When you are working from home and frantically trying to meet deadlines, taking the time to exercise would seem like a counterintuitive thing to do. But the truth is, the more you exercise, the more productive you become. So, here are some workout tips to help you incorporate more exercises into your daily routine.
Keep your exercise gadgets highly visible.
When working from home, it is so easy to think about exercising. However, it is also very easy to resist the need to exercise at home. This is why you should place your exercise equipment nearby. Put these just within reach or you can even have them “in your way”.
Leave your resistance bands, pushup bars and hand weights nearby. Having these highly visible to where you are working will make it easier for you to keep working out at home. You can do leg exercises and do a few repetitions while also lifting those hand weights. You just need to grab these gadgets and start exercising. All these within the comfort of your own home.
Conduct conference calls while walking.
Having a hectic schedule is never a valid excuse for not exercising when you are working from home. One way to squeeze in your exercise at home is to keep walking while taking conference calls. For non-video conferences, you can keep walking around your house or outdoors.
You will find that it does make you feel good as it improves blood flow and such will also benefit your brain. The more you walk, the more you engage your lymph nodes which boosts relaxation.
Stretch each time you need to drink water.
One of the best practices for work-at-home individuals is to drink water every hour. Each time you do, make sure you also do some stretching. Stretch a different muscle group each time you get up.
You can either do some lateral kicks or kickback to keep your glutes activated. You may also perform some hip-opening stretches which are so beneficial since your hips can become tight from sitting all day. Keep in mind that working out at home does not have to be too complicated.
Practice the 50:10 Concept.
The 50:10 concept simply means that for every 50 minutes of work, you have to take a break for ten minutes. So, during this 10-minute break feel free to perform a 10-minute exercise at home. The best thing about this is that you have the freedom to choose which workout to perform.
If you do not have time to rinse afterwards, choose no-sweat exercises. Examples of these would be bodyweight squats, push-ups or alternating standing oblique crunches. Perform these moves for 2 minutes and then take a 30 second rest in between exercises.
Buy your own treadmill.
Having your own treadmill can make it all too easy for you to exercise while working. In fact, you can catch up on your emails, schedule your meetings, review your to-do list or plan your next week’s activities – while exercising on your treadmill.
If you need to engage in a harder workout, you can just prop your laptop on the treadmill so there’s no need for you to hold it. The ability to do multi-tasking makes you more productive not only to your job but also in life in general.
Create your own signature “thinking” move.
There are times when you need to create a plan or think things through very carefully. Don’t do this while sitting. Instead, perform a signature move which could mean a simple stretch or punching the air exercise. Perform this signature move whenever you’re not typing on your keyboard or laptop.
Do this during meetings when you are not the one talking. This will not only keep you moving but it will also spare you from the tendency to feel drowsy especially when you’re working from home, all alone.
Do seated leg exercises.
You can perform this exercise even when you are in a meeting and nobody will even notice. To do this, just sit upright in your computer chair. Start by straightening your right leg and as you straighten it, see to it that it is parallel to the floor.
Then, hold it in place for about ten seconds. Next, switch sides, repeat the same moves for 7 times on each leg. This exercise targets your hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps–all these without having to leave your chair! When you make it a habit to exercise at home, doing this seated leg exercise will gradually become easier to perform.
Enjoy your chair dips.
Use a chair that does not have wheels or any chair that won’t move or roll away from you. Begin by scooting up to the front edge of the chair. Your legs must be positioned in front of you. Place your hands on either side of the hips. Your fingers have to point towards your desk then grasp the edges of your chair using both of your hands.
Then with the help of your arms and your core, allow your body to move up and down. When it raises, it should be a little bit higher than the part of the chair where you normally sit. When you bring your body down, your rear must be halfway down toward the floor. Do this for 15 times.
Open up your chest.
Eliminate shoulder and chest pains by performing this easy exercise at home. Start by sitting on the edge of your chair, then place both of your hands on your nape, that is, behind the lower part of your neck. Round this position as you watch your elbows coming in slowly and then holding the chin down.
Then, open up your arms and chest while your head is held high. As you open your arms and chest, do it in a manner where you feel your shoulder blades squeezing in. See? Working out at home is so easy to do.
When your home becomes the new workplace, you will have plenty of time to exercise. At the end of each working day, you may feel tired. This is natural considering the fact that you are human. You are not a machine which also means you should not take exercise for granted. Break into a sweat or your body will break you.
She enjoys assessing and reviewing home office furniture such as standing desks, ergonomic chairs and lighting accessories. As such, she created Healthy Land to share her thoughts and insights. Danielle only recommends items she deems beneficial to the users as she understands how important ergonomics is, especially to remote workers.
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