In our increasingly sedentary world, where many of us spend hours each day sitting at desks or in front of screens, the negative effects of prolonged sitting on our health have become a growing concern. Among the numerous health issues associated with sitting for extended periods, one area that often gets overlooked is the impact on our thighs. However, there’s a solution that can help mitigate the adverse effects of sitting and even turn it into a positive activity for your thigh muscles – active sitting.
The Problem with Prolonged Sitting
Before delving into the benefits of active sitting and how active sitting can help, it’s essential to understand the problems associated with traditional, static sitting. When you sit for long periods, several issues can affect your thighs and overall health:
1. Muscle Atrophy: Prolonged sitting leads to muscle disuse, causing your thigh muscles to weaken and atrophy over time. Weak thighs can lead to various problems, including poor posture and a higher risk of injury.
2. Poor Circulation: Sitting for extended periods can impede blood circulation to the lower body, leading to swelling, numbness, and an increased risk of blood clots. This can negatively impact your thigh health and overall well-being.
3. Reduced Caloric Expenditure: Sitting burns significantly fewer calories compared to standing or engaging in physical activity. Over time, this can contribute to weight gain and fat accumulation in the thigh area.
4. Postural Problems: Static sitting often encourages poor posture, which can put extra strain on your thigh muscles and lead to discomfort or pain.
The Benefits of Active Sitting for Your Thighs
Active sitting is a concept that encourages movement and engagement of your core and lower body muscles while seated. This approach not only combats the negative effects of sitting but also offers several advantages for your thigh muscles:
1. Increased Muscle Activation: Active sitting requires you to engage your core and lower body muscles to maintain stability and balance. This constant activation helps prevent thigh muscle atrophy, keeping them strong and toned.
2. Improved Blood Circulation: Active sitting promotes better blood flow to your lower body, reducing the risk of swelling and numbness in your thighs. Improved circulation also helps deliver essential nutrients and oxygen to your muscles, aiding in their overall health.
3. Enhanced Caloric Expenditure: When you actively sit, you burn more calories than you would in a static sitting position. While it’s not a substitute for regular exercise, it can contribute to a more active lifestyle and help you maintain a healthy weight, reducing fat buildup in your thighs.
4. Better Posture: Active sitting encourages better posture as you naturally engage your core and maintain a more upright position. This reduces the strain on your thigh muscles, alleviating discomfort and pain associated with poor posture.
CoreChair– your simple solution to back pain.
Similar to an orthotic device that is designed to embrace and support various boney structures and joints within our bodies, CoreChair optimizes pelvic support with a complimentary sculpted seat and pelvic support cushion. In harmony, these cushions embrace your pelvis to encourage an upright neutral pelvic orientation. Like building a house, we need to start with a good foundation.
The outcome is a stable base that allows balance in our spine as well as the ability of our spine to work as designed with ease of natural movement through flexion, extension and rotation.
A healthy spine also requires a diversity of movement which involves stimulating blood flow, mobilizing the joints, strengthening core muscles and hydrating the vertebral discs. Often when we experience back pain our tendency is to rest up and stop strenuous activity. While this may be recommended in the short term, long term it may not be helpful. Movement and specific back exercises are needed to help alleviate and remedy back pain. Moving on a CoreChair provides an excellent opportunity to gradually work the back and core in a controlled manner to help avoid stiffness, strengthen and alleviate pain.
A study completed by Memorial University concluded that participants sitting in the CoreChair adopted a more upright posture, experienced less back pain and stiffness and had enhanced blood flow when compared to sitting in a traditional office chair.
Reduced Back Pain
Pelvic support provides the foundation for a balanced healthy spine to prevent slumping, optimize posture, and reduce back pain and discomfort.
Core Strength
Movement is the key to maintaining core strength and more movement will definitely build strength. One absolute is that if you don’t use it you will lose it.
Extraordinary comfort meets incredible pelvic support.
Proper distribution of our weight when sitting is a critical factor in chair selection as it translates into seating comfort. Poorly designed chairs can result in uncomfortable pressure points and restriction of circulation. The seat of the CoreChair is aggressively sculpted to embrace your sit bones and provide even weight distribution allowing your circulation to flow freely, so you can focus on your work, not your discomfort.
Graduate students from Cornell University (with guidance from Dr. Alan Hedge), investigated sitting pressure on CoreChair compared to a high-end ergonomic office chair and discovered that CoreChair has more evenly dispersed weight thereby significantly lowering pressure points. This means significantly better comfort for you.
Sculpted Seat
Sculpted seat harmonizes with pelvic stabilizer to relieve pressure points, prevents sliding, and provide added comfort.
Pelvic Support
Our seat cushion works in conjunction with the pelvic support to stabilize the pelvis, optimize sitting posture, and reduce back pain.
Boosting brain power through movement.
