The Gen XY Lifestyle

Pandemic Gains: Take Advantage of WFH to be healthier and stronger

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused people to shift their typical daily routines. Morning commutes have been eliminated and the balance between work and life has been blurred. At the beginning of the pandemic, many people were excited to take advantage of increased time to enhance their workout regimen. As the weeks went on, people struggled to find motivation as gyms stayed closed and the days seemed longer. 

There are many challenges to overcome when it comes to improving your health and strength. Do you ever feel like you are in a rut, unable to reach the next threshold of strength? Do you find yourself struggling to gain the motivation needed to tackle a 1-2 hour workout?

Although this season has been difficult, it has provided more spare time for most people. Take advantage of your excess time and overcome the challenges you have been facing in your fitness routine. Surprisingly, working and exercising in your home can help you take your health to the next level.

In this article, we will talk about the various ways that you can utilise your extra time at home to become healthier than ever before. There are many benefits to developing a robust at-home workout schedule. Becoming the healthiest version of you is not just about lifting heavier weights, it is about improving your overall well being.

Changing Your Perspective

In order to take advantage of the opportunities you have to grow throughout this pandemic, you must reframe the way you think about health. Forget the days of two-hour long workouts after the end of a workday. Growth can occur in a higher quantity of short exercise sessions. Let’s dive into the practical ways that segmented workouts and intentional behavior can help you maximise your season of remote working.

Grease the Groove

Greasing the Groove” is a phrase that describes the practice of consistently engaging in a specific strength movement. As you practice a movement regularly, pathways are created within your body that make it easier for your body to complete a repetition. When you practice one exercise repeatedly, you ignite your muscles and train your body to work more efficiently.

Unfortunately, many people plateau in their strength training and struggle to get stronger. When you are only practicing a movement once a day, your body is not learning efficiency and building the muscle associated with that exercise. To increase your strength, you must complete a small number of repetitions multiple times throughout the day.

When you work from home, you can take five minute increments throughout the day to “grease the groove.” When you are practicing a specific movement, you want to get a high number of repetitions that are spaced out throughout the entire day. Your goal is not to become fatigued, it is to practice the movement. By engaging in strength training throughout the day, your muscles will strengthen and learn to recover quickly.

Get Adequate Rest

When you are at the gym, you have an agenda and are sharing machines with other weightlifters. In addition to sharing equipment, you typically have only a window of time to get your workout in. When you are breaking new thresholds of strength, your body needs time to recover between sets. Rest is especially important between squat sets. When you max out on squats, you cannot turn around and conquer another round with no rest in between. When you let your muscles recover, you can perform each set at peak performance. 

Use your time at home to perform every exercise at peak performance. Do a set of squats, send three emails, and then hit the squats again. This interval style of exercise builds muscles rather than fatiguing them.

Increase The Quantity of Your Workouts

Gone are the days of believing that all workouts must be 1-2 hours long. More and more research is being developed that states that short periods of exercise sprinkled throughout the day are extremely beneficial to overall health and well being. Working out in short segments throughout the day has many benefits, including:

  • Kick-starting your metabolism at multiple points in the day
  • Accommodating busy schedules

It is easier to find the motivation needed to complete a 15 minute workout rather than a 1.5 hour workout. Usually, your energy is expended by the end of a long workout. Short workouts allow your body to maintain energy throughout the entire session.

Use a Standing Desk

When you are working remotely, you have the ability to use a standing desk in the comfort of your home. There are many benefits to standing rather than sitting, especially when you are engaging in exercise throughout the day. Standing for a period of time after working out reduces the potential for blood clots. In addition, standing is an easy way to improve your strength and balance. There are sneaky ways to workout while standing at your desk. Try doing calf raises, hamstring curls, and leg extensions throughout the work day. If you are working to increase your cardiovascular exercise, consider buying a bicycle, treadmill, or elliptical that can transform your office into a home gym.

Increase Your Energy

When you workout throughout the day, you will have increased mental and physical energy. When your body is strained physically, you release endorphins. In addition, regular exercise improves cardiovascular endurance. When you improve your heart health, you are less likely to get tired quickly. Since strength training improves muscle efficiency, over time you will exert less energy performing day to day tasks. Use exercise to optimize your ability to concentrate, ideate, and create.

Fueling For Success

As you know, a large portion of your overall health is determined by the food that you put in your body. When you work from home, you have more time to prepare nutrient-rich meals. When you commute to your office, it is more likely that you will grab lunch on the go or prepare a convenient meal to bring with you. Being at home allows you to have access to all the groceries and tools you need to create a well-rounded meal. There are many websites that have easy recipes that accommodate all diets, check out:

When you are exercising regularly, you must fuel your body well to sustain muscle development. Working from home eliminates excuses for eating poorly throughout the day.

There has never been a better time than ever to improve your strength. Take advantage of working from home and improve your fitness regimen. Although this pandemic is difficult, we must find ways to continue growing. The extra time you have at home provides you the opportunity to conquer new thresholds of strength. Rather than moping about not having a gym to go, become the healthiest and strongest version of yourself!


Article contributed by Brian. Brian lives in Houston, Texas.  He is a strength training enthusiast who believes in the power of strength training to rehabilitate your body, prevent injuries, and maintain your mental health. He manages the blog Home Gym Strength which helps others build an affordable home gym for strength training safely at home in the modern times we live in.

Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash

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