Staff report
PEMBROKE — Is your chair making you unhealthy? Les Davidson thinks maybe, and he offered ideas about how to stay fit in the office.
Davidson, a former rugby coach and director of enterprise applications in The University of North Carolina at Pembroke Division of Information Technology, gave a workshop titled “Your Chair is a Deadly Weapon” recently for the university’s HEALTH Committee (Helping Employees Achieve Lifetime Total Health).
“Sitting causes the body to shut down at the metabolic level,” Davidson said. “We must keep moving at least 1-2 times an hour.”
Davidson, who practices what he preaches, offered practical tips for office workers to keep moving:
n Sit up in your chair with your feet flat on the floor.
n Take the stairs.
n Use the washroom on another floor.
n Take phone calls standing up.
n Have a walking meeting.
n Take a 20-minute walk before eating lunch at your desk.
n Avoid sugary sodas and diet sodas too.
n Walk to meetings across campus.
n Park in the farthest parking space.
The coach demonstrated inexpensive exercise equipment for the office and several exercises to turn an office chair into a best friend. If your campus office would like a demonstration, Davidson said he would be glad to come.
“Quitting is habit forming, so stay with your exercise program,” Davidson said. “There is no easy way to fitness, but there is a way. Motivation, which comes from within, is the key.”
In other activities, the HEALTH Committee will dedicate a two-mile campus walking trail — Hawk Walk — on March 7, at 3:45 p.m. on the lawn near the James B. Chavis University Center.
On March 23, at 10 a.m., the HEALTH Committee will host a 5K and 1-mile fun run. UNCP faculty, staff, and students and community members are invited to participate. To register, visit the HEALTH Committee website: www.uncp.edu/health/.
For information about HEALTH Committee activities, call Kristen Anderson at 910-775-4379 or email kristen.anderson@uncp.edu.
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