Working from home is making you weaker



Working from home may have made you weaker than you realise.
 
Think about this....

Do you feel tired when you go shopping. Feel relieved when you finally sit down. Have lost interest in heading outside to walk or exercise?

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, working from home (WFH) has become a norm for many of us. As a result, we commute less, we walk less and we stand less. For many, having food and groceries delivered to our homes has transitioned from the exception to the norm. What once were habits are now vices.


It's not just physical

Our bodies have become used to inactivity. Our muscles have become weaker and we now have even less motivation to move. Physical activity tires us quickly and staying seated is now the preferred state of being.

We have also become psychologically attuned to the idea that work more important that good health.

Because we are continually doing our jobs, we regularly kick work goals; and this gives us joy. We may have forgotten the joy that movement and exercise give us.

We are also socially separated from the world. If we were to regularly see others moving, we would be more motivated to move. Unfortunately, we will see your computer screen more than we see active persons.

It's worse for seniors

Seniors will be even less motivated to move. As you age, your muscles will not only atrophy faster but you will be more psychologically driven to stay in one place. The security of your home means that you will more easily find a reason not to move outdoors.

You have begun to roll faster down the slippery slope of sarcopenia, at the end of which, awaits frailty.
 

Some suggestions

Understanding your state of fitness, will help identify your weaknesses and hopefully motivate you to move (and exercise).

Determine your body composition

You should start by assessing your body composition. You can easily determine your BMI.  You can also determine/estimate your body composition (muscle mass, fat and visceral fat) using a weighing scale with this capability. With these tools, you can evaluate your risk of chronic disease and then set targets to improve your fitness.

You may also wish to get a full health check up. You will then  be more certain as to how far you have travelled towards developing a chronic disease.

Compare your level of physical fitness against benchmarks

Ideally, you should engage a qualified fitness assessor to determine your level of physical fitness. However, you can perform many of the standard tests on your own or with the help of another person. 

Here are some useful resources:
These test banks not only act as a measure of your physical fitness but they can also be the basis of exercise routines and stretch targets.


Make time for exercise and to move.

It's your life! Your health. If you are fortunate, your HR office may have been bugging you to keep fit and healthy. If so, keeping fit and healthy is your organization's policy. Keeping the population fit is also government policy. 

Be obedient and make time to keep fit.

If appropriate, consult your medical professional before embarking on a rigorous exercise program 

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