Author: Todd Bowen

Back when I used to eat fast food, I would always pick what I thought was the “healthiest” option, grilled chicken for example. I had no idea how bad those “healthy” options were for me. The main reason was the seed oils these foods were cooked in.

In the fall of 2022, I stopped eating fast food altogether. My goal wasn’t even to lose weight. I weighed 235 pounds. But I’m 6’3″ tall. I didn’t feel overweight necessarily. But I didn’t feel good as far as energy goes. And I had a high amount of chronic pain and inflammation. My muscle recovery wasn’t good either. My main goal for quitting fast food was to have more energy and to feel better.

After 3 months of no fast food, I was shocked at how much weight I’d lost.

I went from 235 pounds, down to 190. I’d lost 45 pounds in 3 months. The main thing was, that I felt great. It was then that I realized, just how bad seed oils were for me. I didn’t even change any other daily habits during that 3 months. I didn’t do cardio. But I did lift weights like I normally do. And I usually don’t take long breaks when I’m lifting. So the workouts did have a certain mid-intensity, cardio aspect to them. But I didn’t run for any distances, or do any cardio-only workouts, during that period. I also didn’t cut any calories. I just changed the foods I ate. Instead of fast food, I was cooking a lot of grass-fed red meat and eggs. I didn’t sacrifice taste at all. The food I was eating actually tasted better.

Since then, I’ve taken a class on cellular inflammation that’s helped me further understand the dangers of seed oils and why they are so bad for us. This class was taught by a doctor. It was very eye-opening. Everything I learned from it has been very helpful in improving my all-around health. And anything that improves my health is directly related to improving my computer posture. That class can be found here if you’d like to learn more.

Fast food companies cook with seed oils because they are much less expensive than healthy animal fats.

A gallon of unhealthy canola oil costs as low as $5. Comparatively, grass-fed beef tallow (a healthy seed-oil substitute) costs over $50 per gallon. That means it’s 10 times more expensive. With the massive amounts of cooking oils that fast food companies need, of course they’re going to choose a cheap, unhealthy option like canola oil every time. It’s an easy way for them to increase their profits, while customers pay the price with their health.

Continue reading How to Cook Without Seed Oils

I consider tech neck to be a chronic, poor posture position. It’s caused by looking down at any kind of technology device. This includes phones, tablets, computer monitors, laptop monitors, keyboard, and mouse. It can be fixed. But it’s going to take time, consistent effort, and intention.

Every single time we look down to view a device, it adds up. It starts off small, we don’t notice any pain or dysfunction. But it doesn’t matter if we glance down quickly for a second, or if we are holding that compromised neck position for long periods of time. Both eventually contributed to tech neck symptoms for me like chronic pain and muscle tension. These included headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, and chest tension.

Continue reading How to Prevent Tech Neck

Sitting at a computer caused me long-term repetitive strain and overuse injuries. One of the most stubborn computer-related injuries was my neck pain and the muscle confusion that came along with it. This was specifically caused by having my monitor screen too low. This includes using a laptop screen for long periods of time.

I used to always have my head tilted forward, looking at a downward angle to see my monitor screen. The muscles on the front of my neck would compress and shorten as they were constantly activated for 8 hours a day. The muscles on the back of my neck were overextended and lengthened. This caused excessive muscle tension and dysfunction in my neck.

Iron Neck

This article will talk about my experience with one my favorite posture correction devices. It’s called the Iron Neck. It is a strength and therapy device that greatly improved my neck strength, mobility, and computer posture correction.

Side note: This Iron Neck device review is not paid promotion. I’m not compensated by them. I paid my own money for this product. And I enjoy sharing my experience with readers about products that’ve helped me improve my computer posture.

Continue reading Iron Neck Review

I used to think fasting was strictly for weight loss. As I learned more about it, that’s a common fasting myth debunked. I’ve realized that time-restricted eating has more health benefits than just losing weight.

There are many different ways to practice intermittent fasting. Although I’ve lost body fat, I haven’t lost any weight according to the scale. And that’s okay with me. I’ve never been motivated by the number on a scale.

My main goals are to wake up everyday feeling strong, energetic, and pain-free. These goals are directly related to how good (or bad) my computer posture is throughout the day. This article will talk about how intermittent fasting has helped me feel stronger, with more energy, and decreased pain.

