Gamers Guide To Health
Most people associate people who play video games with poor health & lifestyle. Here is a guide to not only destroy nerds online but make your presence felt in the weight room.
1. Prioritize Posterior Chain
Being rounded over a keyboard for hours leads to a host of issues which mainly include internally rotated shoulders, tight hips, and a tight chest.
Why should you care?
Breathing is directly correlated to poor thoracic mobility which rounded shoulders and a tight chest contribute to. As well, tight hips, lead to lower back issues because your hip flexors are so tight that when you go to execute daily movements your lower back takes over versus the glutes and hip flexors doing their job. Breathe and move better by reaffirming good posture in the weight room by focusing on what you can't see in the mirror.
When you're in the weight room, twice as many pulling movements as pushing is a great rule of thumb to live by.
2. Get up
As a gamer myself, it isn't easy to stand up when you're ripping it with the boys. However, hopping out of your ergonomic battle station once an hour for a 2-minute movement flow can make a drastic change in your health.
When you look at the longevity of humans, beyond 70+ years of age the main characteristic of those in good health is they kept moving. Develop a routine of getting out of your chair and executing 2-3 rounds of basic movements to keep your joints lubricated.
3. Hydrate often
Most professional gamers or video game enthusiasts have extended sessions going on for 4+ hours. How do they do it? More than likely a bevy of caffeine consumption and trust me I have had my fair share of energy drinks. Ironically caffeine while waking you up, also dehydrates the shit out of you causing you to lose focus and leading to L's. The best practice is to invest in a nice water jug that you would be glad to drink out of, like a Yeti. This will lead to better health and more devasted 14-year-olds in the chat.
4. Sleep Routine
Most gaming sessions often linger into the early hours of the next day, so how can we mitigate this? Typically, you can't unless you decide to drastically change your schedule of gaming. A best practice here is to get to bed at the same time every night and prioritize the same sleeping pattern. If you game 5 days a week and you always get off at 11 pm, make that your schedule! It is better to have consistency within your sleep pattern than to get to bed earlier some nights than others.
As someone who has been playing video games for 20+ years and lifting for 12+, these are my tips and tricks that have kept me in good health all the while still enjoying online gaming.
See what works for you, happy lifting.