I’ve always wondered, if walking involves more movement and presumably more energy, why does standing in one place feel more exhausting than walking for the same amount of time? How does our body differentiate between the two, and what’s happening in our muscles and circulatory system that makes standing still feel so much more tiring?
In: Biology
Similar to the reason that taking deep breaths and holding them isn’t hard, but holding a single breath is. When your legs pump you’re moving blood around and using all of the structure of your leg equally. When you stand still you’re locked on certain muscles and they never get a chance to “take a breath”.
Here’s an interesting note for people: If you ride a bicycle the seat should be high enough so that your leg extends almost completely straight when you pedal the bike. If the seat is too low your legs will only bend a little bit, which tires out your leg muscles much faster. Same concept, your legs aren’t “taking a full breath” so to speak.
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