Continue reading Improve Computer Posture with Intermittent Fasting

I’ve been doing desk work at a computer since 2002. By 2011, my computer posture was poor and my body was broken. Working in the same vulnerable, poor posture caused a lot of computer-related pain. It also caused long-term issues like low energy, decreased work productivity, and lack of mental clarity.

Ever since 2011, I’ve taken full accountability for my bad computer posture. I’ve learned as many ergonomic office tips possible. Everything I write about is directly related to how good, or bad, our computer posture is.

When I got my degree in Information Technology, ergonomics was a topic that interested me. That’s probably because I’ve been an athlete since I was young. The combination of these 2 backgrounds led me to start this website and write a book. I wanted to solve a real-life problem of mine, which was computer-related pain caused by poor posture. I also wanted to document what I’ve learned, on my website and in my book, so other people could learn from my mistakes.

This article is about my book titled, 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture. I wrote it for the part-time athlete who sits at a computer full-time. My book is the computer ergonomics guide I wish I had many years ago, when I first started sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day, long-term.

Continue reading Computer Posture Book

Working at a computer in sitting posture for 8 hours a day is an endurance event. Some of our muscles our overused excessively. Others are deactivated and hardly used at all.

We want to have an ergonomic desk setup that is an asset to our health. We want it to promote good computer posture. Also, we don’t want our desk setup to be a liability that causes excessive muscle tension and chronic pain.

This article will talk about 2 of the most common computer-related injuries. These repetitive strain injuries are knee pain and shoulder pain. You’ll learn what sitting health risks cause these 2 injuries to get worse. Then, you’ll learn how to prevent knee and shoulder pain from sitting at a computer.

Continue reading What are Common Computer-Related Injuries?

Over long-term, my gluteus muscles became very tight and deactivated. It got to a point where they barely functioned at all. This happened mostly from sitting (on my glutes) in a desk chair for 8 hours a day.

The glutes are made up of 3 muscles: gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and gluteus maximus. I won’t get into the specific functions of each muscle. Instead, I’ll be explaining how I built glute strength in the easiest terms possible.

I don’t have a background in exercise science or physical therapy. Oftentimes, those experts go way over my head when they’re explaining glute hypertrophy tips anyway. I’m a lifelong athlete who is also a computer user. I have an intense desire for high-performance. But I like explaining my articles in the easiest terms possible.

When I used to work in sitting posture at a computer desk 8 hours a day, my mental energy leftover to consume new practices was limited. I wanted to learn the least possible information that would make the biggest difference in my performance over time. I created this website to be a resource I wish I had back in 2002, when I first started sitting posture at a computer for long periods of time.

Continue reading How to Build Glute Strength

We don’t start off with poor posture as children. It gets worse over time. As adults, sitting at a computer 8 hours a day causes a number of desk job health issues.

Poor Computer Posture: The Cause and Effect Relationship Between Muscle Tension and Chronic Pain

In 2012, I started improving my computer posture. It was difficult to learn what good computer posture looked like back then. Learning self-improvement on the internet wasn’t as abundant as it is today.

Once I finally learned what correct computer posture was, I couldn’t hold that healthy position for 5 minutes. I’d quickly slip back into a compromised, vulnerable, poor posture.

Even today, correct posture is a daily challenge for me. When I get to my computer in the morning, I have good posture. But even after years of studying computer ergonomics, my posture still gets gradually worse as the day goes on. Correct posture is always going to be a process that I’m working to maintain and improve.

The position we work in isn’t the cause of our chronic pain from desk work. Our pain is the effect we feel. Our poor posture can make our pain worse. But it isn’t the cause.

This article will help computer users understand how muscle tension is the cause of chronic pain.

Continue reading Poor Computer Posture: The Cause and Effect Relationship Between Muscle Tension and Chronic Pain

Most desk workers don’t realize they have excessive muscle tension that’s causing weak, limited, internal shoulder rotation. I was years into my good computer posture journey before I accidentally learned, in a CrossFit class, how limited my internal shoulder rotation used to be. The internal shoulder rotation definition is when the joint rotates toward the front, vertical midline of the body.

Internal shoulder rotation can be a very good thing to have in our physical strength tool box. However, our muscles and tendons weren’t designed to hold the exact same position for long periods of time. We’re able to do it, but there’s a price to pay. In my experience, that price consisted of muscle tension, decreased blood flow, and chronic pain.

Limited internal shoulder rotation causes can vary from a wide range of actions. Common causes are holding a baby consistently, or using a phone or tablet for long periods of time. But as desk workers, the limited internal shoulder rotation act that causes the most pain is using a keyboard and mouse for 8 hours a day.

