COVID forced a lot of change into our lives. One change that impacted us was working from home, for better or for worse. I was working from home for almost a year before the pandemic hit, so I am more than familiar with the long periods of sitting and blending the worlds of work and home. It may be hard to find time to stay active while working from home, but it is crucial for your health because as they say, "Sitting is the new smoking!"
Here are a few tips I use during the day to stay active and limit the time I stay sedentary!
First up, we have our chair. Most people have a standard office chair, hopefully one with good support. If not, you should definitely invest in a good chair. This one is a pretty decent price with some support if you are looking for a chair on a budget - FurMax Office Chair from Amazon.
The next step would be what I sit on all day, which is an exercise ball! Now if you haven't used one before it would be good to just try a few hours a day and work your way up to a full work day. This way you can get some small movement throughout the day engaging the core, low back, and work on your posture. Check out this exercise ball from Amazon to start using as your office "chair!" Pick a size that works best for your height!
So we have the chair part out of the way. Now let's tackle small ways to stay active while getting all your work done!
One thing I love is my apple watch that tells me to get up and get some steps in every hour! I have an old version series 3 there are still a few on Amazon that are refurbished that are a pretty good deal, and it works great for my needs! Other options for fitness watches are the FitBit Versa , Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 , or the Amazon Halo .
Speaking of the movement reminder, if I haven't done enough movement in each hour, my watch helps me by giving me a reminder. When I get that reminder, I usually get up and refill my water bottle or get up and play with my dog for a few minutes. If I am in a meeting I might just go off camera for a few minutes and jog in place or walk a few laps around the room. This may seem pointless but it's good to get movement throughout the day, even the smallest bit can make a big difference.
Another thing I do is take a walk with my dog 2 times a day! One short 5-10 minute walk in the morning after breakfast and one 15-20 minute walk after lunch. If you don't have a dog, you can take a walk with your kids, husband, or just by yourself with some music! I enjoy the time walking the most because I can listen to music, or call a family member and just take my mind and eyes off my work computer for a bit. These small breaks are very helpful for my own mental health. If walks aren't for you, maybe do some yoga, stretching, cleaning if you really like that, or whatever helps you feel calm and takes your mind away from work for a short period of time.
For myself, I tend to get really tight shoulders from working on a computer at a desk all day, so I have found an exercise I do at the start of each day to help strengthen my shoulders and it seems to help me reduce my shoulder tension. It's called a Resistance Band V-Raise
For this exercise I use THERABAND Resistance Tubing with Handles from Amazon that are really simple to use and they provide different resistance levels so you can choose what works for you!
For me, fitness is a top priority, so I love finding new ways to incorporate movement and exercise into my daily work-from-home life. Just because you work from a desk all day, doesn't mean you have to be less active - you just have to use your time wisely! I hope these small tips enable you to become happier and healthier while working from home as well!
Part 2 coming soon with more exercises and tips on how to stay active from your desk!