You dream of a beautiful, fit, strong body, but you still can’t start working out - where can you find time for training in such a busy work schedule?! We tell you how to combine work and fitness.
According to experts, to keep yourself in good physical shape, you need to train at least three to four times a week, visiting the gym every other day - the body must have time to rest and recover. However, simply finding time for fitness in your busy work schedule is not enough - it needs to be linked with such important factors for the training process as proper nutrition and healthy sleep. Success largely depends on them.
When is the best time to exercise in the morning, evening or lunch break?
Most of us work on a standard schedule - 5 working days a week for 8 hours and an hour for lunch. “This way, you can visit the gym in the morning, in the evening, or sacrifice your lunch break for training,” says SuperPopa group programs . – The choice of type of fitness does not depend on the time of training - you can do both cardio and strength exercises at any time of the day, focusing on your own feelings and biorhythms. I’ll say right away that you should give up the idea of going to a fitness club only on weekends. Such infrequent training, especially strength training, will do more harm than good: muscles need regular exercise and time to recover. Find opportunities to exercise regularly.”
Workouts in the morning
“Based on my own experience, I would give preference to morning workouts,” says Edward Kazaryan, an expert in group programs at the federal network of fitness clubs “ X -fit ”. — At this time of day, the body is fresh, the brain begins its activity, you are full of strength and energy. Another plus is that after a morning workout, you have the entire next day free.”
The problem may be that after sleep the body has a reduced supply of nutrients and glycogen. It is not recommended to exercise on an empty stomach, as well as on a full one. The training will be ineffective and harmful to health, especially if it is intense strength exercises. Therefore, fitness at the beginning of the day is only suitable for those who can get up a couple of hours before going to the gym and have a normal breakfast without overloading the body with heavy food.
You should start exercising about two hours after eating. Your morning routine will look something like this: 6 am - wake up, 6 hours 30 minutes - breakfast, 8 hours 30 minutes - workout.
After exercise, you should also eat, thereby closing the carbohydrate window and replenishing energy costs.
Lunch break workouts
It’s great if there is a fitness club near your place of work and you can visit it during your lunch break. At noon you are still full of energy, and 45 minutes is enough for an intense workout. This schedule is also favorable from the point of view of nutrition: you had a hearty breakfast in the morning and will be able to eat normally after class, providing the body with everything necessary for muscle recovery and growth.
“Working out instead of lunch is a great idea,” says Edward Kazarian. — I would like to note that most of my students go to the gym during their lunch break and achieve excellent results. I advise you to attend group programs led by instructors at this time. They will check how to perform the exercises correctly, and they won’t let you fool around. If you can’t go to the fitness club during lunch, try to find an opportunity for a little workout in the office - do bending, squats, lunges, push-ups, pump up your abs.”
Training in the evening
The optimal time to visit the gym in the evening is from six to nine o'clock. “The main problem here is that after a busy day at work it’s difficult to force yourself to go to the fitness club - you’re too tired both physically and psychologically,” says Edward Kazaryan. “In the evening, all the energy has already been spent and in order not to miss a workout, you need sufficient motivation.”
And also a carefully thought-out diet during the working day. It is important that meals are repeated and regular, as well as balanced in proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Then you will have enough strength to perform professional duties and fitness. You should also refresh yourself after returning from the fitness club. Meals should be no later than three hours before bedtime. It is better if it is a dish rich in protein. It is recommended to avoid carbohydrates and fats.
How to successfully combine training and work?
In this example, we will consider training in the gym, with a standard five-day work week, from 8-00 to 17-00 . As for considering a different work schedule, for example, when an athlete works in shifts, 2/2, 1/3 , then this schedule allows you to calmly choose the time for training, while at the same time resting and fully recovering.
Morning workouts
Working out in the morning in the gym is practically impossible, because all fitness centers open from 8 or 9 am , in rare cases from 7-00. Hence the conclusion: either we train at home, at 5-6 o’clock in the morning, or we remove this thought from our heads.
Training at home is possible, but it is not possible to pump up significant muscles at home with 10-15 kg dumbbells , so either convert your room into a gym, with the appropriate equipment and equipment , or you can forget about a muscular, sculpted body.
