Balancing Work and Exercise

Balancing Work and Exercise – Incorporating Fitness into Your Daily Routine

Balancing work responsibilities and exercise can be a challenge in our busy lives. However, finding ways to incorporate fitness into your daily routine is essential for overall well-being and improved performance at work.

While you are concentrating on physical health, don’t forget, that nutrition and food form the foundation of physical well-being – good nutrition gives you the nutrients to enhance your workouts and fitness regimes – we obviously get our nutrients through our food, and good, fresh “real food” is going to be more nutrient-rich – nutrients such as Zinc helpful for protein synthesis (found in many foods but abundant in food from animal sources ) and Magnesium, helpful for health muscles (found in many foods, but leafy green vegetables are a rich source) are very important to maintain your fitness

Set Realistic Fitness Goals

Improving performance at work begins with setting realistic fitness goals. Understand your current fitness level and identify achievable objectives that align with your schedule – you don’t have to be pounding it down the gym, but movement is the key. Keep moving – even walking is helpful. Very intense exercise like running might not be the best choice (unless you have trained yourself up) as it can put stress on joints, and if you are very stressed, instead of relieving stress (which exercise is brilliant for) it can make your adrenal glands (where your stress hormones come from) work harder, and make it difficult for them to rest and recover.

Embrace Short, Intense Workouts

Incorporating fitness into a busy work schedule doesn’t necessarily require long hours at the gym, as mentioned Short, intense workouts can be just as effective – try rebounding (using a little trampoline) which has the added benefit of moving the lymph system which helps eliminate waste products from the body – the lymph depends on movement to help it move around the body – unlike the circulatory system which has an effective pump, ie the heart

Utilise Active Commuting

If possible, opt for active commuting to improve your work-life balance. Cycling, walking, or jogging to work not only adds exercise to your day but also reduces stress associated with traffic and public transportation. Movement really helps how your nutrients are transported around your body – you need movement to help absorption of the goodness from your food – so, making use of your communing time, can just boost movement in a time in your day when you would just be passive and sitting. Walking a few extra stops, taking any stairs (instead of lifts) cycling if you can find a safe route (and you enjoy it) – Do not even attempt to do exercise you hate! If you are social, like me, you might find booking a class directly from work, so you don’t get a chance to talk yourself out of it!

Take Advantage of Breaks

Use your work breaks wisely to recharge physically and mentally. Instead of spending time sitting at your desk, take a brisk walk, stretch, or practice deep breathing exercises, and get off that flipping phone, which can eat into your free time – and from which you will glean almost nothing!

Schedule Exercise as a Non-Negotiable

Treat your exercise time as a non-negotiable appointment in your daily calendar. Just like you prioritise work meetings, make time for exercise – it helps if you get blocks and barriers out the way – for example, laying out your trainers where you will see them, and making it easy just to put them ON! (instead of making excuses you can’t find them, or a clean pair of socks) – Exercise (for some) is like getting into a cold swimming pool – you just have to dive in, get started and not think about it too much – as soon as you engage your thinking brain, if you are of a mind, you will find an excuse! Of course, there are those keenies who don’t find exercise negotiable – hats off! But us mere mortals, need all the help we can get, to Just Do It as Nike might say!

Prioritise and Delegate Tasks

Assess your daily workload and identify high-priority tasks. Focus on completing the most critical assignments first, as this will not only enhance your productivity but also reduce stress – if you are more effective at work, it means you can leave or finish on time, so that you don’t find the excuse to wriggle out of work

Practice Mindfulness Exercises

Mindfulness practices, such as meditation and deep breathing, can significantly improve your ability to concentrate and handle stress. Dedicate a few minutes each day to practice mindfulness exercises – being mindful has a great effect on our mind – exercise is a bit chicken and egg – you feel some much more up beat and positive doing exercise, but if you feel down, you don’t feel like exercising. So, incorporate mindfulness or meditation in to your general selfcare and in turn you will feel much more motivated to exercise – a virtuous cycle!