Work from Home
Staying Fit with Workouts You Can Do at Home
What I’ve learned working from home for the last 25 days
I’ve been working from home for the last month or so and have been just as surprised as you to see how widespread the “work from home” directives have been given out from large corporations like Amazon and others. As a pretty social and active person, I’ve been pushed beyond my comfort zone working from home and I’ve learned some things I think would be helpful for others at this time.
Many people are trying to figure out ways to work from home in these recent weeks while feeling like they’re normal health and fitness routine has been thrown out of whack. With fears of the Coronavirus, it’s understandable. It’s just as likely people won’t be going to another place where contagions can spread too, aka the gym. I used to attend 5x/week, but now I’m down to zero. Social separation has hit us hard and while we may get thrown off our normal routine, there are ways we can try to stay fit, while staying in the house.
These are exercises I’ve learned I can use when I need to, like when I’m traveling, stuck in a friend’s apartment or even while under some sort of directive to “work from home” until the end of the month. They are by no means inclusive to all potential workouts or movements you can do at home, but I hope they serve the purpose to give you a fresh take on simple ways you can try to stay fit while working from home.
Try these:
- Standard stretching, yoga positions, etc. for your back, hamstrings, neck, and spine
- Standard pushups and sit-ups — don’t strain your neck or back trying to get six-pack abs here, just try to stay fit
- Calf raises — stand on both feet or one, maintain your balance and lift your body weight by using only the front of your foot to lift your heel off the ground and isolate your calf muscles
- Shoulder press — I used water-filled gallon jugs for 2-min intervals, find anything worth lifting (safely) you can find around the house or apartment
- Chair dips — triceps — hold yourself up on a chair with your arms slightly behind your spine, sit up straight and extend feet out in front, dip your body slowly up and down directly in front of the chair
- Squats — legs, glutes, hamstrings, quads, add weights like gallon jugs if you want — need help with proper form, check out this article by Christie Aschwanden
- Arm circles — shoulders, deltoids
- Folding laundry — I never used to fold laundry, but I needed something to freshen up my normal routine, do what you can to fold laundry in front of your body without using tables, chairs or any help, using your arms and shoulder muscles by folding in the air
- Run in place — cardio, legs, arms
- Yoga or Exercise Ball — if you have one of these you can pretty much work out any part of your body,
- Build your abdominal core with sit-ups, crunches, ab twists
- Strengthen arms and shoulders by placing your feet on top of the exercise ball while performing pushups, this helps build shoulder support as well
- Stretch out those hamstrings by lying flat on your back on the floor, placing feet on the exercise ball and try to lift your butt and back off the ground while pushing down on the ball with your legs and maintaining your balance
- Touch your toes — lean down to touch toes and stretch your back, or kick up your feet in front and behind you to do a toe-touch
- Lunge down the hallway or to the bathroom and back if you want another way to work on your lower body support, legs, hips, glutes
- Mountain Climbers: hands and toes on the floor, facing down, bringing knees to chest like you were a bear climbing a mountain on all fours, repeat motion while isolating your abdominal core
Side note: if you do have the chance to get outdoors enjoy the chance to go for a relaxing walk, brisk jog, or full-on run, whichever would fuel your spirits as you push through your new life working from home. I found that for me, taking a brief break to go for a solo jog did a lot to improve my mood and boost my motivation and energy when going back to my work later.
Bonus Tip: utilize your normal workout music, playlists or podcasts when exercising at home to help make things feel a bit more normal.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re enjoying yourself and the space that you find yourself in. A series of simple movements can go a long way to help you stay fit. Let me know what workouts you’re using while working from home.
Enjoy each breath you take, at home or away.
To Your Health and Happiness,
Your health is yours for the making and yours for the taking. I’m here to help you navigate the nuances of nutrition and health on a daily basis. We live busy lives that change each day. I take the approach to empower others with the freedom to ZigZag their way to live a happier and healthier life.
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