Ask HN: Staying fit whilst working from home? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Staying fit whilst working from home?

I’ve been working from home for the past 18 months now and at present there’s no indication from my employer that I’ll be going back to full time work any time soon.

Before the pandemic I used to cycle to work and also practiced yoga at a studio close to my office which kept me feeling fit and active through the week. Since working from home though my weekly physical activity has gradually decreased - partly due to no longer needing to cycle to work and I’m no longer feeling so motivated by the yoga classes I’ve been following on YouTube compared to the routine I had with the physical studio. Cycling for me was also primarily transport so filling that gap with plain exercise has been a struggle.

Is anyone in a similar position that has made a new routine work for them?

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Kettlebells. They are cheap, full body exercise, and they are dead easy to start and keep at home. They are effectively capable of multiple kinds of exercises but so many of them are full body that you can revolutionise your health with just 4 day 30-40 min sets. There are some great trainers on YouTube who do full body kettlebell sets such as Eric Leija, Mark Wildman and Alex Crockford.

Look into Pavel’s simple and sinister program to start with, and his kettlebell tapes are both on YouTube.

Enter the Kettlebell will fuck you up in the best way. I still do some barbell and dumbbell workouts, but kettlebell swings, presses and turkish getups if done properly with the right amount of weight are absolutely full body workouts.

I second this recommendation. Great workout, with lots of variation, kettle bells are really fun.

Keep it simple. Get a step counter if you don't have one already. Have a walk in the evening after work, or at lunchtime. If it feels like "wasted time", listen to an audiobook or a podcast while you do it, or walk with a partner or friend.

Similar issue to yours :

- Pre-pandemic, was hitting the gym 4+ times a week and was my way to blow steam off.

- Early parts of pandemic, was able to do workout-from-home using kettlbells and bodyweight, but motivation eventually died and I started relying almost exclusively walked [was based out of NYC, so 7-10k steps was almost a given]

- Moved to a more suburban setting a couple of months ago, walking died quite a bit and so did motivation along with it. Starting piling up the pounds and generally felt unhealthy.

- Invested in a peloton and it just arrived! First two days, hit a couple of 20 minute workouts. Starting slowly, but hoping to make a sustainable workout out of biking, yoga and other things!

Treadmill desk has worked for me so far

If you have a standing desk already you just need a treadmill

I worried before I bought the treadmill that I would be too un-stable to use a computer but that isn't the case it works no problem I run the treadmill at slowest speed but I can work at higher speeds too

It's also nice to get out the house so if you can fit in a chore like take the rubbish out that'll help wake you up a bit in the mornings

Do you have a recommendation for a good treadmill to go under a standing desk? This is a very interesting idea.

Just about any treadmill with arms will do, which is most of them. I use a piece of wood that's meant to be a shelf. I put velcro on the bottom and on the arms of the treadmill then put a laptop stand on the shelf.

It takes a bit of getting used to for programming but it's done wonders for my sleep when I walk (slowly) a couple hours every day.

> I’ve been working from home for the past 18 months now and at present there’s no indication from my employer that I’ll be going back to full time work any time soon.

First of all, lucky you! I have been WFH since the whole kerfuffle started, but now and then there are noises about making us go back to the very contagious place.

What works for me is to keep it small, incremental and consistent, as per "Atomic habits" by James Clear[0].

I researched exercises for different muscles using MuscleWiki, a Show HN from a few years ago [1], then used a private Github repository (basically a .txt list) to hold my "daily commitment", ie. the exercises and reps I commit to doing every day (or rather Mon-Fri, as I rest weekends).

It started tiny, something to the tune of 5 abs. But, if I meet my commitment for a whole week, then I allow myself to increase it (ie. add a new exercise with 5 reps to the list, or pick an existing exercise and increase its reps by 5).

To me, it has finally cracked the consistency issue, and I'm at a stage where I can notice my shape getting better.

[0] https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25854523 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11202522

Edited to add: The best thing about it is that it doesn't need a lot of specialized equipment or space. I use a free-ish corner of my home office for floor exercises, and bought a couple of dumbbells, and that's about it.

