Keeping active :working from home

Training/Activity ideas for working at home


Unless you are able to leave home you are probably much less active than you are usually. In an average day at work you walk there and back go out for a walk at lunchtime. You may change rooms/buildings as well as any sports or activities. Non of this happens during home working. It is very easy to spend your whole time sitting and forget to do other things. If you include some activity in your plans it will help your concentration as well as keeping your energy levels high it will lift your mood. 


To prevent yourself being overcome with worry, it is important to structure your time so life still has a routine.

Why not write some lists of things you might try:
  • books to read, 
  • box sets to watch, 
  • exercise you like to do, 
  • Games to play
  • Recipes to try
  • New skills
  • friends who you don’t normally have time to talk to                                                 





Activities 

Download an interval app. It lets you set the time and number of reps. The free version of  12 minute athlete is good.
Aim for 5-10 minutes of high intensity activity with short reps 30-40 seconds and repeat with a five to ten second rest. You can do the same activity for each rep or alternate between 2 or 3 , I find choosing a few for cardio or toning and repeating each one twice works well. 


Example 
Rest interval 10 seconds
Workout interval 40 seconds
Number of rounds 6 
Total 5 minutes 

Select 3 exercises 
High knee running on the spot
Squats
Lunges
Repeat x2

Some ideas for using the interval app are:
Cardio 
Knee to opposite elbow
Foot to bottom 
High knees running on the spot/across the room and back
Feet stepping in and wide, squat to make it more difficult 
Jumping jacks 
Burpees
High knee pulls
Centre hops

Core/toning ideas
Planks
Side plank
Plank plus movement touch one hand to opposite shoulder or feet in and out. 
Squats
Lunges
Mountain climbers 

There are lots of good ideas for training online. Choose a coach who you like the style of. I tried several before I settled on a few I like. Most of the online resources give you options for length of workouts and range of exercise. This week we worked out with joe wicks on a seven days of sweat challenge. It was fun and energising. 

Some other ideas to try:

Skipping or hula hooping both great cardio. If you don’t have a skipping rope you can do a virtual skip imagining that you are holding the rope.This is much easier not to trip as you build up your jumps! Try building your time up. 

If you have stairs run up and down the stairs every hour or when you’re thinking about something. 

Have a competition with friends and colleagues, FaceTime at a set time for five minutes and see who can do the most reps for a minute or do a short routine together with the interval app.

Dance to a favourite song, dancing is fabulous exercise and can burn as many calories if not more than running for the same length of time. 

Remember to rest and get a good nights sleep every night. Studies are showing that sleeping for eight hours a night is one of the best ways of consolidating new facts into your long term memory and will keep your immune system in good shape. 

If nothing else stand up and sit back down every twenty minutes. The movement will help to keep your back mobile and enhance your concentration. 
All without leaving your desk for more than a few minutes.


 Need more ideas? Or want to suggest topics for other blogs? Give me a call 01315572211 or email me via 23eyreplace@btconnect.com or www.eyreplaceosteopath.co.uk 

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