As a student and software engineer I spend a large amount of my time sitting down at my desk. My joints can get pretty tight and achey from sitting in a chair all day hunched over my keyboard. I try to stay active in a number of ways to keep my body healthy and strong, and make sure that I can continue to do my job without pain or long-lasting issues.

One of the ways I stay active is by taking rides on my bike. I like bike riding as a way of staying active because it has a low impact on my joints, which enables me to do it for a longer period of time. There is a trail that runs from inside the city of Atlanta, where I live, all the way out to a state park called Stone Mountain. To get to Stone Mountain and back it is about a 20 mile ride, which is a lengthy and challenging ride that I enjoy.

When I’m looking for more of a strength-building activity, I like to go to my gym and do CrossFit. The perception of CrossFit in the fitness community is mixed, and I personally was exposed to the negative perception that it is dangerous. However, from my experience, most of the danger in CrossFit comes from individuals not respecting the limits of where they are at in their fitness journey, and that it is generally safe if you do.

Sometimes I don’t have the time or energy to do either of those things, and that’s ok! I try to get outside and be active every day, even if it is just walking with my dog to get a coffee.

As someone who plans to continue to spend a lot of time working at a desk or otherwise sitting hunched over a computer, staying active is extremely important to me. My good physical health is the difference between me being able to enjoy my work for the rest of my life or not, and I take that seriously!