Despite having our gym memberships on hold there’s no better time to double down on our health and fitness goals. Though motivation may be hard to find, keeping our mind and body strong means getting passionate about moving our bodies whenever possible. Moving your body daily can provide great benefits physically and mentally.
This means sneaking 5 to 10 minutes of physical activity between bouts of online meetings or turning your coffee run into an actual run. There are tons of fun ways to get in a great workout throughout your at-home workday.
PUSH-UPS FOR BREAKFAST
With travelling time eliminated and work attire being pyjamas with a formal top, you can make the most of your freed-up time by kickstarting your day with the 100 push-ups challenge to get your entire upper body fired up and boost your mental acuity for the day ahead.
Whether you’re waiting for your toast to pop or for your coffee to brew, try doing 100 push-ups within a 10-minute span. It may seem daunting at first, so start with 10 push-ups per minute and work up from there.
ACTIVE ONLINE MEETING BREAKS
Before, after or during an extra-long meeting, make time for an active break. Every 25 minutes, try to take 5 minutes to engage the body or every 50 minutes take 10 minutes to do mindful movements like light stretches, a 30- to 60-second plank or a wall squat. Should you find yourself in back-to-back meetings, set aside at least a minute between calls to cycle in some quick cardio with exercises like jumping jacks, burpees, or simply running on the spot.
AWAY STATUS EXERCISES
Having a dedicated work setup is essential for productivity. Add the same intention towards the surrounding space so you can move away from your workstation to add in fun exercises such as walking lunges or hand walkouts. Feeling daring? Practice wall handstands – they’re great for engaging the back and shoulders to fend off postural fatigue from extended periods of sitting at your desk.
DAILY RECAP WORKOUT
Make the most of your final hour at work by squeezing in a quick high-intensity interval training (HITT) workout. HITT provides the benefit of a cardio and strength workout. It’s also a great way to finish the day strong so you can relax and enjoy your personal time.
Each exercise is done for 2 minutes regardless of your level of fitness for a total of 14 minutes per cycle. You can take rest periods, but you should feel short of breath while doing these exercises. If you have a heart rate monitor, then you can aim to be at 70%–80% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). Try to sneak in at least one cycle at the end of the day or try doing this up to four times!
- Running on the spot – Great all-around cardio conditioning movement.
- Plank – Core strengthening and a solid primer for the chest and back muscles.
- Push-ups – A fundamental movement that is also a great baseline exercise for upper body strength.
- Squats – Lower body movement that serves as a litmus test for lower body strength and mobility.
- Wall walks/stands – A gymnastic based exercise that is amazing for shoulder strength and stability
- Prone back extensions – An essential core movement for the posterior chain and specifically the back extensors.
- Plank up downs – Target the triceps, shoulders, and chest muscles all while keeping the core engaged.
This year, try to frame your health and fitness goals around simply moving well and feeling great. It may be a broad approach but like most productive habits we tend to stick to, if it makes you happy, that’s all that matters.