Training in the office and at home
It is autumn, soon winter, and most people are back to their "normal" daily routines with work, school, leisure activities, social life, and exercise. For many, the latter can be challenging to fit in as often as desired due to limited time or other things that get in the way. Therefore, it can be a smart idea to combine work life and home life with exercise - so that you get in a bit of activity every day if you don’t have time to dedicate to it otherwise, which is incredibly important for good health.
During long days of sitting, posture can suffer, and to counteract this, we have compiled some simple exercises to counteract poor posture.
- Why exercise at the office
- Tips for exercising at the office
- Why exercise at home
- Tips for exercising at home
- Advice from a physiotherapist
Important to get some exercise every day
It is incredibly important to move a bit every day. You are recommended a minimum of 30 minutes of activity each day - and just half an hour is fundamentally a quite achievable time window that should make it possible to get a bit of activity in. The minimum thirty minutes can easily be achieved during the day at the office (when you don’t have so many tasks and meetings piling up) or at home. Here we have created a guide to exercising at the office and home with simple tips and exercises that you can do without necessarily needing much equipment.
Why exercise at the office?
At the office, you often sit very still for long periods. Workdays can vary, whether they feel heavy or light, there can be a lot or little to do and it can seem like you don’t have time to think about anything else but your work. For health reasons, it’s probably not good to sit still for too long and not get any movement, in addition to being bogged down by tasks. Therefore, it’s important to incorporate some sort of exercise at the office.
Moreover, you can risk getting injuries or pain in your muscles and joints from sitting too much. Therefore, exercising at the office is something you should be able to do, and can easily manage. We have created a guide on what kind of exercises you can do to prevent injuries, take a look here.
It might be wise to invest in a good pair of running shoes with good cushioning if you want to avoid muscle and joint pain from too much time at the office. A pair of good women’s running shoes that provide excellent support are Endorphin RX1 running shoes:
Tips for exercising at the office
First, it’s important to "prepare" your body for exercise; this can be done by stretching or moving around a bit. If you have some weights lying around at the office, that’s ideal, but it isn’t expected that you bring a lot of gym equipment into your workplace. With weights, you can easily do a bit of strength training while sitting in your office chair or if you are standing. If you don’t have any weights or dumbbells available, you can use heavier books or office supplies for resistance. You can take various exercises, either walk around with the weights or do some lifting or squats. Here we have created a guide to various strength exercises: The best strength exercises for the whole body.
Why exercise at home
What is beneficial is to find simple exercises that don't require much, since you are, after all, in the office and are limited in regards to time and space. Focus on simple muscle groups and find good and easy stretching exercises.
Here you can read about why you should stretch after exercising.
Yoga exercises from home - Beginner's guide.
It’s smart to get good yoga clothes that help you perform well while also being comfortable to wear. The great thing about yoga clothing is that you can both work out in them and use them as regular loungewear at home. Check out our guide for the best yoga clothes for women here.
A big favorite is the training set Softy Leggings and Softy Sports Bra as yoga clothing for women:
Ribbed and seamless activewear is a big favorite and provides good, breathable movement. Read more about the best yoga clothes for women here.
Tips for exercising at home
For exercising at home, you can use weights or dumbbells if you have them at home, and do various strength exercises. Deadlifts, squats, core exercises, and back exercises are examples of different sets you can do. Feel free to use some resistance bands when exercising at home or at the office, you can find the most elastic and durable resistance bands here:
We have also created a guide for exercises you can do with resistance bands, which is very ideal for home use: Resistance band exercises.
If you don’t have weights or dumbbells and you have children, you can also lift your kids; this is a fun activity that they also think is enjoyable and want to join in. Here you spend time with your kids while also getting some training - a win-win situation and definitely an advantage of training at home.
The keyword is simple, basic exercises. It should not be stressful or a big burden to exercise at home. Use what you have and make it work for you! Be creative and get active, that's the most important thing.
Advice from a physiotherapist
Some notes from a professional that can help prevent the risk of injuries related to working from home, or days when you sit a lot.
General Advice
- Vary your sitting position.
- Have support for your forearms.
- Take breaks often throughout the workday.
- Have a clear separation between work time and leisure time.
Advice on Sitting Position
- Sit in a chair where your feet can touch the floor.
- Most of your thighs should rest on the chair seat.
- The chair seat can be higher in the back than in the front, but not the other way around.
- About a fist's distance between the back of your knees and the chair seat is recommended to minimize the risk of swelling in your legs at the end of the day.