But you can always lose weight and increase endurance at home, as it does not require any special equipment, for example, by doing daily jogging, various aerobic exercises and adjusting your diet .
Morning endurance training (weight loss)
Lunchtime workouts
In Russia, unlike the USA , there is still no such good opportunity to visit the gym at work, where it is in the order of things there, and is often mandatory for all its employees.
Of course, you can drive a car during your lunch break, but by the time you finish eating, change clothes, you will have 30-45 minutes , which is very little time to get strength training stress to stimulate muscle growth. In addition, with such a training schedule, you will have to a balanced diet 1-2 hours before lunch , which is not always possible.
Due to the above factors, it is very problematic to implement training at work during lunch , and also not very effective. One of the advantages can be emphasized that at lunchtime there are quite a few people in the gym, which cannot but please.
Strength training at lunchtime
Evening workouts
The most popular time to visit the gym is right after work, around 17-30 or 18-00 . This is understandable, the work is finished, there is time to work on physical development. It would seem that everything is simple, go regularly, after work 3 times a week to the gym. However, in practice, not everyone can overcome their laziness, fatigue, stress at work, and they also often forget about proper nutrition, they eat whatever comes to hand.
Therefore, here I can give one piece of advice to everyone, take your will into your fist, and overcome yourself, every day, every workout, force yourself, otherwise you will never become what you want to see yourself in physical development.
The only question is your motivation, and everything, either you do it or you don’t do it. You can watch motivational videos that will focus your mind on working in the gym and give you a boost of energy .
Usually, within one, maximum two months , a correct, useful habit . Teach your body to work in sports mode, and you will quickly see how exercise in the gym brings only positive emotions and vital energy.
The biggest disadvantage of evening training is a large crowd of people in the gym, due to the fact that the five-day working week from 8-00 to 17-00 , or from 9-00 to 18-00 , is the most common, and as a result, often many exercise equipment , the barbells and dumbbells are busy, and you have to wait, observe the queue for performing this or that exercise.
Workouts in the gym in the evening
Shift work and training
Shift work is one of the most favorable types of work activity for combining it with your training, primarily due to the fact that people working on a shift schedule can train at the time they want (in the morning, at lunch, or In the evening).
The basic principle of building training in this case will be based solely on your personal well-being , that is, at what time of the day you will show maximum performance in the gym, as a rule, people are “ night owls ” most active in the evening, “ larks ” in the morning, out of walking From this you can build your training schedule.
The human body is unique , it can adapt to absolutely anything, if you constantly train at the same time, then gradually at this time the body will adapt and will show maximum strength and energy during training.
When you have decided on the training time, you need to talk more about how to prepare yourself correctly for training after a working day , so that you do not approach the equipment in the gym tired, hungry, otherwise there will be practically no effect from such training .
Shift work and strength training
How to train if you work shifts
It is convenient to combine a shift work schedule, for example, “two after two” with fitness classes. You can choose the time for training yourself, focusing on your own preferences, body characteristics and circumstances.
“Go to study at a time convenient for you and free from work,” says Edward Kazaryan. — You can do a two-day marathon. For example, on your first day off you go to the pool and do stretching, and on your second free day you devote to cardio and functional training. Don’t give up physical exercise completely on weekdays either—do exercises in the morning for 15-20 minutes to keep your body in good shape.”
If you need to work out after a working day, this will be a kind of unloading. Swimming and stretching are again ideal for this. You can also choose this option. “The first free day should be given to light loads, such as cardio, circuit training,” says Valentin Zinin. “And devote the second day to more serious exercises, for example, strength training.”
Photo: pixabay.com
No matter how much we love sports and try to devote as much time as possible to it, still only a few manage to earn a living from sports, and these are usually professional athletes. Everyone else has to combine sports with work. But breaking out of your work routine and doing a workout can sometimes be very difficult. Here are some simple tips on how to combine business with pleasure.
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Tip 1
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Determine the number of hours per week that you can train without compromising your work, personal life and other matters. Set your priorities. With a variable and unstable work schedule, this will have to be done more often. It is best to know in advance a week in advance the days when it will be possible to conduct a training session. Distribute this number of hours over days and times when it is convenient for you to exercise.
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Tip 2
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A good step would be to agree with your boss that you leave work on time, not because you are a formalist, but because you are a sports person. It is better to agree on overtime, which is unfortunately typical for many companies, in advance.