Continue reading What is Internal Shoulder Rotation?

In addition to sitting posture, correct standing desk posture is a healthy ergonomic habit for me. Sitting isn’t the only enemy. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries are the enemy. These occur when we work in the same position for long periods of time, 8 hours a day. Regardless if we are sitting or standing.

At my previous desk job, poor computer posture led to increased risk of muscle tension, decreased blood flow, and chronic pain. But, even if we have good computer posture, repetitive strain and overuse injuries can still happen. So, switching between sit to stand positions throughout the day has been beneficial to my physical health, mental clarity, and work productivity.

This article will talk about different posture mistakes I used to make. Then, I’ll talk about how I fixed those poor posture mistakes. I learned the hard way. Now, I enjoy sharing my experience to help others. So they can avoid the pain and dysfunction I got from working at a computer 8 hours a day.

Continue reading Standing Desk Posture Mistakes and Fixes

Computer posture can be a very boring and painful topic. I try to create content that is open-minded, relatable, and actionable. I talk about good computer posture habits that have helped me live a higher quality, sedentary lifestyle.

By improving our computer posture, the specific goals of my website are to help the user:

• decrease computer-related pain
• increase energy
• improve mental clarity
• increase work productivity

99% of the content I write is free of cost. Everything I write relates to improving computer posture. Feel free to share this article with a friend or family member who sits at a computer for a living. The more people that see my content, I more ability it gives me to create more. Thank you very much for your support.

The best way to keep up with my work is to sign up for my Computer Posture Newsletter. It contains easy, actionable ways to improve computer posture. It’s free. Unsubscribe anytime. You can sign up here.

Continue reading Good Computer Posture Habits

Posture is the position people hold their bodies in at their computer desk. But the definition of ergonomics is: the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. Ergonomics is a much wider topic than posture. Computer posture only takes place while we’re at work. Ergonomics do take place at work, but there are also some crucial variables that can be practiced away from our desk.

This article will talk about healthy habits other than posture. But these healthy, ergonomic habits are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is the next day. Specifically, this article will cover, nutrition, hydration, breathing, and sleep.

Poor computer posture broke my body down, both physically and mentally. But what caused me to have poor posture? It didn’t start off poor when I began sitting at a computer in 2002. It gradually got worse over time.

I also didn’t sit with terrible posture when I got to work each morning. It always started off decent. My posture got worse as each day went on.

After learning as much as I could about good computer posture, I felt like holding a good position at my desk was an uphill battle. I started thinking about what other health habits, aside from posture, were involved with computer ergonomics.

Continue reading What are Good Computer Ergonomics?

There are a lot of variables involved when it comes to correct computer posture. In this article, I’m going to share my 3 most important office posture tips. All 3 of these posture cues will remain the same, regardless if we’re working in a healthy sitting posture at a desk, or a standing ergonomic workstation setup.

This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. All the workplace ergonomic tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.

Continue reading What is Correct Computer Posture?

I first experienced knee pain back in 2011. I thought it was from overtraining while running and lifting weights. Both of my knees were in a lot of pain. I stopped training all together for 6 months. My knee pain didn’t decrease at all over that period of time.

One thing that didn’t change over those 6 months, I was still working in a sitting posture at a computer for long periods of time. The running and lifting weights may have been contributed to my knee pain, but my poor computer posture was the main cause that started it. It caused tight, overused muscles in my legs. Which led to dysfunction of my knee. The tendons attaching my leg muscles to the bone in my knees became inflamed and painful. This knee pain was an effect of my poor sitting posture.

Continue reading How to Prevent Knee Pain When Sitting

I started my career at a computer desk in 2002. That’s when I first worked in sitting posture for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. By 2011, my computer posture was terrible and my body was broken. I’ve been an athlete all my life. But the damage caused by sitting at a computer was very hard to accept physically.

That year (2011), I’d had enough. I decided I was going to learn as much as I could about what causes poor computer posture. And I was going to adopt every possible healthy habit that would improve my computer posture. I would quickly learn that good computer posture doesn’t only happen while we’re physically at our computer desk. Other ergonomic variables that directly affect our computer posture are sleep quality, hydration, nutrition, and breathing.

I’m writing this article to show samples of the desk posture tips I share in my Computer Posture Newsletter. My email newsletter is free. And you can always unsubscribe easily by clicking one button at the bottom of any of my emails. Click here to sign up.

