3 Activities to Keep You Fit While Working From Home

While keeping up your gym routine may be the last item on your (very long) list of concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s no question that sweating, even a little bit, is good for your health. Here, we’ve rounded up three activities for a great WFH (workout from home).

1. Take a dance break

Why it works: According to research, it constitutes a pleasure double play: Music stimulates the brain’s reward centres, while dancing activates sensory and motor circuits. Studies have also found that dancing reduces depression levels.

How to start: It’s as simple as grooving along to your favourite Beyoncé video or cueing up a playlist and going full Risky Business. (Keep in mind, these dance workouts are perfect if you hate exercising.)

2. Sneak in some strength training (no weights required)

Why it works: A study from the University of Georgia found that strength training twice a week has similar rates of anxiety remission to antidepressants.

How to start: If you don’t have dumbbells and kettlebells at home, you can use your body weight to strength-train – think classic moves like push-ups, planks, squats and wall sits. Or you can use improvised weights, like canned beans or your beloved cat, for added resistance.

3. Reclaim your kid’s skipping rope

Why it works: A study from the University of Georgia found that just one hour of daily activity, like jumping rope, increases your heart rate, reduces depressive symptoms and increases self-esteem. What’s more, jumping rope is a serious calorie burner: Just 10 minutes can be the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile.

How to start: Get in touch with your inner middle schooler, set a timer and go. Or check out an online video of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) jump rope workouts.

Next, read up on the work-from-home rules everyone needs to follow.