Get Up!

This is an incredible read. Dr Levine is well-spoken and uses wit, and would be enjoyable even if he were re-writing the phone book. But he doesn't re-hash anything (except possibly the small bits about visualization and positive self-talk we all know so much about already).Yes, as some people mentioned, the author does talk about his own life. It's necessary to the tone of the book, and makes reading all that much more enjoyable. Mainly, though, this book is full of wonderful and remarkable observation, studies, and other treats that explain why being chairbound is killing us. And was, until I read this book, very literally killing me.My case (please read if you're at all skeptical about the quality of information in this book): I'm sixty-five. I was a professional dancer, working in L.A. theatre and (later) teaching drama on campus into my fifties, when my husband divorced me for a twenty-two year old girl and a free trip to Europe (I'm not kidding). I went into depression, stopped my dance classes, and started teaching scriptwriting (so very sedentary). With the exception of Yoga practice, I was then completely sedentary. Over the years, old dance injuries locked up my neck and back and I couldn't lift my left arm above shoulder level. Doctors couldn't figure out what was going on. I had to stop Yoga. I finally stopped everything, bought a decent reclining chair, stopped teaching on campus, and began editing scripts from my recliner, on my laptop. After a lifetime of being "the skinny one," I began to gain weight. I didn't look odd, but it just wasn't me. (If Dr Levine ever comes across this confession, he'll have a stroke.)Since reading "Get Up!", I asked my best friend (and new husband) to bring my old laptop desk up from the garage, and raised it to it's top height. I now edit standing up. Since watching movies and plays-on-tape is part of my job, I watch them while working out on a balance ball. I sucked up my embarrassment and bought a wheeled walker so I can go for walks, and go places with friends who don't mind being seen with the walker. (Southern California actors are vain to the nth degree.) I'm losing the weight I gained. And the "brain fog" is lifting.After years of reading self-help books, having hormone panels run, seeing osteopaths, getting warnings from my cardiologist, suffering three-day migraines, and trying every new trick/self-assessment/diet to come around, I'm no longer depressed and it's getting easier to be "normal" again. I re-applied for part-time teaching again, and was accepted. I expect, by the end of the year, to be able to donate my walker and the wheelchair I've used on bad days (I forgot to mention that one) to the Salvation Army so someone who is still sitting can make use of them.None of it would have happened if I hadn't read this book. I'd become honestly afraid to even try to exercise, but when Dr Levine said that just standing still was so far superior to sitting and reading/working, I realized I didn't have to try to run a marathon or even attempt a dance class. I just had to Get Up.I hope this helps somebody else who has placed blame on everything but sitting in a comfy chair, and for those who have tried every self-help book (and even seen psychiatrists and other therapists). This book very honestly changed my life, and I can only say that about two other books in sixty-five years of reading.

As a personal trainer, health coach, graduate of health science, and a mom who works from home...this book is a GEM!I found it doing research for my youtube channel and diving into research articles about physical activity levels and sitting. I read a few of the reviews that had bold claims about being "life-saving" and recognized Dr. Levine's name from other reputable research journals. I was too intrigued not to read it!First, keep the tone of the book in perspective. "How your chair is killing you and what you can do about it". If the book was compiled of just research that said: Please be active...not many would get excited or listen. The voice and personality of Dr. Levine is humorous and engaging. The story of his presentation with Apple is one I have told my students, family, and friends. It's THAT hilarious AND moving not to tell.Second, the research is put all out there and sited in 20 pages of the book. The recommendations come from time he spent painstakingly exploring the world of health and physical activity. Dr. Levine is applying what he's found in his research and hearing the results are inspiring. "2 hours of your life disappear after 1 hour of sitting ". *stands up*Dr. Levine also highlights inspiring events and connects diseases like diabetes to sitting or "the sitting disease".Third, the application is straightforward. He provides "layers" of advice that are easy to follow not just for the basis of the success of his corporate wellness programs, but for YOU and ME. It's applicable. After reading the meeting he has with diabetes experts, he started taking a 15-minute walk after lunch. You can find what works for YOU! Like going for walks after you eat, or coming up with your own way of staying active in a casual non-spandex kind of way.My own conclusion and action: My two boys play videogames on the weekend. Since reading this book, I've looked into segmenting the time and adding a family walk in between.Read it, Apply it, and come up with your own conclusions.After applying many of the concepts, there is more of a conscious effort to expand me and my family's environment for healthy and repeated activity.As a side note, the audiobook version is also fantastic and worth a listen if you're in a chair stricken commute. I started with the audio and then bought the hard copy to refer back to concepts I want to share with clients.

Really, this book should get five stars because of the content, which was extremely interesting and had a lot of good ideas and suggestions. The writing style, however, was really hard for me to get through. This book was recommended to me by the guys from the Self-Publishing Podcast (Sean Platt, I think), and they talked about some of the ideas with such enthusiasm. Because of that, I took the time to read the book. I will use the information given, but be ready for a somewhat dry read. It really only picked up for me when he started talking about the different experiments he did, about 40% of the way into the book. I do recommend it if you want to learn more about

Excellent

I do physical rehabilitation and personal training and just finished emailing a recommendation for this book to all my clients.This covers,in a very readable way,the impact to our lives when we do - and don't - sit.This book balances information and motivation well.

Leading experts agree, that sitting actually causes more ill health than smoking. What a message! The author Dr. James A. Levin was a pioneer in the scientific research on the correlation between body movement and health. The book explains through samples of a company and a school how life improves through implementing movement back into your life and reduce sitting to a minimum. Health improves, social interaction improves, grades in school improves, creativity improves, ADHD of children decreases or vanishes! The benefits of moving more and sitting less are countless. He stresses particularly the importance of walking for at least 15 minutes after meals.

Interessante e "divertente" da leggere; si apprezza la competenza specifica dell'autore e la sua "preoccupazione" divulgativa, ai limiti della paranoia (non è una critica)

Really liked this book. Turns the usual advice of '30mins exercise 5 times a week for health' on its head. You are wasting your time! It's what you do in the remaining 23.5 hours that actually keeps you healthy. He compares sedentarianism of developed countries with the active lifestyles of others and proves we really are sending ourselves to an early grave. He has made it his life's work to prove this and also has plenty of other research and references to back up his theories. I really like his writing style. It almost reads like a novel a time and a few times I found myself laughing out loud at his self depracating humour. He falls in love with a snail! Read the book to find out more!It's given me a right shake-up and has made me see the folly of my ways. I'm a lazy, immobile , sedentary person,finding it difficult to lose weight no matter what diet I have tried.Time to buy a treadmill - then I can carry on reading books, knitting, watching television,etc. As long as I am pacing at 1.1 miles perhour while doing this. It's so obvious but I still had to have it pointed out to me.