Even lawyers have time to stand up, take a walk and add some years to their lives

Lawyers tend to think that the only people who understand them are other lawyers. With that in mind, the following advice on keeping your New Year’s resolution to get more exercise comes strictly from those with law degrees.

If you haven’t yet resolved to exercise more this year, go ahead and do that now. But don’t promise yourself you’ll train for a triathlon or take CrossFit classes four times a week – unless you really want to. Because if you don’t, you won’t. Plus, new research has led some scientists to believe that the sitting we do for 12 to 14 hours cannot be undone by spending 30 to 60 minutes working out after work.

Recent studies show that sitting for long periods of time increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease and death. It’s not just that you’re not burning many calories. Researchers think that being sedentary depresses glucose levels and boosts insulin resistance. Meanwhile, research has shown that folks who move around regularly by walking, climbing stairs, taking breaks from their desks or doing other low-exertion tasks can burn enough calories to make a significant difference in their health. In 2011, “The Lancet” reported results of a study that tracked more than 400,000 Taiwanese people over eight years. The study showed that 15 minutes of physical activity a day can cut your risk of death by 14 percent and add three years to your life.

North Carolina Appellate Court Judge Donna Stroud is among the growing number who believe sitting is a health hazard and a concern for lawyers and judges especially.

“People are becoming aware of it,” she said. “Certainly lawyers are people who need to be aware of it.”

Last year, Stroud’s appeals court office became home to the state judicial system’s first treadmill desk.

“Everyone had to come in and see it,” she said. “I should have charged admission.”

It doesn’t incline or move very fast; it maxes out at 4 mph. When Stroud is typing or writing emails, she’s walking at a rate of ½ mph. When she’s reading, she’s zooms up to 1½ mph. Stroud says it’s like reading while walking on the treadmill at the gym, but since it’s in her office, she can use it for several hours a day.

“Once you get used to it, it feels normal,” Stroud said.

She has been practicing yoga regularly for five or six years and took up running in the past two years. But she is not a natural-born athlete. Stroud says anyone who knew her as a child would be shocked to learn that she’s a dedicated desk walker.

“The only class in school I ever worried about failing was PE,” Stroud said.

Her father passed away after fighting cancer, and her mother recently recovered from a car accident. Both were fit when they faced their health crises, she said, and it helped them meet the challenges.

While Stroud is comfortable with her treadmill desk, it can be awkward for visitors.

“The weird thing is people don’t know whether to sit down or stand,” she said.

Practical concerns keep treadmills from being the best possible solution for sedentary legal professionals. District court judges, for example, are never sure where their benches are going to be. But Stroud she said she has heard of judges on the West Coast who have trenches dug behind the benches for their treadmills. When another judge uses the space, he or she can have the hole covered.

Other, more universal approaches to this problem abound.

Matthew Slotkin is an attorney, psychotherapist and life coach who lives in Durham. He encourages his clients, including clients who are attorneys, to take the need for exercise seriously.

“I think it’s essential for virtually everyone I deal with because stress and anxiety and depression is all a cyclical bundle that needs to be unraveled and addressed,” Slotkin said. “The best way to do it is through self-care — eating well, sleeping well and exercising to the point possible. You’ve got to work out something that’s going to be successful in a consistent manner.”

Just about everyone can work in exercise if they do it 15 minutes at a time, he said. One of his own strategies is to drink a lot of water.

“That forces me – often to my frustration – to go to the bathroom,” he said. “It really is a sort of quid pro quo that forces me to step away from the computer, when I’m just locked in here sitting.”

Attorneys make difficult coaching clients, Slotkin says, because being a lawyer requires a special brand of self-reliance that fosters isolationist thinking. The profession also tends to exalt workaholism, which makes it tough for lawyers to let other activities like exercise take priority.

Jamie Spannhake is an attorney, blogger and certified health coach in New York. She said most attorneys struggle with exercise because it takes time away from work.

“You can’t just wait until you have the time to exercise,” she said. “You need to actually put it in your calendar with all your other appointments and obligations.”

When she worked in Manhattan, Spannhake scheduled her exercise for midday. Co-workers and bosses are less likely to question where you are around lunchtime. Another tip: Be realistic about what you can and will actually do.

“If you say ‘I should be lifting weights’ but you hate lifting weights, you won’t do it,” she said.

Remember that anything is better than nothing, and simplicity is really the key. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park at the back of the parking lot rather than as close to the building as you can. Have walking meetings.

Slotkin said exercise and meditation has been a lifesaver for him in his 40s, with the combined stress of mid-career changes and parenting.

“It makes me an immeasurably calmer and more healthy person,” he said “My favorite phrase is ‘It just has to be a committed practice.’ It’s as simple and as complicated as that.”

Follow Amber Nimocks on Twitter @NCLWTechTalk