Self-Care Friday

Lessons in Mobility for Sedentary People

Seven weeks ago, I found myself with a knee injury. At first, I thought it was gout (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘋𝘢𝘥'𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺), but nope—it was a strain on both MCLs. My left knee was the real drama queen, though, and still giving me attitude today; albeit more lightly.

So, no more SYGD (strength training gym) for now, but I’ve been seeing a physical therapist who’s basically blown my mind. Turns out, the problem isn’t just what I 𝐰𝐚𝐬 doing—it’s what I’ve 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 doing: sitting. A lot. Even though I was rowing daily and strength training 5-6 times a month, the reality is, I spend way more hours sitting every day.

Then came the kicker. I was stretching between exercises, like I always do, when my physical therapist looked at me and said, “That—yah, that’s going to have to stop.” I blinked, confused, and he explained:

“You’re 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝. All that sitting—you’re already stretching your back, glutes, and hamstrings. The last thing they need is more stretching. What’s really happening is your quads are constantly contracting and then you’re hammering them with strength training and rowing.” Mind. Blown.

So listen, everyone—if you’ve got a 𝐬𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, I want to extend an invitation. Take a moment and really look at 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 for your mobility and long-term body care. If you sit anywhere from 5 to 12 hours a day (and yes, I’m talking about sitting on the couch, in bed, scrolling through your phone, or binge-watching shows—that all counts), it’s time to give your body some love.

Focus on strengthening your lower back, your core, and especially those muscles that get pulled from sitting all day—your glutes and hamstrings. And don’t forget to stretch your quads, because they’ve been contracted most of the day, working overtime just holding you up.

I’ll throw in some of the exercises —in the comment section. I’ve been doing these as part of my ‘knee-care’ routine. Sharing is caring and I care a lot!

The more aware you are, the more choice you have. We’re here, let me be conscious about it.