A Single Workout per Day Is Not Enough
How I include mini-workouts in my everyday life.
One or more workouts during the day? If you asked me this before the pandemic I would say “one, and give it your best”.
However, before the pandemic, all these things kept me active too: biking places, doing errands, running after a bus. Regardless of how much of like, there were still so many random reasons to get you moving!
Now I find myself eating a lot more food just because I spend more time inside, terribly close to the fridge. It does not make sense to me to keep my workout routine the same, since it does not help me maintain a balance. Placing only one slot in my agenda for sport is dangerous.
Maybe I do not feel like it.
Maybe something comes up and I have no time left.
By the end of the day, I feel horrible if I did not move at all.
That is why I try to integrate more sport during the work-from-home days in a natural way.
1. I take runs when I am not productive at work
I feel like I cannot take a proper break inside my house: it often is me checking my phone, watching something relaxing instead of leaving all those screens. I have to go out. Indeed, there are benefits of taking walks, get fresh air, chat with someone. The problem is that I do not always have someone to take a walk with. And I do not know about you, but as a programmer, I often find myself annoyed and angry at my code not working. If I take a walk alone, I find it hard to disconnect from my thoughts and I am not much better when I come back home. More oxygenated, but still pissed.
So I tried running!
It better helps me with releasing tension and negative emotions. It keeps my mind focused elsewhere, for example on not falling on my face or on my breathing technique.
These runs are shorter than my normal running sessions, more like sprints. I do not care how much I run. If I get tired, I walk back home. I do not get sweaty, so when I sit at my desk again I feel refreshed, mentally and physically.
2. I exercise when I watch content
I find myself consuming a lot of audio and video content during the day.
To learn, to get entertained, to procrastinate…
If I watch something “easy to digest”, I take out my mat and do stretches or strength workouts. These do not require me to jump or lose focus on what I am watching or listening to. What I like best is using this time to stretch and work on my splits. I hear many people who want to work on their flexibility and in my opinion, it is quite time-consuming and boring. In my case, if I want to make progress I need at least 30 minutes of stretching, breaks included. I often do not have the patience of simply sitting on the floor and doing almost nothing. However, combining this with watching some easy work-related tutorial or one F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode never feels like too long.
3. I start from something that gets me excited
I do not want my workouts to be another item on my to-do list, but rather a way of having fun and enjoying myself.
As a lazy person or active person, there must be something that gets you excited, something that makes your body desire to get up and move. For me, these are music and dancing. I am not a dancer, but I love a good dance on good music. Depending on the work I am doing, I either listen to music or not. I cannot listen to Shakira songs and still write my reports, so I cannot wait to play the songs later. Therefore, I create playlists with dance music, and by the time the second song starts, I am already hyped up and ready to move. That is a moment when it is simple to start a workout…or keep dancing, no difference.
With one workout per day, I tend to go all in. This makes me wasted for the rest of the day, which is not ideal if I have to focus on other things as well. With these mini-workouts, I get energized but not exhausted.
I wish I did all the above more often than I do since I can see the difference every time. Anyways, the point is not to achieve a perfect schedule, but to keep a balance in this new work-from-home situation.
I am always on the search for tips to be more active throughout the days, so I am curious about any other ideas out there!
