4 Lunch Break Exercises You Can Try in Between Working from Home to Keep Healthy
Although many of us have been working from home for a while, you may still be struggling with fitting in exercise into your schedule. The Coronavirus has impacted all of our lives as we adapt to new lifestyles and change the routines we’ve been used to for so long. Working from home has been one of these changes that we’ve had to make and whilst it’s been a seamless transition for some of us, for others it might have been a bit of a struggle to get used to.
Many of us would have fitted exercise around our working routines, either heading to the gym before or after our shift. Now, we’re having to adapt to exercising at home with many gyms either closed or us still feeling uncomfortable with the thought of returning to the gym with the fear of the virus spreading.
One way you can ensure you keep fit at home and not use up too much time in your general schedule is through lunchtime exercises. These are quick, yet effective exercises that make it easy to incorporate exercise in your daily routine.
Push-ups
To start off with a relatively simple and easy exercise, push-ups are considered a universal exercise to help improve the strength of your upper body muscles. A great benefit is that it’s relatively quick and can be performed practically anywhere in the house, so it’s extremely convenient when you have a little spare time in your day during your working hours.
To perform the exercise, you need to place your hands on the floor and have your body in a planking position. With your whole body elevated in the air, use your arms to gradually lower yourself towards the floor getting as close as possible without touching it. Then, lift yourself back up again and continue to this up and down motion throughout the workout. How many you do depends on the number of repetitions that you can perform.
2. Lunges
Focusing more on the lower body, lunges aim to work out your legs and bum in particular. It can be more effective when performed with free weights, but they aren’t necessary which makes this a perfect exercise to perform at home during your lunchtime. Just be wary that if you sit at a desk all day, this can cause real stress on your leg muscles so be sure to stretch!
In order to perform lunges, you’re required to place one flat foot stretched out in front of your other leg, which will be bent. The other leg remains stretched behind you so you can feel the muscles working in your back leg. Then, switch legs to perform it on the other side and continue this throughout your set, keeping the same form as the first rep.
3. Squats
Another potential gruelling exercise are squats. This exercise focuses more on the lower body again and may require you to give yourself more time to rest and stretch as it can cause cramping if you’re regularly sitting at a desk or sitting on a chair whilst you work from home.
To perform a squat, think of it as sitting on a chair but in the air. Keep your chest lifted with your back arched relatively straight and your legs shoulder width apart. Then, in a squatting position, bend your knees up and down to lower and lift yourself up, keeping your knees above your ankles in the process before returning back to a standing position.
It’s a gruelling yet simple exercise to do and you’ll be sure to feel the burn in your legs and glutes after it! It can also be a great exercise for getting your bottom in great shape!
4. Planks
Looking for a more efficient way to make the most of your lunch break? Perhaps you want an exercise that works out more than just one part of your body. In that case, planks may just be the exercise for you. Just be warned that this can be an extremely testing exercise, so make sure you have enough time to rest and stretch shortly after.
A plank requires you to engage the whole body in a hold-up position that uses your forearms. If you feel it’ll be more comfortable, you can also use your hands to keep you held up. The main aim is to hold this position for as long as possible, and gradually you’d want to increase this time to really test your stamina and strength.
Final takeaways
Just because you’re working from home and gyms are restricted with the number of people they let in, looking after your physical and mental health is important during these difficult times and you shouldn’t let this stop you from performing exercises at home. The exercises above can’t be extremely efficient and effective to perform whilst you still work from home. We would love to have you back in our @home classes. Learn more about our virtual studio.
On top of this, it’s still important that you look after other aspects of your routine too. Be sure to consume a healthy well-balanced diet, utilizing opportunities to socialize with family and generally looking after your health. In doing so, you’ll be feeling far more active with your routine and general lifestyle.