Tips on Maintaining Movement From Home

There’s less of a distinction between work, home, and play than ever before right now, which can mean a loss of routine. One thing that may be especially thrown off is your movement, especially if you relied on gyms and classes. With a few little tips, however, you can make maintaining movement from home just as much of a habit as your weekly spin class.

Keep a Routine

There’s that word again – routine, but we are truly creatures of habit. If you schedule the time and form that routine around your preferred way to move your body, you are much more likely to keep doing it…even from home!

If physiotherapy is an important part of your schedule, like it is for many of us – keep that routine. Total Health and Sports Performance and many other clinics are still offering virtual appointments so you can keep the routine your body is used to.

Without the use of a gym that movement can look a bit different and that’s okay. Instead of weight-lifting or CrossFit maybe daily walks, bike rides, or playing soccer with your kids are more realistic exercise goals. Find something you enjoy doing and that’s easy to work into your schedule, and it’ll stop feeling like something you HAVE to do and start being something you look forward to.

Go Online

The internet really does have everything, and when it comes to exercise and ways to maintain your movement that has never been more true. If you are someone that loves classes, or maybe you just want to find something new, the options out there are endless. Search YouTube for a pilates workout, follow a WOD from a local CrossFit gym’s Instagram, or sign up for one of the many online workout subscriptions. Just because you’re home, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the variety that comes with trying different classes or the sense of accountability you get from working out with other people.

If you regularly see a physiotherapist or chiropractor to help you maintain your movement, manage pain, or help with injuries you don’t have to miss out on those appointments either. If you can’t have an in-person visit many clinics like Tower Physio Therapy now offer virtual appointments to make sure your recovery and movement don’t need to suffer.

Get outside

A lot of us take the healing power of fresh air for granted. We’re stuck inside at work for 8+ hours a day, we commute to and from work, Netflix is a thing…whatever the reason we often don’t allow ourselves to enjoy being outside as much as we should.

Try taking your exercise outdoors if your usual form of movement is feeling a bit stale, and you might be surprised how much you start to look forward to that part of your day. Take a brisk walk outside, listen to a podcast or just relax and enjoy the sounds of nature, maybe discover new places in your neighbourhood that you may never have found if you were driving. There’s a lot of benefits both mental and physical to get your body moving outdoors.

Take a Movement Break

When we’re working from home it’s a lot easier to get caught up in what we’re doing and completely forget to take breaks. We eat lunch while working at our desk, we don’t take our usual 15-minute breaks throughout the day, instead, we just sit at our screens for nearly 8+ hours straight. That’s not healthy. Sitting for prolonged periods is not good for us, this is well documented, and that doesn’t change just because we’re working from home.

Schedule movement breaks throughout your day by using apps or alarms to remind you twice an hour to get up and move. It could be a quick trip to the bathroom, making lunch in the kitchen or a walk to check the mail, it doesn’t matter what it is but those short movement breaks make all the difference when it comes to pain management, and even increasing focus.

Be Mindful

Moving our bodies isn’t just good for our physical health, it’s also incredibly important for our mental health as well. There’s a reason why the idea of self-care, meditation and yoga have become “trendy,” and the benefits of yoga are well documented. With people working from home more than ever, it’s important to create a routine that helps you switch-off at the end of your workday. Using movement to do that can be a great way to make sure you’re getting up and moving after sitting at your desk all day and also taking the time to decompress and separate yourself from your work. Try a yoga class (there are lots on YouTube!), dynamic stretching, breathing and mindfulness exercises, all of these can help you relax and even sleep better.