Health tips to keep track of your fitness as work-from-office is back | Health

The Covid-19 times saw businesses asking workers to stay home, schools shutting and testing sites with long lines snaking around city blocks amid the health care crisis but in the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, countries have been pushing forward with plans to reopen, seeking to balance containing the virus with keeping people and money moving as they can no longer afford the economy-crippling restrictions. Offices are reopening and employees are now gradually getting back to a regular work routine where some dread long commutes and traffic snarls while others are glad to return to physical offices and indulge in much needed social interaction with colleagues over in-person meetings, team lunches, coffee breaks and more. 

As we prepare for this phased return to pre-pandemic normalcy, our fitness routine seems to be already shifting down our priority list unlike the peak pandemic times when strengthening one’s immunity through workouts and tweaked diets was on top of the charts. While travelling for office, morning workouts and evening walks might get missed out or even due to tiredness one tends to forget about keeping a track of their fitness so we got a few experts on board to spill the beans on how to keep track of our fitness as work-from-office is back.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Miten Kakaiya, fitness coach and Founder of Miten Says Fitness, advised:

1. Keep active: Keeping active while working at a desk is all about making smart use of your breaks and the rest of your day. It is also a great idea to get up every few minutes to take walks and/or stretch.

2. Eat for your goals: There is no substitute for the right nutrition. Our nutrition is what makes our bodies. If you find it difficult to manage cooking and eating healthy food while at work, I would highly recommend planning your meals and meal prepping on weekends. Meal prepping in advance leaves no room for error either – since your food is already prepared for you.

3. Get 10k steps in: Getting in 10k steps may seem like a difficult goal to achieve, but you will be surprised how small little measures such as taking walk breaks and going for morning/evening/night walks can help you achieve this goal. Other ways to keep active and get your steps in include walking or biking to and from the office, parking far from the building and walking the distance, skipping the elevator and taking the stairs, walking in a safe environment while talking on the phone, etc.

Abhi Singh Thakur, Certified Fitness Coach, suggested, “Work from office is back, but the good news is that you can still keep up your fitness without doing much work. There are some key points which you should always keep in your mind. Small steps result in huge changes, for example, using the stairs instead of the elevator, parking your vehicle in the last row so you can walk more, or moving your legs while talking on the phone.”

He added, “Working on a computer screen all day long can make your body stiff and create neck and back pain. To counter this, move after every 30 minutes of work and stretch your body a bit. In the office canteen, grab low-calorie food like salad, omelet, corns, popcorns, etc. Avoid deep-fried and salty foods like burgers, samosa, and petties. Avoid sugary and packed drinks and substitute them with water or coconut water.”

Recommending to take one fruit with yourself every day at the office, the expert shared, “You can also keep dry fruits in your pockets as they contain healthy fats which will make you fuller for a long period. On the weekends, you can play any sport you like or do a full-body home workout with three-set and max reps of pushups, chin-ups, and squats. you can see huge changes in your fitness journey by following these tips. As there is nothing more important than your health.”