You've already heard that sitting is the new smoking. Now, scientists reveal exactly how it hurts the body-and novel ways to undo the damage (without clocking hours at the gym). You might want to stand up for this.

We like to think we're a stand-up species. After all, that's what drove our evolutionary march away from many of our four-legged ancestors. But everywhere we go are invitations to sit down. Hop into your car and what's there? If you're lucky, a plush bucket seat designed with just the right tilt for your back. On the subway to work? A less comfortable seat, to be sure, but you'll grab one if you can. Once at work, an office chair. At home, your favorite fauteuil. But all that hospitality, all those opportunities to give your feet a break, are doing untold things to the rest of your body.

From standing desks and fitness trackers to groundbreaking pilot experiments - see more at  www.time.com.sitting

A spate of new research has found that prolonged sitting- like the kind you do all day at work-is sabotaging your health and turning you into a 9-to-5 couch potato. One study last year found that  sitting can increase your risk for cancer by more than 60%.

What's a desk jockey to do? Luckily, spending all day at the office doesn't have to mean spending it sedentary. We asked Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise, and John Porcari, executive director of La Crosse Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, to tell us their favorite office-appropriate workouts. These 10 exercises you can do at your desk are subtle enough to spare you strange looks from your coworkers, yet effective enough to make a real dent in your sedentary time.

Happy deskercising!

   - Find out more about these exercises at Time.com