Exercise When You Work From Home
With more people working remotely and setting up home offices, the lines between work and home life are blurring. According to data from Commercial News and Business Channel (CNBC), 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely by 2025. This can be good and bad in different ways. For a lot of people, working at home leads to a more sedentary lifestyle and longer hours.
To combat this, one option is to figure out the exercises employees can do while working from home––which is to say, without taking a long break from work, going to the gym, participating in a class, or playing a sport on a court. It may sound difficult, but it is possible. Here are five ways to exercise when you work from home:
1. Stationary Exercises Machines
An easy way to get a home workout done is by investing in a stationary exercise machine. There are many types available, like a treadmill, elliptical or a bike. Treadmills are great because you can walk, jog, or run at your own pace regardless of your level of fitness. Elliptical machines allow you to get a good whole body workout with steady-state cardio. Bikes are great leg workouts and you can adjust the speed as well as the terrain you want.
2. Yoga To Work
There are many reasons yoga has gained popularity with remote working Americans. For one, it’s free for beginners to start! All you need is your mobile phone or tablet so you can download some apps or search on YouTube. Another reason is, the equipment is minimal – you’ll need a yoga mat, and maybe a yoga block and pillow too. Our previous article on Yoga: A Happy and Healthy Lifestyle covered several benefits from doing yoga, such as relaxing the mind, improving sleep and reducing stress. The easy convenience combined with multiple health benefits makes this an ideal home workout for many people.
3. Desk Exercises
For those who are way too busy to even prepare for a home workout, don’t worry – there are still some options for you! A Gala Bingo blog post rounded up some helpful suggestions for desk-appropriate exercises, and you might be surprised how helpful some of them can be! From the same location where you sit during working hours, you can do seated leg raises or abdominal crunches. Desk exercises are great because you don’t even have to stand up – you can exercise right from where you sit!
4. HIIT Workout
In an article, Insider points out that high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, workouts are an effective way to exercise at home. This exercise program is for those who want to seriously sweat. HIIT exercises are a great cardio routine that burns lots of fat. They are high impact yet they only need a short amount of time, thus perfect for those who have short break times between work shifts. Some examples of HIIT exercises are burpees, lunge jumps, and mountain climbers, to name a few.
5. Zumba Fitness
If you want an engaging aerobic exercise routine that requires jumping and dancing, then Zumba is for you! Zumba fitness programs are excellent cardio workouts and include core strengthening, high and low-intensity intervals and some even incorporate weights. You simply follow the instructor, move to the rhythm and enjoy a dancing exercise program. Getting our work done is important, but so is taking care of our health. Scheduling some time each day to exercise will keep your body moving and keep your mind rejuvenated, ready to face the daily stresses of working from home.
