10 Best Ways To Stay Active While Working From Home

Working from home is a great way to get the job done, and reduce work expenses, while also having more time in the day with your family and friends.

However, it can be challenging to stay active while working from home.

Studies show that workers who do not stay active and sit for more than 8 hours a day were 78 percent more likely to become less productive.

How to Stay Active While Working From Home

Staying active is important for both our mental and physical health, few simple ways to stay active while working from home include standing while you work with a standing desk, challenging your colleagues to a step contest, and exercising during your lunch break.

Research on 3,500 workers over 52 weeks shows, that keeping yourself active while working from home can help reduce stress levels, foster creativity, improve productivity, improve your overall well-being, and make remote working fun. Thus, it’s important to be active and prioritize your health when working remotely.

Here are a few best ways to keep you highly motivated and stay active every day while working from home.

1. Wear your step counter

Keeping track of your steps is a great way to make sure that you are getting the most out of your daily incidental exercise – that’s any activity that you can build up throughout the day.

Incidental activity can be anything such as taking a flight of stairs, walking the children to school, walking while you take a long phone call, or doing the housework.

You might already have a smartwatch, fitness band, or pedometer to keep track of your steps. If not, most smartphones have the capability to count how many steps you take throughout the day.

All you need to do is keep it with you as you move throughout the day.

Recent research has confirmed that challenging yourself to achieve at least 10,000 steps each day helps you to remain active and has measurable benefits for cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of diabetes and an improved lifestyle.

So why not make a game of it? Invite your colleagues or family to participate in a steps challenge, with the winner receiving a fantastic prize.

If you post your step achievements online, you might even encourage your friends and followers to get their steps up as well.

2. Keep active at your desk

Thanks to the technological advancements of life in the 21st century, we are fortunate to have many fitness innovations to keep us moving while attached to the computer and telephone.

Stand up

You might not think that standing while you work is a great way to keep active but it negates the harmful effects of sitting too much.

Researchers from the University of Chester have also found that if you stand at your desk, even for just a few hours each day, you can burn more calories and reduce your risk of cardiometabolic diseases like heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.

Many standing desks are adjustable, so you can alternate between standing and sitting throughout the day.

Get walking or pedaling

For those of you who like to keep your pulse rate a little higher, an under-desk treadmill or pedal exerciser will keep your legs busy and your blood pumping as you work.

You might find that they take a little getting used to but once you have the knack, there’s nothing stopping you from incorporating movement into your entire working day.

Sit on an exercise ball

The thinking behind replacing a traditional office chair with an exercise ball is that it:

Increases your core strength
Improves your posture
Decreases any back discomfort you may suffer from

Increases your calorie burn
Keeps your mind attuned to the need to be active.

It’s also a great way to stay moving while working from home.

3. Get your groove on

It doesn’t matter whether you are happy to dance like no one’s watching, or will only dance when you can’t be seen, adding some groove to your day will help you get your incidental steps in.

With countless tutorials provided free of charge online, there’s nothing stopping you from learning a few new steps as well.

And, if you pair it with your favorite motivational or energetic music, you’re more likely to do it for longer and with more joy.

4. Binge it and sweat

With numerous streaming services and endless content available to view online, it is tempting to spend all your free time binging on your favorite programs and being distracted from your work.

Why not make it work for you?

If you have a treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical, set it up in front of the television or whatever screen you use to watch. You can even lay down a yoga mat and practice some poses, lift weights, stretch, or use a resistance band while watching.

Not only will you get the health benefits of staying active, but you can ditch the guilty feelings for watching too much content and happily scroll for another series to binge.

5. Block a sweat session

For those of you who like routine, and creating a structure for your workday, scheduling a block exercise session is a great way to fit in formal exercise.

Here are some tips to get organized, especially if you have commitments to children, work, or elderly parents.

Exercise first thing in the morning before the day gets too busy
Commit to exercise with a friend if you need to socialize when you sweat
Choose an exercise you enjoy, or make sure that you mix it up. You’re more likely to keep exercising if you enjoy what you’re doing.

There’s no reason why you can’t practice yoga or Pilates, get your heart racing with some cardio, or grow your muscles with strength or resistance training.

Just make sure you have your favorite tunes at hand, an audiobook, or the latest hit podcast to stop you from getting bored.

6. Set reminders to get your body moving

Most of us need reminders to help us keep track of everything we need to achieve and, for some of us, that includes exercise to ensure that we remain active.

There are many ways to prompt yourself. For example, you can set your smartphone or computer to deliver hourly reminders to get moving, and even provide suggestions such as stretching, planking, stretching, or lunging.

7. Activate your dog walks

Taking your dog for a walk is a great time to get more active. While your best friend is busy playing with their furry pals or sniffing the bushes, why not stretch your muscles or complete a couple of sets of squats and lunges to get your heart racing?

You can even carry dumbbells as you walk and attach weights to your ankles to get the benefits of resistance training.

If running’s your thing, why not add a series of 100-yard sprints to work your aerobic lung capacity?

8. Lunch and squat

Make sure you get out and get active while you eat your lunch. You might want to take a brisk 30-minute walk around your neighborhood while you nibble on your sandwich, or even do some squats or lunges as you stand while eating.

If you finish your lunch with time to spare, there’s no reason why you can’t squeeze in some quick cardio such as skipping or as many jumping jacks as you can handle.

9. Play more

Why not let your inner child shine and get down, dirty and playful with your household’s two and four-legged friends?

Instigate a game of fetch with the dog, play hide and seek with the cat or ride your bike with the children.

It doesn’t matter how old they (or you) are, there are many fun activities you can do both inside and in the garden.

10. Get in the garden

Researchers from the University of Bristol have affirmed what people with green thumbs already know – that getting your hands dirty in the garden is a great way to lift your mood.

Not only will you get health benefits from staying active outdoors, but the more work you do, the greater the benefits.

So, get out into the fresh air and mow that lawn, prune those trees, and weed that garden bed. Don’t worry if you don’t have a garden of your own, you can offer to mow your neighbor’s lawn or even sign up for a plot of land in a community garden.

Why is it Important to Stay Active While Working From Home?

Staying active and keeping our bodies moving while working from home can improve our overall mental and physical health, reduce chronic diseases, and make us more productive at work.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthy adults spent 150 minutes each week in physical activity. That’s at least 30 minutes, five days per week.

Benefits of staying active while working from home

Staying active not only keep you trim and your mind focused on the task at hand, but it also:

Helps you maintain a healthy weight
Reduces your risk of a heart attack
Gives you more energy

Improves your cholesterol
Helps lower your blood pressure
Helps you relax

Improves your mood
Helps you maintain a positive outlook on life
Be more productive at work

Boosts your concentration and alertness
Reduces your risk of cognitive impairment as you age
Keeps your bones and muscles strong

Boosts your immune system.

Although the activity intensity may vary for different remote workers, what counts is being active, staying active, and remaining active throughout the day.

The good news is that the benefits of being active are felt no matter what exercise you’re doing. You might hit the gym each morning, or take the family dog for a walk every evening.

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10 Best Ways to Stay Active While Working From Home