Get Up!

Why Your Chair Is Killing You and What You Can Do About It

By: James A. Levine

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson, Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle De Cuir, Harlan Ellison, Richard Gilliland, Leigh Roche, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

From the codirector of the Mayo Clinic/Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative and inventor of the treadmill desk comes a fascinating wake-up call about our sedentary lifestyle.

That the average adult spends 50 to 70 percent of their day sitting is no surprise to anyone who works in an office environment. But few realize the health consequences they are suffering as a result of modernity's increasingly sedentary lifestyle, or the effects it has had on society at large. In Get Up!, health expert James A. Levine's original scientific research shows that today's chair-based world, where we no longer use our bodies as they evolved to be used, is having negativeconsequences on our health, and is a leading cause of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Over the decades, humans have moved from a primarily active lifestyle to one that is largely sedentary, and this change has reshaped every facet of our lives - from social interaction to classroom design. Levine shows how to throw off the shackles of inertia and reverse these negative trends through simple changes in our daily lives.

©2014 James A. Levine (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Entertaining and informative, sometimes meandering

The information presented was very interesting and relevant, but the interspersed personal stories sometimes didn't seem to have any connection to the main point of a given section.

Good Motivation to Move More

Levine provides a compelling argument to increase non-exercise movement throughout your day. Though I probably won't get a treadmill desk, I am definitely spending more time on my feet and out of my chair!

Very informative and great voice.

Had to listen in sections as I stopped to contemplate what I was hearing.

Succinct, Inspirational and Awkward Cadence

I liked the story and the message and the data very much. To reduce the awkwardness of the halting cadence of the performer, I listened at 1.3x playback speed.

Easy, actionable advice!

I'm already using a free activity monitor on my smart phone, and ordered an inexpensive laptop tray for my desk so I can get up!

Fascinating topic

I didn't expect to like the book as much as I did. I mean, how much can you say about sitting? Turns out, a lot, backed by fascinating research. That Dr. Levine surely is an interesting character!

Get Up For New Life

This book is life-changing. After reading this book I substantially changed my view of life and now I try not to seat for too long. Highly recommend for evryone.

Entertaining and informative.

Entertaining and informative. A good listen that'll make you think twice about our chair confined lives. Narration was also very good.

Really interesting. Well written and well read.

What made the experience of listening to Get Up! the most enjoyable?

The book had great information and research to support it. It was well told and motivated me to try to get out of my chair.

What other book might you compare Get Up! to and why?

Spark. Emphasizes the importance of activity for mental and physical health.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Easy to understand. Lots of character to his voice. Could be funny and serious.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Attack of the Killer Chairs

Any additional comments?

Nope

I wasn’t going to finish this book

I love audiobooks and fall asleep listening to them every night. After the first chapter I though, good Lord is this going to be boring. I awoke during the night and found the data he was presenting was extremely interesting. I mean, who can talk for eight hours telling you to get out of your chair?
I restarted the book in the morning and could not put it down till it was done. The statistics were presented in an enlightening fashion. The amount of dedication to keeping children and adults healthy, happy, and enjoying life was demonstrated time and time again by this author’s experiments and data in proving chairs are a real life danger to our health and lifespan!
If you find yourself bored with the first one or two chapters skip them, but don’t stop listening, it can literally save your life.