Working from home is a blessing but it can be determinantal to your physical fitness. This is because you don’t go out frequently and become homesick. However, staying physically active is very important not only for your body but for your brain as well. Having good physical health reduces stress and increases your productivity and energy for work. Exercising and paying attention to physical health seems like a challenge for remote workers. Here are the top tips for exercising that you can easily integrate into your daily life routine.
1. Walk and Talk
While working remotely, you spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer. So, to add a little movement to your routine, walk while you are talking to someone on phone. Make it a habit that whenever your phone will ring, you will answer it by standing up and walking around. This sitting up and down also leaves a positive impact on the body. Moreover, this little walk routine can lead to extra blood flow which is great for concentration on work along with better physical health.
2. Must Do Planks
Start your day by doing planks. Before you move towards your desk, it’s better to give your body a plank hold. It hardly takes 2-3 minutes and a little empty space to lay down. In this exercise, you don’t move much just stay at one position for 1-2 minutes depending on your plank hold.
A good way to practice planks is to lay down while facing the floor, and keep your legs, torso, and head in a straight and downward-sloping line by holding yourself up with the help of your forearms and toes. Stay in this position for 60 seconds, two minutes, or even more depending upon your capacity.
Before making the assumption that planking is tough, give it a try and you will surely find it effective for your whole body. Just remember the fact that there is a plank record of more than 8 hours. If someone can go this far then why can’t you do it for merely 2 minutes?
3. Leg Lifts While Sitting
This is a very interesting, simple, and effective exercise for remote workers. You can do leg lifts while sitting on your work desk. For this, you need to lift your legs up in a straight position and rest them in the air while imagining them on a stool. Hold them in this position for 10 seconds and then slowly return them to the floor. Repeat the same thing many times.
This exercise gets harder with each repetition but you know nothing comes for free. You need to smash yourself a little to gain physical strength and that’s what it brings for you. It’s effective for building leg strength and this strength is very important for remote workers who spend half of the day sitting.
If you see this too easy then make it challenging for you by keeping weight on your ankle and try lifting your legs up.
4. Breaks Are Important
When you work in an office it’s easy to take a break since people will know that you will come by later so they can discuss things with you when you are back. However, this is not the case while working remotely. It seems quite hard to have guilt-free breaks since remote workers are really concerned about the other side. They feel their unavailability may leave a bad impression on the other side that they are not serious about their work. Have an informed break for lunch and coffee so that the other side knows you are unavailable for an obvious reason. Then enjoy those breaks while walking around your home and putting off the stress of sitting in one place.
5. Jogging On The Spot
We can’t neglect the effectiveness of cardio activities since this vigorous activity increases your blood flow in the body helping you to stay focused and energetic. Now the idea is you can do cardio at your desk as well. All you need to do is stand up and start jogging for at least 60 seconds without a break. Make sure you lift your knees as high as possible to make this exercise fully effective.
This is something you can integrate into your break time as well. This exercise will fuel you for the next work session.
6. Stay Hydrated
Last but not the least, drink plenty of water or at least eight glasses of water a day. It’s very easy to remember and follow along with your remote work. Even your body needs more fluid a day since men need 15.5 cups a day while women need 11.5 cups a day. This fluid requirement doesn’t necessarily require you to drink water only. You can add milk, juice, tea and other watery fruits like watermelon to reach the daily hydration goals. Keep a water bottle at your desk so you remember drinking it throughout your work.
Working remotely comes with a few challenges and staying fit is probably the biggest one. Only a healthy body can perform excellently and make sure you don’t neglect your body just for the sake of work. There must be a good work-life balance so your body also gets the energy and strength it needs to work.