I started with a Pomodoro timer and walking a few steps and doing some stretches during the break. I gradually added stuff and now on weekdays I do:

- At least 1500 steps after breakfast

- At least 1200 steps after lunch

- 15 minutes of cardio via Muay Thai shadow-boxing (I do follow along videos from MT and MMA fighters)

- At least 15 minutes of core and leg exercises (alternating days)

- bodyweight exercises on alternating days

- Enough steps throughout the day to hit at least 7k

No equipment needed other than an exercise mat and a computer with an Internet connection.

My neighborhood went from about 3 people running every morning to around 13 as of this year.

Seems like your issue is motivation, not staying fit. Maybe align with colleagues for "exercise time" or even meet in person if they are close. You can still do your walking or cycling commute if you want to! Book meetings in your calendar for Youtube yoga.

My routine is to do a walk every day while wfh, about 4 miles give or take. I do yoga or meditation as required. I go cycling or kayaking for fun a couple of times a week.

I hacked my motivation by making cycling to work my exercise (~1h, 12km/day). Now I have "covid belly" :( We (Ireland) had some brutal lockdown restrictions for quite a while, including a 5km distance-from-home limit. I could get stopped by police twice daily simply doing the grocery shopping.

But it's nearly springtime here, and things are improving now.

Good luck to you! I'm in the UK - England, had some lockdowns, in the first one I got a puncture on a bike ride 10 miles from home and felt bad struggling to fix it. A guy stopped and helped and gave me some respect for humanity, it was a big deal at the time!

I won't be locked down to a specific distance in the future as this was never "law" in England, at least as interpreted by my local policeman friend, I'll quote him if asked! I too need to revisit the regularity and volume of exercise, but I'm not doing too bad considering. Nearly at the 2 year work from home anniversary!

For me, closing my exercise ring on my Apple Watch has been the best motivator. Maintaining a streak or collecting badges works well for me.

I used to cycle a good bit but some injuries have held me back. I got a cheap stationary trainer for my bike but that never worked well for me (again, injuries and just the uncomfortable position). I got a cheap recumbent stationary bike and have put a lot of miles on that thing. My biggest issues with it are that it's very easy to stop when you don't have to ride back to the start and that it's easy to get distracted by shit on my phone (now I start music / podcast and set it out of reach).

Just walking outside has helped a lot. I worked up to jogging and even some interval sprints but foot pain shut that all down. Just walking and trying to work my pace upward (again, Apple Watch helps there).

If you have the money, an online personal trainer may be great motivation. Or partner with a friend and do it together via Zoom.

I just straight up work from my gym. Motorized table with screens attached, by a window. I have an online PT that I check in with each week, they have an app where you upload your weight and measurements, pics, etc. Of course they also have exercise routines with videos.

Depending on your coding/monitoring split, you might be able to just ride a bike the entire day.

Go for a run in your lunch break! I run every day, it’s fantastic and keeps me in good shape.

I admire the people capable of enjoying running.

I hate running. Each time I tried, I hated every minute. It’s not going outside or having activities : I’m not fit at all but I do like moving, I like walking, I like using my small muscles but running … I literally can’t.

I always wondered : Is the pleasure of running coming with training or is this something more personal? If I started to run every day from today, would I hate it forever or would I learn to like it ?

Because I can’t imagine committing to running everyday if I don’t like it.

Anyone made the switch from hating to liking it ?

You could try a program like "Couch to 5K" which will help ease you into the activity of running. For me, I hate running. But the more I run, the better I get at it and the more I enjoy it. And then I end up injuring myself and stop running...until the cycle repeats.

TLDR: you could possibly learn to love to run.

What don't you like about it?

With couch to 5k I avoid getting stitches from overwork or having to track progress or maintain or monitor a speed/cadence/whatever. With a gym I avoid weather. With a sped up podcast I avoid boredom. That just leaves your clothing.

Swimming is a good alternative.

For me, the winners have been 1) a short flexibility/strength routine I try to do every morning 2) a treadmill in front of some sort of screen - these days it’s Zwift 3) dumbells and Peloton strength training classes

The first is for maintenance and recovery when I need it.

The treadmill is for when I just can’t bring myself to run or ride outdoors (too cold, too dark, so many excuses). An elliptical, bike or rower would work too.

The Peloton instructors and range of classes brought me from almost zero strength training to a regular practice.

But try different things and find what sticks. I also tried a mostly body weight routine called Iron Strength that’s good but hasn’t stuck. I see others in the comments as well.

