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The Calf Muscle Pump-Light Manual Muscle Relaxation as an aid to lower leg circulationCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan 1 ultra marathon recovery specialisthttp://aching-legs.org/the_couch_potato_leg_health_manual.html
Being a couch potato (or lounge lizard) can be a hazard to your leg health
Becoming a couch potato is easier than people think-I am a man and I know how easy it is to get drawninto these things because I was a shift worker and used to get up for something to eat halfway throughthe day-to have a bit of noise and company while I was eating I would put the television onA couch potato settles to watch television (the potato’s name is Beau)After a while, it just became a habit to turn it on while knocking something up, but then somethingbeing said caught my attention and suddenly I was hooked-the few minutes turned into an hour, then 2then the whole afternoon was spent telling myself I was going back to bed to finish my sleep off I was working a hard night shift and was putting on weight and couldn’t understand why it was andwas always tired-eventually after my wife had a holiday and was off work with me I got irritated withher when she actually wanted to go somewhere such as shopping or into the garden-I wanted to stay inthe house and watch my programs-I hated moving from the couch unless I had toBeau settling to read the newspaper
I realized I had become a couch potato!
Many women who are at home all day become couch potato’s-it is easy, all you have to do is to getinterested in the women’s shows such as Oprah and get into a daytime soap like ‘Days of our Lives’and you are on your way to no physical activity!
The couch, book, television, laptop and refrigerator takes care of all your emotional andphysical needs!
You can get all the education and company and communications you need from the sitting level-you donot need to move except go to the toilet, do a little shopping and make something to eat-in fact thelonger you do it the easier it becomes to find ways not to do something
The Calf Muscle Pump-Light Manual Muscle Relaxation as an aid to lower leg circulationCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan 2 ultra marathon recovery specialisthttp://aching-legs.org/the_couch_potato_leg_health_manual.html
How dangerous is the couch potato lifestyle?
Well the good news is that you are not going to die from a traffic accident unless a car smashes intoyou lounge room and crushes you in your chair-and you are not going to die the way James Fixx theauthor who wrote a best seller in running for fitness did-of a heart attack while runningBut there are plenty of ways to go simply by being a couch potato and leading a couch dweller lifestyleand leading a ‘no risk’ way of livingTo give you a little education on how dangerous this lifestyle is, I will use a model called Beau (namechanged to protect his identity) Beau is someone who is moving (or not moving) his way into an earlygrave through the couch potato ways of livingI will be giving Beau a copy of this article in the hope of trying to motivate him into doing somethingto save something of his life-if not then it will serve as a tribute to a man who has given his all to thelifestyle the rest of us can only dream about and sometimes envy-NOTAnd make sure we do not follow in our hero’s footsteps into the same graveBeau has done nothing in the way of work for 15 years-he has absolutely got no plans to any if he canhelp it-he will do no formal study or learning, no ambition get a job, no need to learn to run a computerwhen I attempted to teach him the internet we got as far as Brittany Spears videos and the weather so Icalled a halt, no ambitions to travel, no thoughts of meeting any women, no need to socialise, barelywatches television, has no need of a car, just listens to the radio and reads the newspaper in bed or inhis chair!His idea of excitement is to catch the bus to the main town for his beer and cigarettes
!
So what do we have and how can this affect Beau’s long term health and why does this matterto other couch potato’s (male or female)?
He is a fifty one year old who gets no exercise (except for carrying cartons of cigarettes and beer)
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Cigarettes
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/ped_10_1.asp
Not worked-the muscles lose condition and weaken; they will not support the body in the end-prone to obesityhttp://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/10dec_muscles.htm
Lack of any goals except quote ‘to be happy’-no direction in lifehttp://www.theosophy.ph/trans_11.htm http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/goal-setting/38-goal-setting/190-is-happiness-your-goal.html
The Calf Muscle Pump-Light Manual Muscle Relaxation as an aid to lower leg circulationCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan 3 ultra marathon recovery specialisthttp://aching-legs.org/the_couch_potato_leg_health_manual.html
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No plans to study-no mental stimulation-prone to alzheimers-dementia-depression-drugs, antidepressives to combat the depressionhttp://hitchedmag.com/article.php?id=38 http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html http://www.leaderpost.com/health/seniors/Studies+link+heart+diabetes+risks+with+dementia/1373546/ story.html
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Stress from money worries-drinks and smokes more to forget them-considers them to be stressrelieverhttp://stress.about.com/od/understandingstress/tp/effects_stress.htm
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No woman to help him live longer-single men die younger than married oneshttp://www.unmarriedamerica.org/members/news/2004/May-News/study_shows_married_men_make_more_money_than_single_men.htm http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/members/news/2004/August-News/study_says_marital_status_affects_health_risks.htm
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No need to socialize-loses social skills-becomes argumentativehttp://www.lifeskillstraining.org/socializeforhealth.htm
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Lack of exercise-diabeteshttp://www.healthystud.com/lifestyle/lack_of_exercise.php
Spends lot of time in bed-deep vein thrombosis-other circulatory problemshttp://www.medicinenet.com/deep_vein_thrombosis/page2.htm
Spend lots of time sitting on the same couch or bed can encourage the breeding of dust mites-leading to allergies and breathing difficultieshttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dust-mites/DS00842 If you are a couch potato and you come under anyone of these headings, you are at risk of meeting yourmaker long before you should have done-so you can bend over and kiss your bottom goodbye nowSitting for long periods is an issue because the long term effect of poor leg circulation them on health isvery real
(see www.hazards.org/standing)
Poor lower leg circulation is a health hazard to the legs-maintaining their health is important but can bedifficult to deal with when all your living day is spent sitting or lying downdownOne thing we all have in common is that we are compromising our leg health, and ultimately ourgeneral health and well being because we are not moving enough to help the circulationIn order to reduce our risks of dying earlier than we have to, it is actually far safer to get off the couchand go and do base jumping, bungy jumping or sky diving-they have far less fatalities than couchpotato’s-but if you are not yet convinced and still thinking about it here are some good reasons to atleast maintain your lower leg circulation if nothing else
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