When I started Fit2Thrive I wanted to do a series of articles exploring how to embed healthy routines, including plenty of movement, into different lifestyles and occupations. People ask me how a lawyer, journalist, teacher or software developer could move throughout their day and they are surprised how many simple and easy answers I have.
Take care of the small things
Then they wonder if such simple adjustments could really be all that are needed. Of course there are always progressions you can add like running after you have learnt to walk but the real reason we are all getting bigger is simply because we have stopped doing the small things and only valuing the large. Big intense workouts are nothing without the small continual workouts that prepare us for the big challenges. Just like any other aspect of life.
This video really made me laugh because it’s asking the question,
How can you workout at work without getting laugh at and feeling weird?
Thanks to Aligned and Well for putting me on to the article on theatlantic.com
Being professional
So I bet this is your worry, I’ll get you sweating before an important meeting, you’ll have to run in heels, or any of the other things we associate with getting fit and healthy.
No, you’re at work so you’re there to work so it’s about being presentable, professional and approachable. You need something that doesn’t make you sweat, doesn’t push you too hard and leave you out of breath and something that makes your job fun and easier to do, not harder. You don’t need just another task to fit in to your already busy schedule.
That’s what I want to focus on, normal everyday things that you can do that will make you enjoy work more, do a better job and get you fit. The only thing you need is the willingness to learn and try.
Some ideas for work that I plan to cover are:
- Lawyer
- Academic
- Journalist
- Secretary
- Software
- Developer
- Helpdesk worker
- Driver
If you have a career or job you want covered then let me know.
References
- How desk jobs alter your brain – and why they’re so tiring
- A neuro-metabolic account of why daylong cognitive work alters the control of economic decisions DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.010
- Fatigue: Tough days at work change your prefrontal metabolites DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.088