Why you should start doing the Office Workout of the Day (i.e. WOD) and stop worrying about wrinkling your work attire:
We all love that feeling when we get up early to workout, eat a healthy lunch at the office and choose a green juice over a frappuccino in the afternoon.
So why don’t we do that every day?
In short – because it’s REALLY HARD. Our time at the office is spent sitting in chairs, staring at our computers and craving sweet or savory snacks. Most offices make it really easy to get those snacks!
Over the past few years we’ve been trying to find a way to set ourselves up for success at the office and that’s when we designed the Office WOD. It’s a series of daily challenges (2-3 min in length) designed by our team of certified trainers. These challenges have a ton of benefits and will set you up for taking some major steps forward in your health and fitness.
But, because it took us some time to be okay with getting weird looks in the office while completing the WOD’s, we figured it might be the same for you. So we put together some of the top benefits you’ll receive once you say “to heck with it” and give the Office WOD a try:
Benefit #1 – You’ll instantly Turbocharge your day!
After completing one of our recent Office WOD’s I asked a coworker (who has been sedentary his entire adult life) how he felt and he responded, “I feel alive!” The challenge took only 2 minutes and changed the rest of his afternoon. If you are a coffee drinker, think of doing the Office WOD as an alternative way to getting the energy boost you crave from a shot of espresso!
Benefit #2 – You are guaranteed to eat less junk food at the office.
Trust us, you’ll think twice about eating a burrito with chips and queso at lunch when you have some air squats and crunches to do when you get back! Even if you eat a bit more than you planned, you’ll turn some of those extra calories into muscle instead of fat (see #5 below).
Benefit #3 – It’s your chance to stick it to the man.
If you are at a company where being healthy and fit at the office is the norm, then ignore this reason and stay at that company! If not, then doing the Office WOD with a coworker is your chance to rebel against the norm. Trust us, once your company’s execs understand the benefits of completing the Office WOD, they’ll be on board. Until then, it’s your chance to be different.
Benefit #4 – Set yourself up for success with your health.
Everyone wants to go to the gym for an hour a day if they can, but most of us can’t find the time to do it everyday. Completing the Office WOD is like playing defense on your health with a little offense. You’ll make small improvements on your health and fitness at the office, and if you can get in a 30 minute workout before or after work you’ll get major benefits. Think about the difference with these options:
Option 1 (No Office WOD) – The week ends and you got to the gym 2x. You tell yourself you have to do better next week and end the week unhappy about your health.
Option 2 (Office WOD) – The week ends and you got to the gym 2x after work and completed the Office WOD 4x! You end the week feeling great that you did something health related every day, stayed more disciplined in what you ate (see #2), and are ready to continue improving your health next week.
Which option sounds better??
Benefit #5 – The results are backed by science!
If you are like us, you don’t want to be the mice in the study. You want proof that doing the daily physical challenges we give you is worth potentially wrinkling your outfit! Here are some of the scientifically proven benefits:
- Activating GLUT-4 – Research has shown that even 60-90 seconds of moderate contractions is enough to bring GLUT-4 to the surface of muscle cells and allow you those calories you ate at lunch to go towards muscle building rather than fat.* To get this benefit, we recommend doing the Office WOD before you leave for lunch and again 90 minutes after returning to the office.
- Studies have shown that completing micro workouts (i.e. similar to what you will be doing during the Office WOD) can lead to lowered blood pressure, improved endurance, and muscle strength **
- If you are looking to improve on various exercises (i.e. push-ups, sit-ups, and kettlebell swings for an upcoming challenge!), then completing the Office WOD can help you prepare just as much as training for an hour after work. Studies have shown that performing a specific exercise in small doses throughout the day like you do in the Office WOD will help improve your muscle memory and help activate more muscle cells when you are performing the exercise for maximum reps (i.e. Grease the Groove)***.
In conclusion, we dare you to grab some co-workers, book a conference room for 5 minutes during the day and give it a try, because why not!? Sign-up and join us for tomorrow’s Office WOD!
* Studies have shown a short 60-90 seconds of exercise is enough to bring glucose transporter type 4 to the surface of muscle cells allowing more of the food (glucose) to be siphoned to muscle tissue. An excellent source of information on this topic can be found in the 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferris.
** Here is a great article on the benefits of a 1 minute workouts. While the Office WOD won’t be as intense as the test subjects in the article were put up to (we don’t want you sweating in your work clothes!), the benefits are still similar.
*** Check out this article. Basically there are two ways to make gains on an exercise. (1) Break down your muscle and have it re-build even bigger, or (2) Practice the movement over and over so that muscles develop improved muscle memory and in doing so do the movement more efficiently with more of your muscle cells.