Sitting is deadly. Exercise is time-consuming. Here’s how to get enough exercise while working from home
Sitting at your desk all day is bad for your health. The research is pretty conclusive about this. And if you do it, you know it in your bones. According to a study done by Yale Medicine, prolonged sitting at a desk job can cause weight gain, vascular problems, heart disease, and skeletal problems. But, if you work from home, you probably don’t need Yale to tell you this.
The solution is to get up and move more. And that, as we all know — as you also fight deadlines, focus challenges, and a work culture that asks for our attention 24/7 — is easier to say than it is to do. I have been doing this WFH thing for decades.
Here’s how to stay fit and get enough exercise while working from home.
Put a VR gym in your living room
I just canceled my gym membership and all my other app subscriptions because this VR workout is the most fun, most convenient way to get plenty of exercise while working from home I’ve ever found.
I wear a fitness tracker. It agrees. Since I ponied up for a Meta Quest 3 headset and subscribed to Supernatural, I have smashed through all the fitness goals I once struggled to meet — all in quick, timed breaks that also boost my mood and ability to focus.
Why? It’s insanely fun to travel the world in VR to work out in gorgeous remote locations. The gameplay is so excellent that I long to go back in and do some more. And the workout is as intense — boxing, stretching, flow, or meditation — as I want it to be.
I will write a more in-depth review soon. For now, the TLDR is this:
- Get the Meta Quest 3 ($499). I say this for many technical reasons. (I did a lot of research.) But also because it’s light enough to work out in.
- Then take Supernatural ($9 a month) for a spin. There is a free trial. There are other workouts available in the Meta Quest universe but this one is amazing.
Wear a fitness tracker
It’s good to have goals and accountability, especially if you are working fitness into a workday in small increments. I cannot emphasize this enough: Wear a fitness tracker. It will give you the data and goals you need to get enough exercise while working from home, even when your phone is sitting on your desk.
Fitbit has recently been taken over by Google and the latest Charge 6 is a terrific deal, with many of the features of a smartwatch in a small, wearable package that gets a battery life that is closer to a week than a day. Any fitness tracker will work here.
If money is tight, strap on this inexpensive version from Amazfit ($28). I haven’t tried it but the 16,000 five-star reviews are encouraging.
Use a scale so you know the truth
What gets measured gets solved. And this Bluetooth smart scale ($25) from Renpho is a great place to stand every day to make sure you are staying within your limits, hitting your goals, or at least know where the needle is, right now.
It’s a lot easier to recover from a lapse if it’s a short one. This scale is small, collects lots of data, and lets you see your progress in an app. The app even makes a special sound if you gain or lose weight, which is fun. (You can choose the sound.)
Get a standing desk
A standing desk isn’t the one-stop fix that people would like it to be. But it does make it possible to stand for calls — even video ones — alternate between standing and sitting and bring a bit more movement into your work day.
And that can do wonders for all the ills that sitting brings to your health. It does require some discipline and habits to make it work.
I love my Flexispot standing desk ($220) and often alternate between sitting and standing all day long.
It has three presets so that going from sitting to standing requires nothing more than pushing one button and standing up.
Use a timer to trigger movement
Have you tried the Pomodoro method? This is where you work in bursts of 20 or 30 minutes, then take a short break. (I like doing 20 minutes with a five-minute break.)
It can be a very effective way to be highly productive. And if you do some exercise on the breaks, you will find it easy to stay fit while working from home.
It’s important to use a timer for your sprints and breaks.
I rely on the mooas Multi Cube Timer ($19), which is a low-tech cube that sits on my desk. I flip it from 20 to 5 all day long. It keeps the urge to disappear into some online rabbit hole or social media to a minimum — because you get a break every 20 minutes. And, even with all those breaks, I get more done than when I don’t use this tool and method.
Get accessories for your standing desk
Standing is still pretty sedentary so you have to find a way to work movement into it.
A treadmill paired with a standing desk is the dream. (See below.)
But if you aren’t ready to spring for a treadmill, this balance board ($50) adds movement, works small muscles in your legs and feet, improves balance, and takes a lot of the fatigue out of standing.
Even if you get a treadmill later, you will probably still use this little guy for more focused work.
Put a treadmill under your desk
An under-desk treadmill lets you exercise while you work, turning what was once sedentary into slightly active — a big upgrade.
I found the smallest treadmill available — with an incline because I walk slowly while I work — and put it under my desk. It is this Egofit Walker $399).
It. Was. Life. Changing
Instead of trying to work in some exercise after work, my workday is filled with steps. I stand and walk for 20 minutes, whenever I like, and it not only feels good to my body but also to my mind.
At the end of the day, I have more energy because I haven’t been sitting for hours, hankering to move.
It fits under my standing desk and isn’t in the way at all.
Subscribe to a fitness app
Instead of taking a short break to shop online or chat on the phone — or snack — grab your phone, pull up the AloMoves app, and do a ten-minute yoga class. If you do that three times a day, that’s a thirty-minute workout before you knock off work.
All you need for this is a subscription (here’s a free 30-day trial to get you started), some comfy clothes, and a yoga mat. You can even skip the yoga mat if that’s not available. Find a rug or fold a blanket in half.
Keep a jump rope in your desk drawer
Five minutes of jumping rope will take your heart into that zone you need to go to get an intense level of workout. This weighted ropeless speed rope ($13) won’t break anything because you aren’t attempting to fling a rope around the living room. You just get the feeling of doing that. You can also get right to it instead of learning how to jump rope without whipping your shins every few minutes.
Or try this RENPHO Smart Jump Rope ($18) that will track your effort and goals on your phone, which, being a geek, I love.
Hang a TRX suspension trainer nearby
If you hang one of these TRX Go suspension training systems ($138) from a ceiling or door, doing some quick strength training is something you can easily fit into one of those five-minute breaks.
It’s fun to do a few flies or mountain climbers on them and you don’t have to find time to get to the gym.
Sign up for the TRX Training app, just for a month, to get some instructions. It’s super easy and very effective.
Keep some resistance bands in play
If a TRX is too rich for your blood, hang a resistance band from a door or within easy reach, so you can do some quick weight exercises during a five-minute break or while thinking about your next task.
This set of long bands that come with a door anchor ($29) will let you do just about any exercise you can imagine in a small space. If these are new to you, start with an online class or check out these 30 resistance band exercises for your entire body.
Take meetings on the hoof
If possible, take your calls for a walk or make meetings a walking event. Anything you can do to break up the sitting is a win. And that’s true for everyone, not just you. If you suggest it, you might find people are grateful. Everyone wants to stay fit while working from home!
Keep a pair of wireless headphones handy so you can grab your phone and go for a walk anytime the phone rings. This over-ear pair ($40) is affordable, sounds great, and has a long battery life. It won’t fall out of your ears while you are chatting, either.
Turn your lunch break into a workout
You can probably eat at your desk, right? So instead of sitting down again to eat your lunch, use that time to go for a walk or do a yoga class. And eat while you work.
Keep some handy lunch containers — like this durable and easy-to-wash bento box ($23) — on hand so you can make lunch in advance to expedite this.
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