Staying Fit While Working From Home

Nearly everywhere I look in the fitness blogging community, I see posts about how to stay fit while working a 9-5 job, including a recent trend in articles entitled “Sitting is the New Smoking”–which detail how spending hours sitting a day is terrible for your health–even if your otherwise an active person. And those are great–certainly, when I’m working in an office I keep the tips frequently offered in them in consideration–I get up and walk around often, I drink lots of water, and I stand when I can.  While I was I could incorporate a standing desk while at work, it just isn’t a likely possibility in the tiny office in which I work.  However, it could be something I’m considering factoring into my days spent working at home as a freelancer/blogger.

If you’re anything like me, blogging and freelancing from home isn’t a normal 9 to 5. Instead, you spend your time doing other things interspersed with work–doing the dishes, laundry, watching  television. Not only because you’re at home and it’s convenient–but because sometimes interviews and other freelancing activities occasionally need to happen at odd times of the day. Not to mention–sometimes it’s just nice to sleep in a little later. If you can even afford a gym membership (I can’t)–it can be tough to find time in your day to get to one during your busy day. But don’t worry–there are still plenty of ways to get in some exercise and stay fit even if you’re spending the majority of your time in your home.

Here are some of the tips that I’ve found useful when staying fit and active while I work from home:

1. Get 8 hours of sleep: Sleep makes a world of difference when it comes to being healthy and fit. Even if you can’t manage to sleep like a normal person, try and schedule at least 8 hours a night.

2. Drink Plenty of Water:  Water is more essential to your health than you might think. I like to always keep a glass of water or a water bottle with me at all times. About.com has a great calculator for how much you should be drinking. There’s also a great app called Plant Nanny that grows a plant more and more for each cup of water you drink (and if you don’t drink water–it dies). If you’re like me–your a coffee addict and find yourself drinking a lot of coffee–try drinking a cup of water for each cup of coffee you drink. I also try to make it a rule to drink a cup of water before my first cup of coffee and before every cup of coffee to keep a good balance.

3. Get up and Walk Around: Just like you would in the office, get up and walk around every hour for 5-1o minutes. Go outside. Walk around the block. Take a break. Your brain needs it.

4. Create a schedule: Ideally, I like to work 9-5 even if I’m at home, but that’s not always possible. Try to create a schedule with breaks that allows you to still have the normal relaxation time somewhere in there that you’d typically have at the end of your day–otherwise, you’ll probably drive yourself crazy. Here are 10 exercises for seniors to do at home.

5. Buy healthy snacks: When I work at home, I tend to grab whatever to eat, especially if there’s chocolate lying around. Buy some healthy quick foods so you’re not so tempted to munch on the bad ones.

6. Schedule Workouts throughout the day: No one says you have to work out for an hour straight. Just like you should be taking walk breaks, schedule about ten minutes of exercise throughout the day. Even some workout DVDs allow you to break down the workouts into quick, easy to fit in segments that will keep you moving (like Barre3 and Ballet Beautiful).

How do you keep yourself healthy and fit while working from home?