14.10.2020
STAYING ACTIVE WHILST WORKING FROM HOME
For many of us working from home has inevitably meant a drop in activity levels throughout the day. Trips out of the office for coffee, meetings and lunch or even walking around on your office floor to have a gossip with your colleague all add up throughout the day. By the end of the day and week this could make a big difference in terms of step count and energy expenditure (calories burned through movement) not to mention the feeling of lethargy.
Here are 9 tips to increase activity throughout your WFH day, which should also help with energy levels and productivity:
1. Do a pretend commute to your work space at home by leaving the house and going for a 10-15 minute walk before starting work.
2. Go for a brisk walk after lunch which will also help aid digestion and avoid the mid afternoon post lunch coma.
3. Try and take calls whilst on the move – either walk around your home or even better outside (airpods are great for crystal clear handsfree phone calls)
4. Try and get out of your chair every 20-30 minutes. Metabolism is thought to drop by up to 90% after 30 minutes of continual sitting.
5. Stretch regularly throughout the day. Aim for a pair of 10 second stretches every time you get out of your chair (which should ideally be every 20-30 minutes ;))
6. Have an exercise that you must do when leaving your work space for either the toilet or food/drink – I have a pull up bar on my office door, and a Kettlebell by my desk. I do five pull ups or 10 kettlebell swings when I leave the office. Squats, press-ups or Burpees are good too and require no equipment. Maybe make sure zoom is off for this.
7. Try and break up your day with a small workout, mobility or yoga routine. Before lunch is great or mid-afternoon when we all tend to feel a little tired.
8. Lost focus / falling asleep? Shoot for 3 sets of 10 reps of an exercise(s). Some ideas include squats, burpees, press ups or jumping jacks. The key here is just to get the blood flowing.
9. Maintain good posture when you are sat or standing at your desk. Engage your core, and don’t sit back on your hips !
