This is very strange, maybe one of the exerts like Floyd or someone who knows fitness can clue me in.
I can walk for at lease one hour, sometimes even two.
But I cannot stand still and gab with someone for an hour. I can only last about 10 minutes, just standing…
That is a puzzle to me. Care to enlighten me?
Why can’t you stand WB? does your legs ache or pain?
I’m not an expert but I know when my husband had bad circulation a few years ago he couldn’t stand still at all, could walk for hours and enjoy it but standing still was really awful for him.
I don’t know the answer to you particular problem Blue but I do know that If I go for a brisk walk, I am fine, no aches or pains but if I go shopping with Mrs LD which always involves lots of standing around outside shops and lots of foot shuffling, I end up aching like hell.
I think it’s the constant pressure on the knees and muscles when you stand. When you’re moving each leg only takes the pressure for a few moments.
I’m exactly the same, standing seems to make my body ache more than walking or even running.
I’d just like to say one thing Blueberry…POSTURE…
I read on another thread how you are having problems with backache…
As Tachyon pointed out earlier, standing in one position for any length of time tenses up the muscles and makes them ache. Whereas walking and moving keeps them supple. It could be the way you stand…
Have you thought about ‘The Alexander Technique’? It can only be performed by a qualified instructor, and takes quite a while to teach your body the correct posture. Over the years, you body adopts bad habits (posture wise I mean) possibly because of injury, when you stand or sit differently to avoid pain, and your body will stop like that and put pressure on muscles elsewhere…
Massage would provide temporary relief and remove stress from affected muscles…
This.
All of our bodyweight is directed below us when we are standing up. When we sit or are laying down we are relaxed.
Good point Floydy, when a body is moving (walking or running) lower back muscles are constantly being flexed and relaxed to maintain balance. But when we are static, the lower back muscles are permanently tensed to maintain a stationary upright attitude, so they get tired and ache…simples…
I can’t stand still on the spot for longer than 5 minutes as I get the most painful backache which makes me feel as if I’m going to faint.
We visited the Houses of Parliament a few years ago and had a guided tour throughout. In the main Hall our guide was giving us the history of years gone by and it came to a point when I just had to sit down or drop so I made my way across the hall and sat on one of the plush green seats 
I couldn’t continue with the tour so we made our own way round making sure we didn’t stop looking at things for too long.
Well, by the looks of these replies this is more common than I thought. It is the back that hurts when I stand still. And like you say Mags, I feel like I could faint if I don’t sit down…
Thanks for all your replies. I will pay more attention to my posture and see if that needs to be corrected somehow…
Or just keep walking…
It’s a very interesting thread, WB. An issue that I’ve never seen discussed anywhere before. There are some helpful replies in here too.
For instance, some of our desks at work have been installed as those new-type ones which encourage office staff to stand up doing their work to make them more ‘active’. I don’t know if this actually works as the pros and cons could be present in either sitting or standing positions.
I guess the main reason for these desks was because of type 2 diabetes from sitting too long?
Anyway, now people may get lower back problems and varicose veins in their legs instead…the jury’s out.
Good thread 
It could be lack of muscle in the lower back, possibly. As Floydy knows, I go to the local Age UK mini-gyn, and see a lot of people focus on the treadmills almost exclusively. Some might do a little arm work as well, but not many do the back/stomach machine.
I do quite a lot of work on the back/stomach machine and I never get any back pain or other trouble. When I stand, it’s my dodgy knees that give me pain and trouble standing, not my back. It might be worth trying to guild up or otherwise strengthen the back muscles, and see if that helps.
Overnight I was thinking about this post of Julie’s. I have deep vein thrombosis and I get blood clots in my lungs…
July says Mr Julie could walk for hours but can’t stand still for any length of time…this is exactly how I feel. I have to be moving…
So it could be this, or it could be the back problem I have. But wouldn’t the back hurt when I walk also Floyd?
What happens to me… is exactly like Mags said. I could just picture her scenario, been there, done that many times…
Hi susie, I can stand alright. I just can’t stand there in one spot for very long, I have to get moving. when I am out with a friend and we meet up with another friend…then it starts “Oh hi” “how are you” “Oh how’s your aches and pains”, hahahaha…just kidding, we don’t say that…
Any way, they start yakking, and I have to leave, I tell them that they will have to catch up with me, I can’t stand still…weird…they are starting to call me “Speedy Gonzales”
No my legs don’t hurt Susie. My knees don’t hurt. Some dr said I am heading for a hip replacement, when I had my accident, but I don’t feel pain in my hips. Only my back hurts, down low…
If I get a clot in my leg, it hurts, but I take medication for that, so it is doing fine.
Me too Longdogs, I hate shopping with someone. It is agony standing around while she makes up her mind…
Thank you Floyd. I don’t think I have ever seen it discussed anywhere either.
My church wants me to work on a counter at Christmas selling their baked goods, but I can’t do it, as I couldn’t be able to stand there.
I saw those new desks when they first starting bringing them out. I wonder how healthy they are standing in one spot all the time. At least if you are sitting, you are up and down lots so you would be moving.
But surely you’ll be given a chair at your stall, WB? They wouldn’t expect anyone to stand up all the time surely.The fairs and craft stalls I’ve been to (plus car boot sales), most people are sitting down unless they are busy sorting out their goods. I’m sure the organisers would sort you out with a chair if you asked for one
On another note about this. I am a regular gym-goer, and apart from exercises that require mandatory standing i.e. treadmill work and some core exercises, most training using weights is done sitting or laying down. Squats and deadlifts are done standing up but you are not without support - the weight stabilises the body. There are options to sit or stand, such as using a weight-laden bar when doing arm curls, but these can also be done seated. This takes most of the pressure off the lower back which is why it’s best to train this way, although it’s not always practical (or as effective) to do so. When you see people lifting heavy weights from the floor the correct stance must be applied, i.e. never arch your back, use the legs in the first instance and make sure your bottom is stuck out as the muscles there are essential for supporting the back and giving correct posture.
I see so many injuries related to weight training and it’s normally because the user’s technique is incorrect. I get occasional niggles (usually in my shoulder or my neck) but that normally down to pushing myself too hard. A lifter is never satisfied though!
There is a lot involved when lifting weights. My husband was a weight lifter. My son also, but my son hurt himself, so probably he was not doing something right.
Thanks for taking the time to explain this Floyd, much appreciated…
It’s as much about technique when you lift as with strength, WB. Not just with weight training but with anything you pick up. Much is common sense, but if there is an easier way to do something why make it more difficult straining yourself and doing oneself an injury?
People hurt themselves weight training for a number of common reasons, usually trying to lift too much too quickly or not warming up first. Sensible lifting should never cause any injuries. I’ve never had any problems in this regard.