Continue reading Office Ergonomics: The Optimal Computer Posture Newsletter

There’s an extensive amount of health risks that go with sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day. My main computer posture problem was decreased blood flow. Some of our muscles and tendons are working overtime in an attempt at good computer posture. The rest of our muscles and tendons are deactivated, pulling our body into poor computer posture.

Because of this, I’m always on the lookout for different methods of muscle tension relief. I’m always trying different methods of posture recovery for desk workers who are also athletes. I’m writing this article to share my 4 top recovery tools for better posture. There are tons of posture support gadgets out there. But in my experience as an athlete who sits at a computer for long periods of time, these are the best posture improvement tools I’ve used.

All of the posture correction devices in this article gave me a different experience. But, they all provide a number of health benefits that make improved computer posture possible. These health benefits are increased blood flow, improved range of motion, reduced muscle soreness, faster muscle recovery, improved mental clarity, and better sleep quality. All of these of are important variables for non-invasive posture correction. All of the posture improvement devices in this article are portable, except for the Eight Sleep Pod (Mattress) Cover.

Continue reading Top Recovery Tools for Better Posture

Sleep is one of the most important variables of computer ergonomics. Other variables include posture, breathing, hydration, and nutrition. Ergonomics means the study of people’s efficiency in their work environment. Even though we don’t sleep while we’re at work, sleep quality from the night before directly relates to how good or bad our computer posture is the next day.

The earlier in the day we get tired, the more our computer posture suffers. The better our sleep quality is, the more energy we have the next day. More energy allows better computer posture. Good computer posture is critical for high work productivity. This is how sleep quality and posture directly lead to health benefits and good computer ergonomics.

Continue reading Sleep Habits for Better Posture

Ergonomics is the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. As office workers, computer ergonomics extend outside of the time we’re physically at our desk. I consider nutrient-dense foods an important variable of my computer posture. Because the healthier we are when we sit at our desk in the morning, the better our computer posture will be. If we’ve been eating unhealthy foods that have dozens of artificial ingredients, our strength, energy, and computer posture will suffer much earlier in the day. Nutrition for better posture is an important variable of my computer ergonomics process.

Sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day is an endurance event. Some of our muscles and tendons are excessively overused in an attempt for good posture. The rest of our muscles and tendons are underused for long periods of time. They are hardly activated at all while we’re at our computer.

After this endurance event we call a work day, we go straight to the gym, run, or play sports. For years, I’d do this 5 days a week, while eating ultra-processed, nutrient-deficient foods everyday. This bad nutrition habit led to very increased risk of poor computer posture.

Continue reading Foods That Promote Good Posture

When it comes to sitting posture ergonomics, back pain is the most common work-related injury. In my experience, this was definitely true. However, shoulder pain was in a close second place.

But why does sitting at a computer cause shoulder pain? It’s not like we’re doing overheard shoulder presses at our computer desk. We’re not using our arm to throw a fastball. We’re not even pushing open a heavy door. Also, we’re simply sitting at a computer, holding a keyboard and mouse for 8 hours a day.

But that’s the answer. Our bodies were made to move. They’re designed to be athletic, strong, and flexible. We weren’t made to hold the exact same position for 8 hours a day. Especially if it’s a compromised, poor posture position at a computer. This can cause repetitive stress injuries. These overuse injuries cause chronic muscle tension that is very stubborn and hard to relieve. It takes much longer to release this muscle tension. Longer than it would to relieve normal muscle tension you’d get from sports or exercise.

Continue reading Why Does Sitting at a Computer Cause Shoulder Pain?

I recently wrote an article titled, Standing Desk Posture Tips. While writing it, I realized that going from a sitting posture workstation to a standing desk only requires 3 accessories. These accessories will also allow alternating between sitting and standing. Because we don’t want to go from sitting posture all day, straight to standing posture all day. We’d just have different computer-related injuries.

Sitting at a computer isn’t the enemy here. Working in the same position for 8 hours a day is the enemy we want to avoid. This is why poor computer posture creates so much muscle tension and chronic pain. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries don’t care what position we are working in. They care about how long we continue to work in that same compromised, vulnerable position.

We don’t want to sit, or stand, for long periods of time. Even if it is proper standing posture. I like to switch positions often, alternating sitting and standing posture. I’m dedicating this article to the 3 standing desk accessories that make a sit-stand desk transition quick and easy.

Continue reading Standing Desk Accessories