For most of us, the time to work on our health and fitness is the time when we're not working at our jobs. But maybe we should view worktime as an opportunity to get some healthy habits into our day?
Brendan O’Connor was joined by personal trainer and wellness coach Karl Henry, who brought some strategies for sneaking in health-boosting activities to our workdays.
"Why not set yourself up for wellness, for health, for a less stressful day, for a more empowered day, for better motivation, for better focus, by being healthier while you’re working, no matter where you’re working, whether it’s in a truck, whether it’s in retail, whether it’s in an office, it doesn’t really matter, but we can work better, we can do better.
"And by making some really simple little changes we can transform our work health. And that is so important because we spend so much time doing it, why not do it better?"
Karl stresses that he’s not talking big and scary – "big and scary is difficult to do" – so, no 10k runs at lunchtime (unless you want to, of course). Instead, Karl wants us to try to increase our GDM – general daily movement:
"Choosing the stairs, as opposed to the lift. Getting off the bus or the train one stop earlier. If you’re working from home, getting a virtual commute, five minutes outside before you go to work, five minutes at the end of the day. The more GDM you do, the more general daily movement you do over the course of your day and your workday, the healthier you’re going to be, the stronger you’re going to be."
These GDMs, Karl says, will help us deal with stress better, help us focus better in meetings as well as be more productive in work and feel better after work. But what’s the best way to do this? Well, it’s a movement snack, of course.
A what now?
"A movement snack can be the last minute of every hour you’re in the office, get up and walk around the office for 60 seconds. Go use the stairs. Drink some water. Take some fruit onboard. Spend that minute organising your desk."
Karl admits to being a bit of tidy desk merchant – he describes it as liking structure and organisation – as he believes it’s something that’s important for wellness. Your desk should make you feel good when you look down at it:
"If it’s chaotic, if it’s stressful, well, that’s going to directly impact you own stress levels. So, use a movement snack, or a wellness snack at the end of the hour to tidy your desk up a little bit. And they all add up over the course if time. It’s that one percent concept, that one percent better or one percent more every single day, you’re going to feel better. It’ll feel seamless. It’s not going to feel difficult; it’s not going to feel hard."
If you work in retail or in a warehouse, your work is already full of GDMs and movement snacks are just part of your working day – something Karl thinks gives these workers an inbuilt advantage:
"They’re the ones we should be envious of because they are healthier because they’re literally on their feet. And when you’re on your feet as opposed to sitting in a chair, your body’s having to work harder, it’s having to stay stronger. They’re going to age better. They’re going to feel better."
The retail worker might get in six, seven thousand steps during the day, while the person in head office who sits all day might only get a thousand.
But what about people driving for a living – how do they get their GDMs and movement snack in? They have to set themselves up for success, Karl says:
"On a Monday, bring your water, bring your fruit. Wherever you’re going to spend time, set yourself up for success by having all the things around you that you want. Pop in those movement snacks."
If you’re a cab driver at a rank, the advice is get out and walk while you’re waiting for the next fare. Or even just stand – anything to get a break from the seated positions so many workers spend their days in. Karl wants us not to wait until the workday is finished to improve our wellness. And improving wellness at any time is a good idea, right?
You can hear Brendan’s full chat with Karl by clicking above.
