We understand that telecommuting may be a new experience for many of you and with the closure of fitness centers it might become challenging to maintain your healthy lifestyle. It is important to us that you not only continue to be productive, but you also stay mentally and physically healthy. Doing so while working from home is as easy as 1-2-3.

Create a morning routine. Humans are creatures of habit—and that’s partly because routine helps us mentally and physically prepare for things. Whether it’s having a cup of coffee every morning, doing some morning stretches/exercises or taking your dog on a walk, creating a morning routine will help prepare you for the workday at home.

Schedule breaks. Just like any working environment, giving yourself breaks is incredibly important to let your brain and body relax. Take a 15-minute walk, go make some lunch or catch up with a loved one on the phone. Doing so is also important for your anxiety/stress. Here is another post written by Shannon Carmody that shares information specifically about stress/anxiety and adapting mindfulness during this trying time.

Fit in fitness. The benefits of exercising while telecommuting are more than just building a strong core to combat neck, shoulder and lower back pain – small amounts of exercise can have a positive impact on your brain by helping you to de-stress, alleviate loneliness (brought on by daily isolation), and spark creativity.

Here are some tips to help you exercise at home:

Take advantage of the weather.

  • Go outside to walk, run, practice yoga or meditate. There are a variety of healthy activities that can be completed outside and, as an added bonus, Vitamin D is great for your mood and immune system.

Take advantage of FREE videos.

  • Daily Burn, one of the subscriptions that we offer in the Employee Wellness Centers, is currently offering a free 60-day trial.
  • Wellbeats is offering free access to 500+ videos that you can do from home until April 30th. Our activation code is: 57a4df63 When registering, please note that you only need to enter your first name, last name, email address, and then create a username and password. The other fields are optional. You can access these videos from your computer or by downloading the FREE Wellbeats app on your phone.
  • YouTube has a wide variety of exercise videos that you can browse based on type and length.
  • Your cable/satellite provider might also offer a variety of free workouts via “On Demand”.

Use your own bodyweight to get in quick spurts of exercise throughout the day.