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Tip 3
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Try to find the most logistically optimal training locations based on your needs. Not in every sport it’s enough to just run out of the house and do a workout.
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Tip 4
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Long, intense, interval work is best done on weekends. However, it is not recommended to do, for example, intervals the next day after a long workout. Between such jobs you need more time to recover. If, for example, you have 2 days off in a row, then it makes sense to do an intense, relatively short workout on the first day off, and a long one at a low heart rate on the second. But not the other way around. After a long period, you should try not to do sports the next day. Therefore, all competitions are held on weekends. If a serious intense workout falls on a working day, then the next day you should do either rest or recovery training.
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Tip 5
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Determine when it is more convenient for you to exercise - in the morning or in the evening. Until now, there is no definite answer when it is better to play sports from a physiological point of view, especially for amateurs. Therefore, it all comes down to your own comfort.
Photo: pixabay.com
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Tip 6
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Those who work at night are out of luck. Of course, after a night shift, the first thing you need is sleep, and not any training. Training without sleeping can only be harmful. You should exercise after sleep. Many people practice training right before working the night shift. It makes sense if you're comfortable.
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Tip 7
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It is strongly recommended for office employees to go in for sports, especially in the evenings, in order to relieve a tired spine and go to bed, knocking thoughts out of their heads about all sorts of reports, meetings and plans. Be sure to include stretches for your legs, back and shoulders in your workout.
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Tip 8
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During vacation, it is most useful for people who are more or less seriously involved in sports to organize training camps. The location depends on your sport. During this time, you can train as much as possible, but it is important not to overdo it. For most cyclic sports, spring and autumn are the best times for training.
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Tip 9
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Work is a source of stress. Either physical or mental, and sometimes both. Look for balance. Determine which type of activity will suit you best based on your work history. Amateur sports should restore and strengthen strength, and not waste it even more.
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Tip 10
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There is a direct connection between physical activity and human hormonal levels. Humans are creatures that require activity in order for all our hormones to work well. This also affects the aging process. If your job does not involve physical activity - sports, gymnastics, etc. shown to you, at least for your health.
Play sports and be healthy!
How to exercise if you are engaged in heavy physical labor
According to Edward Kazaryan, in this case it is better to choose calm group training such as BODY&MIND or FLEX FIT. They will unload the body, relieve emotional stress, and speed up recovery processes. You can attend strength or functional classes once a week, but it all depends on your current condition.
It’s more difficult if your work requires a lot of physical stress and high energy costs, and at the same time you would like to build up decent muscle mass by doing strength training. Muscles will not grow at a good pace because they will not be able to fully recover between workouts. Try to find an opportunity to rest more and move less on the day of class, saving as much energy as possible for training.
“Do moderate to high intensity strength training two to three times a week,” advises Valentin Zinin. You can try drinking special pre-workout complexes that promote rapid muscle recovery and growth and increase endurance.
How to create conditions for muscle growth at work
As usual in the morning, you wake up and have breakfast , then another meal follows, after 2 hours , then the next one, also after 2 hours. The main principle of an athlete’s nutrition is reusability and balance .
In order not to constantly look at the clock, you can listen to your body , as soon as you begin to experience a slight feeling of hunger , immediately begin to eat. It is advisable to replace some meals with protein shakes.
At work, try not to overexert yourself ; if you have the opportunity not to waste physical strength, do not waste it, you will need it in the gym.
Healthy eating at work
Mental core work and training
If you work more with your head , for example, as an office employee who periodically strains his mental abilities, then in this case, you should also not get too tired, especially try to avoid severe stress , otherwise the nervous system will be overloaded, and you will feel overwhelmed and out of control during training. like a “lemon”, but this is not as scary as in cases of heavy physical work, which will inevitably lead the athlete sooner or later to overtraining .
Working out at night burns more calories
It's outright untrue, but people believe it. Metabolism is much faster in the morning than in the evening, so people who are prone to obesity allow themselves to eat something sweet only in the first half of the day. After an evening cardio workout, it is not recommended to eat anything, since during the workout the body spends fat deposits from the muscles, and after the workout, the muscles replenish the losses from subcutaneous fat. If you don’t eat anything in the evening, the result will be noticeable in the morning.