A year into this mess, my company closed the satellite office that I and a few others in town were using. (HQ is states away, no other offices around.) Even before that, everyone else was in there maybe half the time. When they closed it and told us that we could have almost anything that wasn't nailed down, I took a standing desk. I'm trying to gradually stand during more and more of the day.

About every hour or two, I do some pushups and sit-ups.

On nice days (i.e. not winter), I would take a 20-ish minute walk before starting work, and walk around the neighborhood more in general.

It can seem cheesy, but something like P90X3 will whip you into great shape at a commitment of only 30m per day.

You do need a pullup bar though. The program itself can be ordered digitally but is also pretty easy to find online.

P90X is what finally got me into shape in 2011, after a long period of health avoidance. Something about it seemed to help. At the time I didn’t have a ton of money and it was cheaper than a trainer.

Yoga: I do like the Down Dog app, which is very flexible so may be easier to stick with in the long run. Eg you can set the length, style and focus (flexibility, core strength…) of a session, as well as how long the relaxation should be afterwards.

Otherwise, just rented a https://www.waterrower.com/ , which claims to improve both strength and endurance. Too early to tell, but it’s fun so far (and comes with Apps etc).

My partner LOVES the Down Dog app for yoga as well, and she's been doing yoga for some 30 years now.

Pro tip for the app: if you decide to pay for it, buy your membership/subscription on the website -- it's heavily discounted because they can sidestep the App/Play Store fees.

I used to ride to work too, I bought a Kickr v5 trainer and turned my road bike into an exercise bike. Mainly use it with the Zwift app.

I used to also do weightlifting for strength 3x a week at the gym, bought a pair of gymnastics rings and straps to do calisthenics instead. Hasn't been a 1:1 replacement but keeps me sane while stuck indoors.

I am trying to do a 45 mins spinning session with Peloton or Netflix daily. Peloton sessions work great physically. But, I often enjoy the entertainment mix too.

Overall, it works ok-ish ... nothing like going to the gym, outside ride etc .... but given the pressure of a startup, family and mental health .. its a reasonable alternative.

I started running at lunch time while working from home to get out the house and started doing longer and longer distances… I ended up running a marathon last year.

Another aspect is that I did 75 Hard last year, which is a life/game changer!

Why not just cycle before and after work at home? It will bookend your work-day.

For me, not having a commute means I have more time to exercise at home (I just go for walks). I also have more energy to use my homegym (just some weights).

I just go to the gym in the middle of the workday.

I do that whether I am in the office or WFH lol

I have a subscription to Dailyburn.com It's a 30minute daily workout. I was quite faithful for a long time, but i've fallen off the wagon.

It's still a great solution, in spite of my personal issues with motivation.

Is there anything within 5 minutes from your house you can do, like a boxing class or a tennis court? I found doing something that requires external commitment like signing up for a class is easier to keep doing.

I’m using an online yoga studio service ( https://supply.yoga ) which definitely goes someway to filling the void of a physical yoga studio.

having just started boxing, I've found that skipping and simple exercises can work quite well. Take simple body weight exercises such as squats, push ups, situps, burpees, etc and do a few minutes of skipping followed by one of the exercises for a minute or so, cycle through skipping and the next exercise without stopping until your set is complete.

It's not perfect, but it can get your heart rate up pretty quickly and can cover a variety of exercises each set. The only equipment needed is a skipping rope.

That said the motivation to do this is a different question entirely.

Joining Strava might help. It lets you see what your friends are doing for sports and training, and you can also sign up for group challenges. So it's a bit of friendly competition.

Sounds like you’ve found that solo exercise for the sake of exercise isn’t for you.

If no yoga nearby, are there any other classes? Team sports?

My understanding is it’s pretty common to group up when cycling as well.

Oculus Quest helped a bit but got boring after a while. I really need gym environment to push myself.

7+ years working from home. Join a boxing,kickboxing,muay-thai,mma gym and go consistently at least 3 times/week.

As I am fully working at home, I bought a treadmill and allotted 10-25 minutes of my cardio and stretching.

you don't need to attend a studio to practice yoga

you don't need the destination to cycle

just fcking do it

While I agree that you don't need to consume or overengineer these things, I admit that doing these things on a different place and somehow committing some money to it kind of forces people to keep doing it whereas doing it at home may make it boring (for some people) and you stop altogether.

you can cycle to your old yoga studio i guess? What's stopping you from going outside, they asked you to work from home, not stay at home all the time

resistance bands

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