Personal Fitness

I’m going to let you in on a secret – writing is not for
wussies.  It’s for old people.

   

Or at least it makes you feel old. Carpal tunnel. Eye
twitches and strains. Aching neck, sore back. The human body was not designed to
spend hours sitting at a computer, and the hours compound into stiff muscles
that have forgotten how to move.  Walking into the kitchen after a prolonged bout of editing, I look like I’ve escaped from the neighborhood old-person jail… er… assisted living facility.  I
imagine that back when writers were churning out novels by quill and
candlelight that it wasn’t any better. 
But at least back then we were likely to die by forty anyway and
probably needed to worry more about childbirth and dental hygiene than whether
or not our wrists were a tad achy.

I could trot out some line about suffering for my art, but
the truth is, I do many things to combat the muscular stress of sitting and
writing.  First of all, I got married and
had a kid.  Although, maybe that wasn’t
quite my intended outcome when I started down the aisle, it has to be said that
nothing curtails long hours at a computer like a toddler. However, the things I
intentionally do to keep myself from becoming Quasimodo include walking / jogging,
stretching and keeping up on my martial arts training.  And then I whine and complain until my
husband gives me a neck rub.  And then
when all else fails I break down and pay for a massage.

Below are the most common stretches I do for my wrists.  These drawings were actually produced
by one of my former employers – Visual Health Information.  They produce drawings for physical therapists
and others to give to patients.  I have
found all of these to be very helpful for my extended typing lifestyle.

***

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.