This March we’ve chosen something a little different for our Book of the Month, a title that’s bound to prove popular in today’s health-mad culture. Deskbound: Standing Up in a Sitting World puts forward a great case for the fact that sitting down all day can cause serious health problems; from aches and pains to obesity and heart problems to cancer and even depression. As humans we are not ‘made’ to sit for hours on end, yet many of us do.
These days we tend to sit – either in the office or in front of a computer – more than we move. It’s this sedentary lifestyle that Dr. Kelly Starrett picks apart in Deskbound, using recent studies to explain exactly what sitting is doing to our bodies and how we can go about fixing them. Starrett offers a detailed battle plan to reduce the amount of time we spend on our backsides, thereby improving our health in general. He offers creative solutions for those of us who ache after a day at the office and for those of us who have more serious problems, such as repetitive strain injuries or tendonitis (both of which, by the way, can be caused by too much sitting).
Starrett is something of a revolutionary in the world of health and health-writing. His first book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller and continues to sell many thousands of copies each year – both in the UK and the USA. Starrett is all about motion and how it can help us as humans; he has revolutionised the way trainers and coaches approach movement and, as a co-founder of the wildly popular CrossFit, is something of a health celebrity to boot. He’s travelled the globe teaching CrossFit courses and has worked closely with athletes, military forces and Olympic teams. For this reason alone Deskbound, promises to attract attention; and, let’s not forget, CrossFit is extremely popular in the UK.
Starrett’s writing is accessible, creative and humorous, and we think that the book’s readership potential is enormous; from anyone who enjoys feeling fit and healthy to those with standing health issues such as back problems. With spring on the horizon and the health-craze showing no signs of slowing down, Deskbound promises to cause a stir when it is released on March 17th.
Deskbound: Standing Up in a Sitting World is out now from Victory Belt
(9781628600582, h/b, £29.99)