissue and allowing our muscles 5.________(weaken) is linked to back pain.
Get a pull-up bar at home – or visit your local outdoor gym.
“It’s worth 6.________ (get) a pull-up bar for your home – and not just for strength exercises. All day long at your desk, you effectively have gravity pushing on the back of your head. Even if you reach for a bar with your feet on the ground, it elongates your spine, which helps 7.________(counteract) the damage caused by sitting.
Answers:
1. GETTING 2. BEING 3. PUTTING 4. TO SQUEEZE 5. TO WEAKEN 6. GETTING 7. TO COUNTERACT
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