Staying Fit while Working from Home

by Craig & Jenny Dumnich

Welcome to the new normal...for now. Most of us were expecting more free time now that we are home, but fi nd ourselves busier than ever; homeschooling our children, working or fi guring out alternative ways to bring in income, and contemplating exactly how to survive these changes and understand what they will mean for us and our family.

While adjusting to the new schedule and the stress of the entire situation, you may fi nd yourself more sedentary than ever which is wreaking havoc on the health of your body. We are here to guide you with some simple enjoyable steps to get you heading back in the right direction.

Why do we need to move?

Movement has more benefits than you may have ever imagined and is one of the most critical pieces to staying well during this time. Besides the basic benefits of body composition, did you know that movement:

• Increases the feel good hormones in your body to lift your mood • Helps to balance out stress hormones • Improves the function of your lymphatic system to rid your body of toxins • At moderate levels it boosts the function of your immune system

The repetitive contraction and relaxation of our muscles acts as a pump to our lymphatic system helping to clear toxins out of the body. When we are stationary, our lymphatic system becomes stagnant, much like the murky water at the edges of a pond, and drags down the functionality of our immune system. If we can’t clear the toxins out of our body that are already there, we won’t have the capacity to handle new ones coming in. So, get moving today and everyday to begin to assist your body in keeping you healthy.

Here are some of our favorite ways to stay active right now while at home in addition to typical activities like walking, jogging, hiking and yoga.

Interval Workouts

Set a timer with alternating rounds for exercise and rest and choose how many exercises and sets you will do. Here are the combinations we use most often:

You can choose any exercises, just make sure you are pushing yourself to work hard. The key is to get creative, make it fun and mix it up to keep it exciting Seconds of Work Seconds of Rest Exercises Rounds 20 10 4 8 30 10 6 5 45 15 5 4

Ladder Workouts

Choose 2 exercises and begin with 1 rep of each. Then increase to 2, 3, 4, etc, all the way up to 12 of each. Then come back down decreasing by 1 rep each set until you get back to the bottom of the ladder.

Alphabet Workouts

Assign a variety of exercises with a varying number of reps for each to every letter of the alphabet. Then without looking at the list, write out a sentence or a variety of words and assign the exercises based on the matching letters. Here is an example using just one word. Make it as short or long as you like:

A 10 PUSH UPS B 5 SQUATS C 20 SIT UPS D 30 SECOND PLANK E 10 TRICEP DIPS F 10 LUNGES G 15 CRUNCHES H 10 JUMPING JACKS I 5 PUSH UPS J 30 SECONDS JOG IN PLACE K 15 SECOND PLANK L 30 SECONDS HIGH KNEES M 30 SECONDS FAST PUNCHES N CLIMB 3 FLIGHTS STEPS O 20 WINDMILLS P 20 CRUNCHES Q 10 SQUATS R 30 SECONDS HOPPING S 20 JUMPING JACKS T 10 TRICEP DIPS U 20 LUNGES V 30 SECONDS UPPER CUTS W 10 ROWS X 15 SECONDS FAST FEET Y 15 SECONDS JOG IN PLACE Z 30 SECONDS FRONT KICKS W 10 ROWS

E 10 TRICEP DIPS

L 30 SECONDS HIGH KNEES

C 20 SIT UPS

O 20 WINDMILLS

M 30 SECONDS FAST PUNCHES

E 10 TRICEP DIPS

Note: If you´re not sure what some of these exercises are, you can find them easily on Google!

Every Decision To Move Is A Good Decision

No matter what type of movement you choose, you are making the good choice. A decision to care for your body right now should not add extra stress to your life, but should be a choice that feels good to your mind and body. Start today with one choice to move that sounds like fun and then continue each day.

Have kids at home right now? Get them involved too! Moving is not about perfection, but about fun and the many benefits it can provide you physically and mentally. Working out as a family with these exercises is not only fun, but helps the kids burn off their pent up energy and lets them use their creativity in designing workouts, setting them up for a lifetime of health for themselves.

Our children love when we turn any movement into a competition! See how creative you can get to take your mind off of the stress you are dealing with. Think of new ideas like obstacle courses, tag, relay races, and hopscotch. Let them see how much fun it can be!

Craig & Jenny Dumnich Founders & High Performance Consultants at The Fusion Performance Institute