How to Stay Fit While Working From Home

Jan Willem working from home 2

During these quarantine times, for most of us there is no more cycling from home to the office, no more walks in the neighbourhood or the next train station, no more walks during lunch, and so on. Especially for those who already work in an office and do not get a lot of exercise, the times are challenging when it comes to staying fit. What can you do to stay fit while being quarantined or working from home?

stay fit at home while working
Working from home doesn’t mean you can’t stay fit

Staying Fit At Home

Sitting around all day has the same negative effects on your body as smoking. So, why not start by changing the way you sit. Honestly, it is possible. Instead of sitting on your comfy desk chair, sit on a fitness ball. That will keep your muscles active. Sitting in a normal chair will make you largely inactive and makes your blood flow to your feet. Sitting on a fitness ball, will make you fidget and adjust your body position all the time. That way, you keep moving. And after a few minutes of getting used to it, you will not feel uneasy or uncomfortable anymore. Try it. It really works! (You can find a link to some good fitness balls at the bottom of this article.)

Simple Exercices for Everyone

If you don’t have a fitness ball at home, you can do a lot of simple and easy exercises to stay fit and active. Here are some you can do.

Squats

Do ten squats every time before you sit down at your desk. You can even use your chaire for this exercise. Start squatting until you hit the chair and then come back up again. If your legs are strong enough, you can even try this on one leg.

Push-ups

Another simple exercise you can do at your desk is push-ups. You can make this part of your daily routine. Do ten push-ups before you sit down at your desk, even after short breaks. Alternatively, you can do 10 to 30 push ups every morning after you get up and increase the number every single day. By the end of your quarantine, you may be able to do more than ever before.

Push ups are one exercise that will help you stay fit while working from home
Push ups are easy to do at home

Calf raise

You have stairs in your home? Or staircases in your apartment building? Stairs are very easy to use for training your calves. Stand on your toes on the lowest staircase. Stand up straight, then push through the balls of your feet and raise your heel until you are standing on your toes. Then lower slowly back to the start and repeat. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Lunges

Lunges are another easy-to-do exercice at home. This is how you do it:

  • Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
  • Take a big step forward with right leg. Start to shift your weight forward so heel hits the floor first.
  • Lower your body until right thigh is parallel to the floor and right shin is vertical. It’s okay if your knee shifts forward a little as long as it doesn’t go past the right toe.
  • Press into right heel to drive back up to starting position.
  • Repeat 10 times and do the same on the other side

Full Workout to Stay Fit at Home

If you are ready for a full home workout, then there is a lot you can do even without any dumbells or other equipment. Of course, having some equipment may give you more training possibilities, but it is not essential. My gym has been closed for about 3 weeks now. And it looks like it will remain closed for another 4 weeks. I can still go out for walks and running. But nothing else. So, I have started exercising at home on my simple exercise mat.

The Best Home Work Out Video’s

I found the absolute best home workout video’s on Instagram to help me stay fit while working from home. The posts are excellent. Images, video’s showing you how to perform exercises and easy to use instrutions in the caption. Click on the image or go directly to my favourite fitness account on Instagram. I am absolutely sure you will love these home workouts just as much as I do.

Workout video's on instagram can help you stay fit while working from home
Stay fit at home with the best home workout video’s on Instagram

Stay Fit at Home and on the Road

So, staying at home doesn’t mean you cannot stay fit. It can be hard to fine time to exercise, though. If that is a problem for you too, than read here how to find time to exercise.

The exericse suggestions above can be done when travelling too. It can be hard to stay fit while on vacation. But all the exercises in this article are easy to do whenever you travel too. Want to start planning your next trip now that you’re at home? Find some travel inspiration right here.

If you want to know more about exercising at home or would like to have some home workout equipment, check out this calisthenics website for the best home exercises and tools you can get.