Run for your life: On your feet, please

Multiple choice question: What conditioning did the U.S. Air Force use to beat the Nazis? Marathon running, mountain biking, or open water swimming?

Answer: None of the above.

Last week, I told you to stay in bed and stretch before your feet hit the floor and this Air Force conditioning exercise is equally surprising. Yet it is as evident, efficient, and effective as the warm-up exercises promoted last week.

Answer: When the Army Air Force trained B-29 crews for combat, their conditioning choice was standing. The recruits did everything standing up: eating, lectures, studying, everything except sleeping. If this was adequate conditioning for combat, it could certainly work for you. Keep in mind that the population of the 1940s developed far more conditioned bodies from their physical jobs and lifestyles than today.

Is standing an exercise? Oh, if only I were ignorant enough not to have an answer. My company participated in a Risk & Insurance Conference with over 10,000 attendees-. Vendors had living room-sized booths to market their expertise.

Consultants were assigned “booth” time in two-hour slots to stand and meet and greet. My legs have finished marathons with less pain than completing three days of such duty.

Yes, standing is undoubtedly an exercise. Standing exercises the muscles in your abdomen, butt and legs required to keep you standing up. All of us should be aware of the tough job anyone has who is on their feet all day.

The list of these essential folks includes the IGA to restaurant servers, bartenders, pharmacy clerks and many others.

For the rest of us, substituting any standing time for sitting time will pay benefits. You can gradually build up to two hours a day. Where are you going to find the time to stand for two hours? No-brainer: Cut your TV time.

We can’t blame anyone for our current lack of fitness — TV, Cable, Netflix, Apple TV, Facebook and Instagram are the enemy. All those entertainments are a trap that blocks you from being active. 

The average American sits eight hours a day to consume all this fantastic entertainment. If you reduce that to six hours, the benefits are real and documented in journal studies. However, don’t despair because, through technology, you can stand and still consume media.

You can go further by using an elevated desk to work or a high-top table to eat.

The medical benefits are documented in studies. They include lowered blood sugar and blood fats and increased good cholesterol and … on and on. 

The real payoff is simple. You feel better.