I’m passionate about my health. I’m also passionate about my job. I believe it is possible to maintain both at a high standard. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice gains in one field for the other.

There are numerous strategies you can employ to keep on top of your fitness and health while having a busy work schedule. These focus on the main variables you can control in your life. The large shift towards working from home underlines the importance of these principles and are just as, if not more, important in today’s society.

Planning Workouts

It’s a Monday at 5pm. It’s been a long day. You have a decision to make. Should I go to the gym or head home and sit on the couch. Alternatively, planning out and writing down your workout schedule on a Sunday evening takes this decision away from you. You’re more likely to go so you can put a nice big check mark beside ‘Monday — Hit the gym’. Plus, you get the sense of achievement that comes with it.

Planning Meals

Sticking with the planning theme, batch cooking meals at the weekend can save you plenty of time and brain power during the week. When it comes to food, calories are king. Choosing exactly what goes into your meals controls the calories and appropriately fuels your workouts. If you have a holiday coming up and you want to lose a few pounds then bringing your own meals to work can help you reach your goal.

The work canteen is a convenient option however it's hard to tell the amount and what type of oils are used. Batch cooking also ensures you are getting enough protein in your diet. Getting the necessary macro and micro nutrients in your diet will help with your performance in the gym and your cognitive ability. Fatty fishes and dark chocolate are excellent for your brain health.

This doesn’t mean you have to have chicken, rice and broccoli 6 times a day. Be adventurous with herbs and spices. Throw in some veggies you usually wouldn’t have. You could even plan a day to eat plant-based foods. Meal prepping doesn’t have to been boring. Cooking with a flat mate, friend or partner can be an easy and fun time to socialise. If you have kids, get them involved too!

Remember its okay to eat out every once in a while and have a treat!

Workplace Benefits

If you work for a company that offers discounted gym access or even a gym on the premises then it’s probably worth your while to use it. For example, my work has an outdoor walking circuit with amazing views of the River Clyde, hills and mountains however when it rains (as it often does in Scotland) I have the option of going to the gym and walking on the treadmill for 25–30 minutes. This gets me away from my desk and allows my brain to recharge too.

Increase your NEAT

NEAT stands for Non-exercise activity thermogenesis and can be defined as “the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise”. [1]. This covers activities such as walking and fidgeting. Get up and walk about as often as you can during the working day where possible. Get the blood pumping in your legs by taking a short walk around the house or office between calls. This will allow your brain the time to reset.

Lift Weights

In recent years, I believe the stigma around lifting weights have begun to lift. Lifting isn’t about looking like Arnie (unless that’s your goal), it's about improving your muscular strength which in turn improves your overall quality of life.

Cardio will probably burn more calories per hour than lifting and looking after the health of your heart shouldn’t be disregarded. However, weight training can help improve mobility which is especially key for desk workers.

The cable face pull has become a stable of my workouts to help avoid getting rounded shoulders. Training back more than the ‘mirror’ muscle groups (chest, shoulders, arms and abs) has also helped with my posture. I’ve noticed an overall improvement in training and life since focusing more on my back muscles.

Coffee and Caffeine

This strategy has 2 parts.

As I said before, calories are king. An Grande Americano from Starbucks has 16 kcal in the UK. A Grande Cappuccino with semi-skimmed milk has 143 kcal. If you’re looking to maintain your calories and don’t track you milk and sugar in coffees, you could potentially be intaking more calories than you think. Alternative milks such as almond are lower in kcals (74 kcal for the same cappuccino above) and are good replacement for milk. On their own, the difference doesn’t sound that much — its after 3 or 4 coffees with milk and sugar the calories add up.

Secondly, caffeine is a stimulant and perks you up when you’re feeling drowsy or tired. This principle can be applied before heading to the gym. Pre-workouts and low-cal energy drinks are common before exercising. If you train after work then having one of these has a drawback…

Sleep

An underrated and often neglected aspect of health and fitness. Getting enough sleep benefits LITERALLY every aspect of your life, not only physically but mentally too. Sleep is the time when your body recovers allowing better performance in the gym and at work. Aim for 7–9 hours per night.

The easiest way to improve your sleep is avoid caffeine later in the day. This will negatively affect the quality of sleep you have. Putting your phone down or turning off screens in the hour before bed will help your brain relax, preparing you for a good nights rest.

I use these strategies to help me maintain my health while working in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Sometimes things don’t go to plan and I have to improvise on the spot but that’s okay. Its not about being perfect. Getting it right 80–90% of the time is what I aim for.

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Josh

References

[1] Levine, J., 2002. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 16(4), pp.679–702.