Being physically active not only helps us avoid negative outcomes such as chronic disease and obesity, but also helps to boost our brainpower! Cognition, how we understand and interact in the world, related to the brain-based skills needed to learn, remember and solve problems. Physical activity, whether exercise in the gym or incidental movement on your CoreChair, aids our cognitive power by stimulating blood flow to the brain, delivering oxygen and glucose to make us better able to work on tasks both simplistic and complex. Introduce movement into your workday and experience the benefits of improved focus, increased productivity, and more brainpower!
Dr. Leah Bent conducted a four-hour investigation at the University of Guelph and discovered there was a significant reduction in calf circumference indicative of improved lower extremity blood flow and a significant reduction of errors commissioned utilizing SART (Sustained Attention to Response Task) suggesting enhanced cognitive function with blood flow.
Blood Flow
Movement stimulates your lymphatic system and blood flow to keep your vital systems working well.
Brain Power
Increased blood flow to the brain keeps you alert and creative, making you happier and more productive in the workplace.
IMPROVING YOUR HEALTH ONE MOVE AT A TIME.
There’s a distinct difference between exercise and physical activity. Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity and is planned, structured, repetitive and purposeful with a fitness objective. Physical activity includes exercise in addition to other activities that involve movement including pacing, household chores and other recreational activities.
CoreChair is proud to be NEAT™ Certified (NEAT™ stands for the science of Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, developed by Mayo Clinic). We now know that activity, all activity, is good for our health.
Increased Caloric Burn
Movement burns calories and helps manage our weight and mood, which bolsters our energy! CoreChair users can expect an increased metabolic demand of 20%!
Increased Circulation
Swollen ankles? Movement stimulates your circulation. Not just to make your heart pump but also assists your vascular return.
The CoreChair: A Game-Changer for Thigh Health
The CoreChair is a revolutionary ergonomic chair designed to promote active sitting and enhance your overall well-being. It combines comfort, functionality, and movement to create an ideal sitting experience that benefits your thighs and the rest of your body. Here’s how the CoreChair can help you achieve strong thigh muscles:
1. Dynamic Seating Surface: The CoreChair features a patented seat pan design that allows for dynamic, 360-degree movement while seated. This means that as you sit on the chair, you naturally engage your thigh muscles to maintain balance and stability. This continuous movement helps prevent muscle atrophy and strengthens your thighs over time.
2. Core Muscle Activation: Beyond targeting your thigh muscles, the CoreChair encourages the activation of your core muscles, including your abdominals and lower back. This comprehensive engagement promotes better posture and overall core strength, which can further support your thigh health.
3. Improved Circulation: With its dynamic seating surface, the CoreChair promotes better blood circulation to your lower body, including your thighs. This helps reduce the risk of swelling, numbness, and other circulation-related issues often associated with prolonged sitting.
4. Calorie Burn: Active sitting on a CoreChair increases your caloric expenditure compared to static sitting. While the calorie burn may not be substantial, it can contribute to your overall energy expenditure, helping you maintain a healthy weight.
5. Enhanced Comfort: The CoreChair is designed with comfort in mind, featuring high-quality materials and customizable options. This ensures that you can sit comfortably for extended periods, allowing you to reap the benefits of active sitting without discomfort.
6. Back Support: In addition to its thigh-related benefits, the CoreChair offers excellent lumbar support. This feature ensures that you maintain a proper posture while sitting, reducing the strain on your thighs and lower back.
How to incorporate active sitting into your daily routine effectively:
1. Set-Up Your Chair: Begin by setting up your chair according to your preferences and workspace. Adjust the seat height, tilt tension, and armrests to ensure a comfortable and ergonomic sitting position.
2. Start Slowly: If you’re new to active sitting, start slowly by using a CoreChair for shorter periods and gradually increasing your sitting time. This will allow your body to adapt to the dynamic seating experience.
3. Engage Your Core and Thighs: While sitting on the CoreChair, consciously engage your core and thigh muscles. Maintain an upright posture and make subtle movements to keep your muscles active throughout the day.
4. Take Breaks: Even with active sitting, it’s essential to take regular breaks to stand, stretch, and walk around. These short breaks can further promote blood circulation and reduce the risk of muscle fatigue.
5. Stay Consistent: Consistency is key to reaping the long-term benefits of active sitting. Make it a habit to use your CoreChair regularly to strengthen your thighs and improve your overall well-being.
In a world where sedentary lifestyles have become the norm, it’s crucial to find innovative solutions to combat the negative effects of prolonged sitting on our health, including our thigh muscles. Active sitting with a CoreChair offers a practical and effective way to strengthen and tone your thighs while promoting better overall well-being. By engaging your core and lower body muscles, improving circulation, and encouraging better posture, the CoreChair can be a game-changer for your health.
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