How to keep moving when working from home
I’m typing this after my sunday morning run.
YES, you read that right! SUNDAY-MORNING-RUN. And I know what you’re thinking, which was excacly what I was thinking: That’s crazy, WHO on EARTH would gor for a RUN on a freaking sunday morning?
It’s the best time of the week, when we all enjoy those leisurely mornings in bed, with some netflix, or a lover and a croissant, or I dunno, maybe even some wine to kill a hangover. Whatever you prefer, as long as it doesn’t involve jumping around in your leggings. But I’m hooked and here’s how I went from working out occasionally (read almost never) to a daily 30 minute daily excersice routine and I’ve never felt better.
*pssst…. if you read all the way down to the bottom, I have a little present voor you*
After a few months of working from home I felt like I turned into a little cute couchpotato
And it didn’t feel good.
I used to work in an office, and even though I also spent most days on a chair, there was also a good amount of grabbing coffees, running around to catch meetings and walking up to colleagues for a chat. All in all, I got at least 6000 steps into my day just from moving around the office.
But since covid lockdowns hit and I started working from home, I only get 1000 steps in. And that’s on them better days. I live in a small appartment, and it’s about 3 steps to the bathroom and 5 to the kitchen. Meetings can be done right from my desk and there’s no one around to go and annoy.
Well that ain’t good, and science agrees with me
We all know the basics right? Exercising regularly can help with weight loss, is good for your muscles and your bones, can improve sleep and makes you healthier and happier overall.
But I’ve recently learned that moving your body for 30 minutes a day reduces the chances of Altzheimer disease. And having a mind that doesn’t even remember my own birthday half of the time, that’s kinda scary. So I had to make some changes that would be sustainable (read: possible for a non-active kinda girl) and I came up with a plan for my jam.
Step one: Move 30 minutes everyday and start small.
Now, we want to move 30 minutes a day. But hitting the gym (or your home/backyard, thankyou covid) daily can be quite a task so let’s start small shall we? I started with going for a walk every day, for, you got that right, 30 minutes. And I’m not talking about some leisurely stroll, make sure it’s a brisk one.
This will get both your body and your mind will used to moving daily. I personally did this early in the morning, before I start to work. This helps resetting the cascadian rythm (early sunshine kinda wakes you up) AND made me feel all refreshed by the time I switched on the computer. But you can do this whenever, it’s your day. But please, just try it for two weeks. I can asure you, you will feel so much better.
Step two: Add up
Walking is fine, but it doesnt really turn a couchpotato into a badass now does it? 😄
It doesn’t really matter what type of excercise you choose, as long as you have a goal and a plan. I went for resistance training (read weights) because I noticed that whenever I did those, my back and shoulders would actually hurt less often. Better posture and all that stuff. Plus, I always wanted to start running but my knees would always hurt. So I figured; if I strengthen my legs running might be an option.
I’ve put in a leg training on wednesdays and a core and arms training on friday. Both 30 mins, and I skipped the walking for those days. If you choose to join me, please make sure what you’re doing. Get a personal coach or a proper workout plan and make sure you know how to properly perform the excersices. And don’t forget about warming ups and cooling downs.
Nobody wants you to get hurt because you went and read some blog somewhere.
Step two: Gimme some more
You think you’re ready now? HA! Think again.
But only If you are used to the previous step. If you start from zero adding too much exercise too quickly might burn you out real quick. It took me a couple of weeks to get my energylevel back to the way it was. I just wanted to sleep and chill all the time 😅
I picked up running once a week, with a group which I highly recommend. They’re usually not that expensive and if the teacher’s any good they will give you plenty of tips and directions. And yes, this is where I went crazy and started to run on a sunday morning at 9AM. Because, well, that was the time of the class. And you know what? It’s amazing!
By the time you get home it’s still morning but you’ve done this big thing already, which means you can chill the rest of the day because of it. And if you’re so lucky it’s someone’s birthday, even better! Cake tastes SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good after a run.
Step three: Yes, there’s a step 3, sorry not sorry
Ok last step, pinky promise. But I’ll make it a double one.
I stayed at step two for a couple of months. Yes months. Right up until the moment I felt like going for a run again. Yes, another one. I promiss it really does get easier. And it still feels amazing.
But all this running makes your muscles grow short and stiff. So guess what we’re going to add on saturday? Some yoga 😊 I love my saturday morning yoga routine. It’s just relaxed enough to start the weekend and still be able to run my errands. Plus, it lengthens your muscles, strengthens your body and it just chills me the heck out. Even when my saturdays are jampacked, I never feel like skipping this one.
Nowadays my routine looks like this:
Monday: 30min Walk
Tuesday: 35min Legs training
Wednesday: 30min Walk
Thursday: 4,5K run, about 30min
Friday: 20min Abs&Arms training
Saturda: 30min Yoga
Sunday: 6K run, about 45 min
Makes me look like a fitgirl right? But I ain’t. Not really.
I just learned that the more you move, the better you feel. And the better you feel the more you actually want to move. It’s like a magic spiral going up, leaving you feeling energized, stronger and way more confident. Yes, turns out gaining strenght is a big confidence booster.
As you might have noticed I’m not super strict about the 30 minutes anymore. Some days are longer, some a bit shorter. I’m just trying to get as much in as possible and still have a life.
Need some help with planning?
If you want to put together your own workout plan, I’ve created a Health & Fitness Planner for you. It includes a weekly workout planner, a meal planner and a habit tracker, all printable and on A4 size.
*Unfortunatly this planner freebie is no longer available. If you want to get receive all my freebies sign up for my newsletter on my homepage.