In any case, you should not eat food three hours before going to bed. When the body falls asleep, digestion stops working, and all the food that has not had time to be digested will simply remain inside the digestive tract until the morning. An exception is the process of gaining muscle mass; it allows the consumption of protein or casein with fiber at night.
Hard, physical work and training
If you have a hard, energy-consuming job, you can’t count on muscle mass to grow at a good pace, simply because you won’t be able to allow your body to fully recuperate. To solve this problem, pre-workout complexes help to some extent, for example NO-Xplode (gives strength and energy for the gym) and the maximum possible rest options at work (take advantage of the first opportunity to lie down/sit/sleep).
It would be better, of course, to completely replace hard, physical work if you are obsessed with the idea of pumping up big muscles.
The fact that you are asking yourself such an important question as how to combine training and work is already one step towards victory, the main thing is not to stop there, go gradually towards your goal, believe in yourself and your strengths, develop in every possible way, read scientific/sports literature literature, learn something new for yourself, and you will definitely achieve everything.
Strive for a job that would bring you both money and pleasure, and with which you would have time to do all your favorite things and workouts. Fish look where it is deeper, and people look where it is better, so take action!
During work
To minimize the harmful effects of such work, you should lead a certain lifestyle and know some secrets to keep the body in good shape.
Diet
For the proper functioning of the body, a person needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. A deficiency of any element leads to exhaustion and health problems.
Timely meals and a balanced diet will help maintain good health during a non-standard regime.
Overeating also has a detrimental effect on the body. Not only your waistline may suffer, but also your overall well-being.
A dense high-calorie dinner will cause drowsiness, cause a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and heartburn.
ADVICE! Before the night shift, there is no need to overindulge in fatty foods, baked goods, sweets, smoked meats, mayonnaise and other harmful foods. It is better that the evening meal includes steamed vegetables, poultry, buckwheat, rice, and dairy products.
Food should be washed down with freshly squeezed juice or green tea, excluding carbonated drinks.
Drinking coffee
Consumption of caffeine-containing drinks, including energy drinks, has a detrimental effect on the condition of the nervous system, blood vessels, and stomach.
They remove water from the body, which causes a sharp increase in blood pressure, mood swings, and decreased performance.
In the long term, systematic consumption of coffee leads to wear and tear on the heart and kidneys - coping with such a set of ailments while also working at night seems completely impossible.
ATTENTION! Strong, hot coffee is considered a leader among methods of combating drowsiness. But its frequent use is a risk and a colossal burden on the body, in particular on the heart muscle. If you drink 2 or more glasses every day, you are guaranteed tachycardia and increased sweating.
An alternative to coffee drink is mate tea. This is a drink made from dry crushed leaves of a Paraguayan tree, which has an invigorating effect no worse than coffee.
At the same time, it also has medicinal properties: it reduces cholesterol levels in the blood, stimulates coronary circulation, and stabilizes the functioning of the heart.
Pure water
Even if you don’t feel like drinking at all, drinking clean water in sufficient quantities is simply necessary. Despite the fact that the daily routine differs from the generally accepted one, it is necessary to replenish the fluid deficit in the body when the opportunity arises.
ADVICE! During one night shift, it is recommended to drink at least 1.5 liters of ordinary water.
Such a useful habit will have the best effect on your well-being and will help you maintain strength until the end of your shift.
Nap
If the opportunity for a short nap presents itself during your shift, you should not miss it. Even just 20-30 minutes in a state of half-asleep will help you restore strength and feel a surge of vigor.
There is a hypothesis that states that the most comfortable time for sleep should be a multiple of 90 minutes. For example:
- 1 hour 30 minutes;
- 3 hours;
- 4 hours 30 minutes, etc.
If you wake up a sleeper at 60 minutes or, for example, 30 minutes after falling asleep, he will be irritated and overwhelmed.
But 90 minutes of quality sleep will help replenish the body with vital energy and begin work duties with renewed vigor.
Ways to cheer up
If you can’t cheer yourself up, and there are still a few hours left until the end of your shift, you should follow one of these recommendations.
