If You Work at Home
With the proliferation of home computers and laptops, plenty of people are working at home, which means they sit more, and not just in chairs. You can work from your couch or recliner these days, too. Sitting in a chair at home for long periods of time — even if you're working — is just as detrimental to your posture and fitness as sitting in an office.
If you do work at home, follow the same advice as those in outside offices should take. Make your desk slightly inconvenient, don't sit for too long without getting up, and be sure you take some breaks. Also, be sure you're practicing good posture as you sit.
Home workers move even less than those who drive or walk to their offices. It's just common sense — they don't even have to get into or out of their car to start doing their work. If you work at home to cut your commute time, try to use some of that saved time to be active. And if you can, make it high-intensity activity so that it will contribute to your fitness level.
If you work at home, you'll also need to remember that there are times you can stand and move when other workers can't. For example, you can get a headset phone and walk when you're on a conference call. You can also stand at a desk or dresser to work, or work during a commute rather than sit. You can sit on an exercise ball rather than on a chair when you work, too.
Think Fitness, Not Comfort
Home workers are fortunate in that they can design their offices however they like, and it is possible to do this with fitness in mind. You can keep a treadmill in your office, or a set of free weights. Also, you can use an alarm clock to take 10-minute breaks, and make those breaks count by increasing their intensity as you get fitter. Remember, 10-minute bursts of activity are as effective as longer workouts at building health and, if you make those short workouts high intensity, they can also increase fitness.
Even if you don't have a treadmill or weights, use your breaks to run around your house, practice yoga, or do full-body resistance moves (shown in Chapter 7) to stay in shape.
Eating at Home
When you work at home, it's easy to snack on whatever's around, too, especially if you feel bored or lonely. Try to decide what you're going to eat before the day begins so that you won't be tempted by whatever's in the refrigerator when you're at home. And it's better if you can keep your favorite snack foods out of the house, since it's easy to hear those cookies and chips calling to when you're alone.
