Staying in shape and keeping a serious home office fitness routine when you can’t get to the gym can prove to be a challenge when you throw work and family into the mix. The shift to working from home can be a major adjustment. That space between your desk, television and the kitchen is known as the Bermuda Triangle – a place where your dreams of looking like Chris Hemsworth go to die at the bottom of a tub of Ben and Jerries.
But staying healthy at the home office doesn’t require endless hours of sweaty work out routines. Here are some tips from the Calvin Ayre team for helping you stay in shape while you work from the home office.
Choose a good chair or ditch the chair
Take the time to invest in a comfortable chair for the home office. You want to avoid the dining table and keep your workplace separate from the family and hopefully a healthy workout routine. A great office chair can be like a prized piece of art or fine wine, something that you won’t let go off. It’s not a prison and you need to have a certain level of comfort.
The alternative is to ditch the chair and go with a stand-up desk; you’ll get a bit of extra energy and boost your mortality.
Move around once every hour – Get outside at least once a day
Working at home may not be a prison but sometimes it can the blurred line between work and home can feel like it. It’s easy to become chained to your desk, an email or a Zoom call can chew through the hours in the day. Download any one of the free productivity apps and set some limits, it’s important to get away from your desk at least once during the day and experience some fresh air.
Keep some healthy snacks in the kitchen
You are what you eat and your food choices will have a say on the outcome of your fitness goals. Ditch the hash browns and bacon for brown rice and kimchi. Cutting back on the sugar and fried foods is about playing the long game. You won’t see an immediate effect but you’ll feel the benefits over time, combined with a healthy workout of course.
Dress for work and not the couch
You’re working at home, who needs pants right? Remove the temptation of wearing your pyjamas all day. Wearing something that you would want to wear at the office will make you more productive and help you develop positive workout routines as well.
Join virtual communities
The lack of social interaction creeping into your day can suck out the motivation to stay in shape. Joining virtual fitness communities can have a massive role in keeping up the motivation levels. Our office favourite right now is Strava. It plugs into Facebook and you can map out runs or bike rides and tick off fitness challenges for the month. The great thing about the app is that you can give kudos to your friends as they tick off their goals.
Schedule a workout in your diary
We are all time-poor, juggling work and family from home. You don’ have to be working out at midnight but make the time to schedule in some exercise and stick to the routine. Treat exercise as part of your office routine like you would any call or meeting.
Keep your goals realistic
The trick is not to be discouraged if you miss a workout. There’ll be times when work and family takeover, don’t beat yourself up if fitness goals slip by the wayside. It’s important to keep your goals and expectations aligned and realistic. Some people will enjoy getting up at 5 am in the dead of winter to hit the gym, for others, it will feel like a trip to the dentist.
Don’t be afraid to cut yourself some slack as there’s plenty of ways to move around the home and stay active, you just need to find a balance that suits you.
