Staying active while working from home can be challenging. I have three kids ages 7 and under which adds to the challenge. I’m guessing you have some unique challenges of your own. Here’s what I’m doing to stay active while working from home:
1.) Own Your Mornings By Waking Up Early
I started scaling my alarm clock back in 15 to 30 minute increments over the course of a couple weeks and went from waking up at 7:15am to 5:00am. This extra 2 hours and 15 minutes has led to a substantial increase in physical activity and improvements in my mental well-being.
This single change in habit may be the most significant step towards accomplishing my 2023 goals.
Ideally, I’ll start the morning by doing yoga while the coffee is brewing. I skip this step on my long run days as I need the extra time to run, and I’m not ready to roll the alarm clock back to the 4 o’clock hour quite yet. Morning yoga helps me ease into the day and get in a good stretch. I imagine this helps prevent injury as I ramp up my mileage throughout the year as well.
I’m headed out the door for a morning run sometime between 5:30am to 6:00am (earlier on the long runs). Yes, it’s dark. Yes, sometimes it’s cold.
I run with a headlamp on and wear a bright jacket (or bright shirt on the warmer mornings) to do my best in not getting mowed down by vehicles on dark roads. It’s worked so far!
This morning was cold and a bit snowy (not enough snow to stick to the road), but it wasn’t so bad once I got started. The hardest part is walking out the door and getting started. Once you show up, it’s all down hill from there. I ended up enjoying the run once the miles were in the bank.
I’m typically back home before 7 unless I hit “the wall” on my run. On shorter recovery run days I’m back even earlier. This gives me plenty of time to catch my breath, get cleaned up, sip some coffee, and eat breakfast – all before my wife and kids are awake. I might even have time to do some reading and writing. Not a bad start to the day before sun up.
2.) The Afternoon Session – Stay Active
Well… I have to get some sun sometime throughout the day, and this is a challenge during short winter days. My desk is situated by a window, but I don’t count that as getting sun. It’s important to step away for a bit and get some fresh air outside.
This can be a walk, an afternoon run if I missed my morning session, or a strength and conditioning workout in the yard at home. I’m a big fan of sandbag training, and it’s easy to get in a great workout while still having plenty of time to eat lunch.
Tip: Be mindful to not overdo it. There are days where I’m feeling exhausted and choose to take a nap instead – especially when I’m under the weather or feeling the after-effects of the long run.
3.) The Evening Session – Stay Active
Evenings are reserved for time with family, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get a workout in if I haven’t already done so. There are plenty of parks and playing fields where my kids enjoy playing while I get in a sandbag workout. Sometimes the kids grab something in lieu of a sandbag and join me. They particularly like to race while I’m doing sandbag sprints (sometimes they win).
Some days we’ll go for a hike, and I’ll throw a ruck on to get a workout in that way.
Some days I get in a workout pushing my kids around on bikes and chasing them around the park.
The priority here is getting outside if weather allow and getting some more fresh air. Bonus points on the two-a-days (i.e. a run and a strength/conditioning workout on the same day).
4.) Accountability (i.e. putting up your goals where you’ll see them)
Accountability became a personal theme of mine for 2023 after I realized at the end of 2022 that I had lost sight of my 2022 goals (and lost my written list of my 2022 goals!). Write out your goals and place them somewhere you’ll constantly see them. I’m planning to write mine out on sticky notes soon and place them around my monitor to serve as a reminder on what I’ve set out to do in 2023.
One of my personal goals with this step is to ensure I don’t fall back into the waking up at 7:15am trap. I’ve logged over 10 miles this week in morning runs, and I plan to tack on more and more in the days and weeks to come.
What are some tips you have to share in how you’re staying active this year?
