Can sitting in a chair all day affect recovery significantly?

[Polishdude20]

Let's say you have all of the bases covered in your LP, eating enough food, sleeping enough hours etc. If your work involves sitting at a computer all day, could that somehow affect recovery negatively?

For example, I notice that when I sit for too long, my legs get really sore (as most people's do) at which time I stand up and walk around. Is the mechanism that causes your legs to get sore detrimental to muscle recovery? Could sitting for too long cause poor blood circulation in the legs which could then impact your recovery?

[A Schenck]

The reverse of this question is very common: "how does my physical job impact recovery?" and the answer generally comes back to be some, but not as much as you think. As long as you are already adapted to the job and the demands don't change, you should recover fine, just make sure your calories and sleep are adequate to the total stress of job plus training.

I imagine that sitting all day is similar. If you are already adapted to that particular flavor of stress, it's probably not negatively impacting your training. The exception would be if you are sitting in a way that is creating or aggravating an injury.

[Jeff Illingworth]

I think probably not for most people. My job involves sitting an awful lot and I haven't seen any real issues in recovery or progress. The biggest issue I've noticed is that my recovery is impacted on some weekends when I actually do real work (like cutting firewood, etc.).

[autumnal]

Only issue I get from excessive sitting is tight hips.

You could always replace your office chair with a bosu ball...strong core for recovery ya know.... snicker...

[iamsmuts]

I know nothing about good chairs, but if I sit all day, my lower back gets angry. If I drive for a long time, I wouldn't even consider deadlifting. I know this wasn't your concern, but it's a shitty sitting problem.

Does anyone here have a standing desk. If I had to be a desk jockey again, I'd probably try one.

[Mugaaz]

I sit at a computer all day as well, and I haven't found that it matters in the least. However, driving or sitting in a plane all day does seem to have a negative impact.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

I have a desk job. I sit at a PC all day, but I try to take frequent breaks.
I get up many times to fill my cup (annoyingly small, as a guy working in the London Moody's office put it some years ago in E&P. Another interesting character lost forever...but I digress).
I get up to go to the toilet, which I do a lot, as I drink a lot.
I get up to take breaks and walk around the building.
I get up to talk to colleagues sitting next to me, even though I could just send a chat message (...geddit?).

The only time when I am forced to sit for more then 20 minutes at a time is during meetings; when I get up again, my legs feel very sore indeed.

But I don't thin it impacts my recovery much. Like Jeff said above, doing some hours of actual physical work during the WE (farming, in my case, sort of) is more of an issue.

IPB

[Charlie Davies]

Does anyone here have a standing desk. If I had to be a desk jockey again, I'd probably try one.

Yes. I work at my computer all day standing. Primary benefit so far as I can tell is that I don't get as sleepy after lunch.

I used some cement blocks under the legs of the desk to raise it up 12", and bought a tall wooden stool for when my feet need a break. Total cost under $40.

It takes getting used to. The first week or so, I had a lot of pain in my feet, calves, and back from standing so much.

[ghostlander]

Does anyone here have a standing desk. If I had to be a desk jockey again, I'd probably try one.

I have a standing desk at work (as a web developer), and I find it's nice to use it almost half and half (standing to sitting) for tight muscles. Just something to break the day up a bit.

[BenM]

Me too - I have a sit / stand desk and tend to split my day between them.

Like IPB I get up frequently to make drinks (and go to the toilet) - my Fitbit buzzes at me at 10 to the hour if I haven’t got 250 steps in which reminds me to get up and walk - plus I’m on the first floor so every walk involves going down and up a short flight of stairs.

I definitely feel tighter in my lower back from sitting for long periods but since working this way things seem to have improved a fair bit.