- Aromatherapy. This approach is absolutely harmless to health and does not involve large financial costs. You need to purchase an aroma lamp and place it in your workplace. At the moment when sleep begins to overcome, place a special candle in it and light it. On the top of the lamp, which will be heated by the fire of the candle, drop a few drops of essential oil of orange tree, bergamot, eucalyptus or fir.
ADVICE! If there is no desire to tinker with such a device, or lighting even a small fire in the workplace is strictly prohibited, it is suggested to purchase a perfumed body spray or room perfume with a certain invigorating scent. All citrus notes are considered invigorating.
- Bright light. Dim light bulbs in the workplace can also make you sleepy. They should be replaced with more powerful ones - then the body will reflexively strive to be awake.
- Cold. To force the brain to stay awake, you can resort to using cold. A sharp temperature change will stimulate brain activity, and the desire to fall asleep will disappear. To do this, you need to go out into the fresh cold air or simply wash your face with cool water. The boost of energy is guaranteed for a few more hours.
Exercises in the morning before work
Most people are sure that a morning jog can be very beneficial for the body, but in practice the situation is not so clear.
When you wake up, your body is deficient in nutrients and its glycogen reserves are almost depleted. In other words, jogging on an empty stomach will not be as beneficial as is commonly believed. Your body will be even more depleted under the influence of physical activity, which will lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of the training. If you have planned a high-intensity activity for the morning, then it is completely prohibited to conduct it under such conditions. Of course, professional athletes often train against the background of intermittent fasting to combat excess weight, but there are some peculiarities here and amateurs should refrain from such a practice.
The best option for most people is to get up a couple of hours before the start of the training and eat before that. You must remember that training before work should be carried out a couple of hours before it starts. Let's say you get up at six in the morning and start training at 8.20. To provide the body with the necessary amount of energy, you should eat porridge for breakfast, for example, buckwheat or oatmeal. To suppress morning catabolic reactions, it makes sense to take a portion of BCAA with a gainer or whey proteins.
Benefits of morning exercise
Today we are talking about how training should be organized before work and now we invite you to learn about the benefits that exercise in the morning has.
Fasted training was already mentioned at the beginning of the article, but let us remind you once again that it can only be effective if you need to lose fat. In addition, organizing a workout before work on an empty stomach has a number of features. When it comes to working out in the morning in general, there can be benefits to this, even if you're bulking up. It is important to organize them correctly so as not to cause harm to the body. Scientists are studying the effects of morning exercise on the body and have not yet come to a consensus on this issue. On our own behalf, we will say that you can train when it is convenient for you. If your training and nutrition programs are organized correctly, then your classes will be effective. Let's still look at the benefits of morning training that have a scientific basis.
- Appetite decreases.
The latest study on this issue involved women. As a result, it was found that when the working day begins with sports, appetite decreases. This may be useful when losing weight. - Free all day.
Most social events are scheduled for the evening, for example going to the theater or cafe with a girl. If you do a workout before work, then you will have a free evening and all this time can be devoted to other things. - The lesson will be 99% complete.
If you woke up early in the morning and went to the gym, then your workout before work will definitely take place. If you wait until the evening, a large number of other things may pile up and as a result, the training will have to be cancelled. - The body's energy reserves increase.
During training, blood flow accelerates, and all organs of the body receive sufficient oxygen. It is clear that under such conditions the cardiovascular system will begin to work much more efficiently, which will lead to an increase in the body’s energy resources, and the overall tone will also increase. - Brain activity is activated.
This fact can be a good motivation for training before work for those whose work is directly related to mental activity. By doing a lesson in the morning, you will “start up” your brain and throughout the day your mental performance will be at a high level.
Here are the benefits that morning training can offer you.
Let us remember that all these facts have a scientific basis and are not invented by us. Scientists are now paying a lot of attention to the effects of physical activity in various situations on the human body. This is quite expected, because in recent years the health of the average person on the planet has worsened. Many people suffer from obesity, diabetes, have problems with the functioning of the heart muscle and vascular system, etc. At the same time, more and more people are beginning to understand that a passive lifestyle will not lead to anything good.
After this, they begin to visit the gyms and it is quite possible that we are now present at the beginning of a fitness boom that will cover a large part of the world's population. I would really like to believe this, but the fact is that more and more people are starting to play sports. There is no doubt.
How to properly organize morning exercises, see here:
