You have received an order from your office to work remotely. It sounds serious. Is this new to you, because you have “always” worked in an office, and going to work every day is also a motivation to visit the gym? It is fantastic that physical activity plays such a big role in your life. During the COVID-19 epidemic caused by the coronavirus and the necessary social isolation, nothing in terms of regular training has to change. We will tell you how to do it. Working in a home office mode is a challenge not only for your mind, which is suddenly distracted by a thousand household matters, but also for your body.
Let's be honest, when working remotely, you do not always sit in a comfortable, “office” position. You do not have the conditions for it either. Who of us has a professional desk and chair at home, let them be the first to throw a pen! Your muscles suffer from this lack of comfort, which need attention and care more than ever. Take care of yourself and exercise at home. It is easier than you think.
Home Training - Where to Start?
First, designate a space where you’ll be working out. It should be big enough to fit an exercise mat. It should also “accommodate” the range of exercises you’ll be doing—
lunges, jumping jacks, swings, and other exercises that work your upper and lower extremities require at least two to three meters around you. You don’t want to hit the edge of a table, catch yourself on the edge of a rug, or catch yourself on a chandelier. Do you know where you’ll be working out? Great!
The next step is your workout gear and accessories.
If you regularly visit your local gym, use the same clothes for your home workout that you use at the gym. Are you just starting out with physical activity?
One thing is for sure – don’t train in regular tracksuits and bare feet. Appropriate clothing and footwear support the movements performed during training. It’s not a matter of vanity, but of preventing injuries.
If you can’t afford to buy all your clothes right now, focus on the shoes that are the foundation of your equipment. Training shoes don’t have to be expensive. The most important thing is that they provide proper cushioning and foot positioning during training. It’s worth hunting for good sports shoes during seasonal sales. Brands such as adidas, Nike, Puma or Under Armour offer very attractive discounts then. Such shoes will really serve you for many years.
Another issue is training accessories.
Home training is not complete without an exercise mat. Why? Training on panels, on a carpet or on a towel will not help your muscles. On the contrary, it can be quite dangerous for them. A mat is essential. The cheapest ones can be found for around PLN 10-20 in
Decathlon sports shops. If, while completing your "training kit", you want to buy a mat that will also please your eye - you will find beautiful mats in the offer of brands Miamiko, adidas by Stella McCartney, Spokey or Carpatree.
Comfortable exercise clothes and a mat will be enough to start your adventure with home training. Let's move on to answering the question - what and how to exercise?
Computer Training. Which Training Program to Choose?
We live in a time of unlimited possibilities. Many services are already available on the Internet, and the same is true for physical activity. When choosing a home workout, you can exercise in many ways. One of them will surely appeal to you. Do you have a laptop and Internet access? The gate to training paradise is open to you! All you need to do is open the popular YouTube.com website in your web browser. It is a mine of motivational, scientific, beauty, gossip and training content.
You will find thousands of free workouts on YouTube.com - from comprehensive for the whole body to those focusing on selected parts of it. You can also choose from the types of exercises - you will find
aerobics, yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, Tabata, Zumba and many, many others . Are you delighted with this range of possibilities? Think about which workout you want to do and browse the videos.
In the case of training with YouTube.com, there is one important issue to discuss.
Home training is supposed to serve health and improve well-being - and you can ensure these by training only with professionals. Learn to recognize them. Many internet fitness celebrities have their profiles on Facebook and Instagram. Some even have their own websites. Before you start working out, do some serious research on the trainer you have chosen. Take the YouTube channel "Codziennie Fit" run by Marta Henning as an example. The trainer provides dozens of different training videos and training-related content for free, such as diet and sportswear. From Marta's website, we learn that she studied at the Academy of Physical Education and trained competitively in track and field for years. So she is more likely to be well-prepared to design training programs. Team Choda or Team Lewa? Probably every one of us has heard of Ewa Chodakowska and Anna Lewandowska. We can say without fear of exaggeration that they are the most popular trainers in Poland. They have worked for many years to build their reputation and currently both of them provide their fans with online platforms with their own workouts. Chodakowska does it using the VOD service and Lewandowska does it using a smartphone app. Both platforms are paid, but the costs are not excessive. For example, for 3 months of access to all of Ewa Chodakowska's workouts, of which there are almost 40 on the website, you have to pay PLN 69. This is roughly the same as you would pay for one dinner "in town". Both ladies have their supporters and opponents - but regardless of which team you belong to, the most important thing is that the girls motivate you to be physically active at home.
Stretching - training for the good (not only) of your back
Working from home is not the most comfortable. Your back suffers the most. Working in a random position on a chair, at the kitchen table, and often in bedclothes, you add more discomfort to your back than in an office that is adapted to a sedentary work style. Therefore, during remote work, which is currently done by a large number of us, it is worth taking breaks and stretching your muscles.
Introduce stretching into your home physical activity on a regular basis. Spending a few, or now even a dozen or so hours a day in a sitting position, sooner or later you will develop back pain and a general feeling of tension in the whole body. To relax, we recommend
the training designed by the aforementioned Marta from Codziennie Fit. It is simple, does not require any additional preparation from you and will take you only half an hour. Benefits? Relaxation of the whole body, relief of back pain and improvement of well-being.
And after training, give yourself a home SPA
Physical activity will lift your spirits during these difficult weeks. You will notice the positive effects of regular exercises in front of your laptop very quickly, and it will not only be a slim figure -
physical activity affects our physical and mental health, strengthens immunity and improves mood. "Nurture" the endorphins that are released during training and keep them for longer after it.
At least once a week, treat yourself to a good home SPA. Wash your face with a delicate face gel, and then cleanse your skin with your favorite scrub adapted to its needs. Then, apply a nourishing mask of your choice to your face - preferably one that you make from easily available food ingredients. We have already written about such homemade mask recipes
here . While the mask nourishes your skin, you can enjoy an episode of a pleasant series on Netflix. To improve your mood during quarantine, we recommend the cult "Sex and the City" - this position will never get boring ;)
When relaxing in your home SPA, don't forget about the rest of your body. After a winter spent in pants, jackets and sweaters, it's just begging for a treatment that improves blood circulation. Take care of your body with our
GLOV Skin Smoothing massage glove, which will firm it, improve its color and help fight cellulite. Perform the massage with the glove in the shower with just water or with your favorite shower gel. And be ready for summer. This quarantine won't last forever :)
