Let’s Get Physical! Tips to Stay Fit While Working Full Time

Raise your hand if you’re a full-time, working stiff! Come on, now. Don’t be ashamed. You’ve worked hard to get to where you’re at. If you’re like me, you get on yourself about spending way too much time at your desk. According to Mitch Batkin, Senior Vice President of Fitness at Sport&Health Clubs:

“Gravity is relentless — and it works! It’s pushing down on us all the time. If you lose focus of it, you can easily find yourself slouching. If you’re sitting too much, you’re probably suffering from back pain, headaches, you may start to feel tired — and you’ll likely become much less productive at work.”

So, how do you not give in to gravity when you’re overloaded at work and have deadlines to meet? It’s important to fit fitness into your day, no matter how busy you are. As Mitch said, it’s important not only for your physical health, but poor fitness can actually start to have an effect on your work productivity. Here are a few tips for staying active even when you’re at work:

• Every hour and half, get up and move around for at least five minutes. If you work somewhere with stairs, use that time to do some steps! By moving around at regular intervals, you could burn some major calories each day.
• When on the phone or in a meeting, try standing if you can. You’ll burn 50% more calories than you would if you were sitting.
• Check out our Deskercise blog for more exercises you can do at your desk!

Outside of work, don’t succumb to your couch and Netflix-binging! There are some simple routines you can practice, even when juggling home life and a full-time job:

Schedule time to go to the gym. Many of us make the mistake of trying to “fit in” going to the gym when we work full time. But, this is often not the case as it’s very easy to get preoccupied and distracted. When you do schedule time to go to the gym, make sure it’s reasonable. If you know you’re not a morning person, don’t schedule your gym time for 5 a.m. You’ll want a schedule you can feel good about and really commit to.

Pack a lunch. As hard as it is to say “no” to coworkers grabbing a bite to eat, trust me, it’ll be better for your wallet AND your waistline. Plan and pack for the week on Sunday nights. Some easy grab-and-go meals could be smoothies, sandwiches (on whole-grain bread), fruit or yogurt. Also, if you eat six small meals during the day instead of three big ones, it will decrease cravings.

Keep your gym bag in your car. I can’t preach this one enough! For me, once I’m home for the night, I’m home. It is much harder to go to the gym once you’ve gotten home. Remember those distractions mentioned earlier? They’ll start to happen as soon as you walk in the door.

Start slow. As excited as you are to start thinking about changing your life and getting fit, it’s important to not go all in right away. Commitment is awesome, but you’ll want to ease yourself into it. You don’t want to burn out a week in. Remember, getting into shape is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Use a fitness app. Gotta love technology. In this always-on-the-go lifestyle that many of us live, apps have opened up a world of continuing to stay connected. Don’t have time to track your exercise progress? There’s an app that can track it for you! For example, take a look at Lifehack’s list of the top 10 iPhone apps for losing weight and getting in shape.

How do you stay healthy and fit while balancing a full time job? What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome? Share your story! Leave it in the comments below, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.