Stay fit as a time-poor remote worker
So, three years into remote work triggered by the pandemic. I've easily adjusted to the new normal & found a way to be as productive as I was in an office environment. I visit my colleagues IRL once every few months. But the one thing I cannot reconcile is keeping fit. I end up being sat or stood in a fairly static fashion for 6-8 hours per day on video calls. Pre-remote I was averaging around 9k steps per day, since remote that's dropped to < 4k. Going out for walks in the dark & rain at the end of the work day is not particularly fun. It's beginning to affect my health. Is anybody else having this? I've been contemplating a walking desk - any other suggestions? Space is limited.
I have found creating a fake commute is the only way to make it work. Basically I have a walk that I do that gets me 'to' and 'from' the office (a shed in the garden) - which adds up to just under 10k steps a day. I've actually got my colleagues on board and I regularly call into standup whilst on my 'commute'. I found early on that I wasn't very motivated to get out of bed 25 mins early so I have also started making essential chores part of the routine - getting the morning coffee or food for dinner en route. I also experimented with forfits where I would have to jog 2x the commute in the evening if I didn't do the morning, which I haven't actually had to do for some time.
I am in the same situation. It has caused me such deterioration in mind and body that my relationship has been affected, and we are in counseling now.
As a remote worker, I have decided to give up on walking - it takes up so much time that I conclude that is suitable exercise for rich people only. Furthermore, three months of the year here it is too hot to walk; six months, it is dark by the time I am freed enough from work to go walking; and trying to get a worthwhile walk in before work is too time-consuming and potentially sleep-depriving.
Therefore I have decided to go to our local gym, less than ten minutes' walk from where I live and work, 2-3 times a week, and to commit to hiring a trainer, because I will either achieve nothing alone or else I will injure myself.
It creeps up on you, the extent to which this isolated working life can run your body and mind down into the ground, until, as in my case, it even threatens the things you hold dearest.
Exercise is something you should set aside / make time for if you're doing computer work, it's not something that will happen passively. Treadmills are okay, but they're not a substitute for focused exercise.
Do sports; there's bound to be something around that vibes with you. Team sports might be a good motivator, or things like boxing / martial arts. If you prefer to be by yourself, walking/running/cycling are options if you can get over it being boring (get good rain gear and put on a podcast or audiobook if it's too boring for you). It'll be good for your mental health as well to do an activity outside of work entirely.
How much time did your commute use to take? Take that time to spend on yourself. And what else do you do in your spare time? See if you can combine that with exercise. I mean if you spend an hour watching netflix or whatever, you could get a static bike and put a tablet on there. Just make sure to get a sweat on, it should be an active activity that gets your heart rate way up.
I've never been more fit in my life, personally. Built a home gym and also have an indoor rower in my master bedroom that doubles as home office. I also go for walks pretty frequently, always for an hour or so in the morning as soon as I get up, and then usually again at night. If you don't like the dark, I don't know what to tell you. I live in North Texas, and if I try to walk in the middle of the day during a summer, it's going to be extremely hot.
You claim elsewhere that you only have 50 free minutes a day. That seems like the root of your problem. You need more than that. Were you alive in the 90s? Remember Bill Clinton going for very public runs every morning through DC? There is no good reason you should be more busy than the president. Health and fitness is either an important priority for you or it isn't. There are no hacks that allow you to do it without dedicating any time to it. You're going to get old and your body will degrade. That either matters to you or it doesn't, but if you find it doesn't now but does in 20 years and you did nothing to slow the process down, it's not going to get any easier.
Pushups, pullups/chinups, squats can be done in sets spread out through the day, can be done right next to the computer, and cost nothing.
Make time at least 3 days a week to go to a fitness facility. Whether walking, running, swimming, lifting, yoga, etc
Put this in your calendar and schedule everything else around it. It feels good to give your body the priority it deserves, and the endorphins give you a lift for the rest of your day.
