Abandon Nest

So I believe I am currently sick. It’s pretty much a bummer, but it inspired me to write a post giving some advice on how to deal with illness. I have four points and I’m going to make them quick, so here we go:

• Go to work - Unless you’re deathly ill or contagious, I would recommend going to work for the day. If you have a corporate office job like I do, just isolate yourself from your coworkers a little bit. Eat lunch at your desk, stay away from nonessential meetings, and take frequent water breaks. Leave work 10-15 minutes early if you can to avoid the rush hour congestion which would only further stress your already diminished immune system.
• Take medicine - Now I wouldn’t recommend taking any Tylenol PM before getting on the highway, but don’t be stubborn. If you have a cold, take some Dayquil. Killer headache bothering you? Take some Excedrin. Do what you can to make yourself feel better.
• When you get home, rest - Many people, myself included, have a feeling that resting during the day is a waste of life. If you’re sick, you need to take a break. Lay down on your sweet futon and put some pillows under your head. I would recommend reading or watching TV so you don’t fall asleep too early. If you do, you may mess up your sleep schedule and that is a bad thing.
• Drink orange juice - It is proven (in my mind at least) that the Vitamin C in orange juice will help you feel better faster. It always has for me, and hopefully it’ll work for you too. If you really don’t like OJ, you can probably get by on Five Alive (do they make that stuff anymroe) or some other citrus-y juice.

All right, well I’m off to eat dinner and relax. If you’re sick, I highly recommend following some of these recommendations. You should be better in no time.

Technorati Tags: Sickness, Health, Orange Juice, Cold, Medicine

Yesterday I was sent an article by a friend of mine that I found very intriguing. It was from Yahoo! News and was entitled The Perils of PC Posture. If you work in an office setting and use a computer most of the day (and night too, like me) than this article is probably important to you. So other than a really alliterative title, what does this article have to offer? Let’s examine it piece by piece.

It starts out by asking a lot of questions:

Are your shoulders hunched? Your wrists arched back?

How about your neck: Is it craned forward? Is your back aligned with your chair back? Are your feet flat on the floor?

Now if you’re like me, you undoubtedly answered “No” to at least some of those questions. I’ll admit my feet aren’t flat on the floor and that my neck might be slightly craned forward. So what does that mean anyways?

Well, here’s some news that might get you to sit straight up in your chair: Along with the majority of the computer-facing population, you could be well on your way to developing a series of unsavory repetitive stress ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome, postural syndrome, tendonitis and eye strain.

OK, so that’s pretty lame. I don’t want to develop any of those things. They sound bad and painful. So what can I do to prevent them? Yahoo! lists a few methods of preventing repetitive stress injuries:

• Sit Better
• Use equipment correctly
• Adjust your monitor
• Use specialty equipment where available
• Move Around

In my personal opinion, the most important of these is to move around. If you don’t take breaks/rests from your work, you will start to ache and your body will respond by breaking down. I try to stand and stretch at least every 20 minutes when I’m at work. In addition, I find that taking a trip to the water fountain to fill up my water bottle every hour is a great way to relieve stress and get out of my desk for a few minutes. What are your strategies for combatting repetitive stress syndrome?

Technorati Tags: Repetitive, Stress, Ergonomics

This series could go on forever, but it won’t. Limiting myself to 21 days, I hoped to stuff as much information into these posts as I could, and a beginner should have a great base to start from at this point. There will of course be more articles about fitness later on, but for now this post should serve as a resource for all those out there yearning to start and stick with a fitness program. The topics I covered were:

• Introduction
• My Experience
• Gym Attire
• Gym Gear
• Finding a Gym
• The Importance of Pictures
• Gym Archetypes
• Living with a Proper Diet
• Upper Body Basics
• Lower Body Basics
• Understanding Your Body Type
• Balancing Cardio and Weight Training
• Should you Supplement
• Compound and Isolation Exercise
• GNC Pro Performance Review
• Muscle Monkey Tasty Protein Shake
• Complete Six Week Workout
• Six Packs Start in the Kitchen
• Beginner’s Meal Plan
• Fitness Resources
• Picking the Right Time to Exercise
• Stretching Guidelines
• Sticking with Your Regiment

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this series and it helped motivate you to get fit. If you were already fit, I hope that I at least provided some useful information. Now get out there and put it to use.

Technorati Tags: Lose Fat, Exercise, Fitness, Workout