What worked for me is signing up for a crossfit gym and try going there at least 3 times a week before work, at my gym they have classes at 7:00 which means I'll be home at 8:15 which is plenty of time to get ready for my first meeting at 9:00.
The beauty with crossfit is, that it offers a nice balance between strength training and HIIT. Also, if you're of weak mental resolve like me then Crossfit is doubly great because something about doing the same workout with a group of people is extremely motivating and makes it much easier to really push yourself.
If you have a crossfit gym within a 15 minute drive of your home then I would definitely seriously consider this!
You need to ring-fence a lunch break. I go running during my lunch breaks (1 hour split into ~40min running, ~20min shower and recovery), something I didn't do when I worked in an office full time and as a result I am fitter since WFH.
I personally decided the structure of a in person job was beneficial and went back to a in the office job twice a week rather then the full remote opportunity I was at. I need that framework to be mentally and physically fit.
HIIT[0] home workouts, you need zero to minimal equipment and room enough to wave all your limbs without hitting anything + room to lie down.
A co-worker has a walking mat (not a treadmill) they use during meetings and sometimes while working. Electric desk to stand-position and walk for the 30-50 minutes a meeting takes.
I personally got physiotherapist-recommended stretches for my joints I can do standing up while still just about keeping my head looking at the webcam if needed. For all other exercise needs I have a dog, he _has_ to go out during regular intervals or I'm either cleaning up stuff I don't want to or I need to replace broken furniture =)
Even playing with the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure[1] is surprisingly effective in short bursts - and the kids like watching me play it. You won't get 500lb deadlift swole from it, but it'll keep you in aerobic shape.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_traini...
[1] https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/ring-fit-adventure-s...
This may not be a popular opinion but...
.. going to the office everyday had some really tangible benefits a) we had a natural physical activity related to daily commute and more occasions to stay in town, do stuff there, meet people, enjoy city live, b) we had a clear time boundaries between work stuff and other stuff with the return commute working great to unroll any work-related thoughts and get back to home with any tensions left behind.
Start by doing light home workouts - body-weight or yoga, first thing in the morning, <30 minutes, 3 days a week. Doing it at home saves a lot of time and eliminates the possibility of not being able to go out. Doing it first thing in the morning (while not ideal for performance) prevents other things from eating your workout schedule or you being tired after a day of work.
Start very light and simple, especially if you don't have experience with working out. 10 minutes of just pushups and squats are perfectly fine to begin with. This way you won't get injured, over-trained or scared. You can progress with time towards a "real workout", but first you need to get used to a regular schedule and gather information.
For information I would start with https://exrx.net/ - It has a section for beginners.
Most importantly: just start tomorrow. Procrastinating in searching for the perfect start is real. Just do 10 pushups, create a habit.
I have 30 minutes in the minute for a "warm up circuit" kind of workout in the bedroom or living room before I start working.
I also have intermittent stretching / mobility peppered in during the day (thanks to my Apple Watch's "stand" thing) I end up practicing things like head stands, hand stands, etc. whenever it's "time to stand".
After 5pm I go lift or do whatever classes (from yoga to boxing) are available for 30m to 1-2 hours, depending on energy levels.
I've only started doing this since February since lockdowns were over, and it sounds like I'm a gym rat, but I'm more fit now than I've ever been before. If it comes down to "finish/push an update" or "go to the gym" I'll just pick the latter, then clean up the feature later that evening. Definitely not prioritizing whatever-feature for my gym time.
Cycle whenever you can an a gym bike (mine cost €200, is very quite and quite comfortable). It is very comfortable to participate in all kinds of meetings unless they demand you show your camera instead of your photo,* and quite comfortable for all kinds of reading. If your work includes a lot of these, consider buying a gel seat.
(I also made a kind of top desk on my bike for other tasks that involve typing and moving the mouse, but it wasn't comfortable at all and I quickly gave up.)
* my coworkers actually don't mind seeing me on my gym bike and they enjoy it, but I heard stories about people being offended by "lack of respect" so I'd advise to be prodent
Make time to be healthy. Go for a long walk at lunch when it is warmer out. Get a cheap rowing machine. Get a half squat rack. Work is not so important. Work a bit less and take a nice walk mid day. Block out some time on your calendar for it.
Few sets of heavy compound lifts would really help, doesn't have to take more than 30 minutes. Especially if you superset (multiple exercises simultaneously). E.g. squats and curls in between, bench and pistol squats...
Assuming that you don't want to get into any fun exercises / sports ( I do kayaking, cycling, hiking, climbing for instance), then you need to prioritise some kind of movement. Go out for a walk before work or at lunchtime, then it won't be dark and you get a proper break from sitting. If you're in a call where you are more listening than talking consider doing press ups/sit ups/kettlebell during the call once a day.
> any other suggestions?
You should train hard at least for 1 hour, at least 3x/week. Find a sport that you like and that trains the whole body (swimming, kickboxing, weight lifting etc). I've done all 3 in different periods and currently do weight-lifting (might resume kickoxing too).
Walking and counting steps is not training, is kinda like crawling or barely surviving. You should talk about walking & steps only when you're 80 or something.
Ultimately you need to block off time for you to take care of yourself. If you are a high achiever at work, there will always be some nagging issues that you feel like you have to deal with. That will NEVER go away no matter how accomplished you are. Block off your calendar for an hour each day to do some form of exercise.
Block out focus time in your calendar during the work day. Spend that time walking/running/cycling/doing push-ups/whatever. While you’re doing it, think about whatever problems you’re working on.
You’ll come back with way better ideas and solutions than you would have generated at your desk. You’ll have built up enough dopamine that you’ll be able to actually apply them effectively.
Wake up earlier in the morning and exercise BEFORE starting work. The moment you're out of bed do 30-60 minutes of running/HIIT/calisthenics and add some stretching at the end for a couple of minutes. It's good idea to do some light stretching throughout the day anyways especially if you're that sedentiary. Humans weren't built to sit on their ass for so long.
Not a remote worker, but I've been doing basic stretching and exercises at my desk to burn off my excess ADHD energy for a while. I've been a big fan of having some 10lbs dumbbells on my desk (For basic dumbbells moves) and an elevated device (really just 2 wooden 2 X 4s glued together) for stepping and elevated calf raises.
I’d dearly love to know what job you do that has you in 6-8 hours of video calls a day! That seems beyond extreme!
Hi fellow PM!
Sign up for one of the training apps (e.g. Apple Fitness+, Freelytics or similar) that offers shorter training sessions (10-20mins) that you can do with a simple floor mat.
Do it during lunch break before you have food.
Get it all set up so there's no effort to starting and try to make it part of your daily routine.
I managed with “cardio workouts” from some youtube channel Indo not recall, but there are hundreds nowadays, for free or paid. The important thing is to keep to a schedule (not necessarily the same “time” but the same “moment” -after a meeting, after two hours’ work…).
Good luck.
You can do the soleus pushup all day while sitting. Supposedly, it can fix your metabolism. Also, Supernatural or boxing like in Thrill of the Fight on a cheaper standalone VR headset may work for you. It's a surprisingly intense workout.
For cardio, beat saber.
WFH also perfect for strength programs, especially boring ass routines like Hepburn. When I had a rack next to my setup, I would be doing a 90% double every 20-30 minutes. But homegym lifestyle not for everyone.
I go on walks for 1:1s and 1-directional meetings. I average 9.5k steps per day.
I acknowledge some people would prefer the cameras stay on and exceptions can be made, but my health is more important than 99% of my meetings.
Join a gym. Free weights are cheap. Do some curls while you're on a call. Balance ball instead of a chair. Jumping jacks don't require equipment.
> I end up being sat or stood in a fairly static fashion for 6-8 hours per day on video calls.
Set aside some time for it as you would for lunch.
I have desk with treadmill. It is not attached. So I can use desk with normal chair as well. I'd recommend it.
Consider signing up to a gym near your place. Exercise should be scheduled just like you would schedule work.
Cycle instead of public transport/car
