Happy Muscles From Home: Tips And Tricks To Feel Your Best While Working From Home

With all the events happening in the world right now, many of us—me included—find ourselves working from home.

With the change of routine, I have found myself experiencing some muscle pain in my neck and low back. Both of which are very uncharacteristic.

Without my regular massages, more sedentary daily activities, and just the overall funk I’m in, I quickly realized that now, more than ever, is when I need to be taking steps to ensure my muscular (and overall) health.

Here is what I’ve incorporated into my new “normal routine” of working from home.

Stay flexy

Keeping or creating a stretching routine will keep your body happier until your next massage!

Don’t know where to start? One of my favorite references is ROMWOD. It’s basically Netflix but for stretching. YouTube also has full yoga classes available!

Soak it up

Warm baths are a great way to loosen up muscles as well as calm the nervous system. I like to add a couple of cups of Epsom salt to my bath to help reduce soreness and stress!

Bubbles are encouraged but not mandatory.

Get that H2O

For some reason, I’m really bad about drinking water at home. I just do much better when I’m in my studio.

Water is SO important for muscle health. Water carries oxygen and nutrients to muscles, reduces cramping, and helps get rid of waste in muscle tissue.

My go-to water consumption during the day is half of my body weight in ounces. (So a 200lb person should shoot for 100oz of water).

I track my water intake with MyFitnessPal, but even a simple tally mark on a Post-It will keep you conscious of your water intake!

Just eat some veggies, please!

I’m not a nutritionist, so I’m going to keep this very simple.

Your body is an engine and food is fuel. If you put garbage fuel in your engine, don’t expect it to run smoothly.

Give your body real food and it will feel better!

There are tons of healthy frozen meat, veggie, and fruit options that you can stock up on. I love InstaCart for at home food delivery if you are wanting some fresh produce.

Stay active

A body in motion stays in motion!

Lots of gyms are doing online workouts. Go for a walk, play with your kids, or even just do some flights of stairs.

Stagnant muscles tighten up and atrophy. The more you can move, the better you will feel!

Get to sleep!

Working from home can make the days blur together and can really throw off your sleep schedule. Make sure you are getting a proper amount of sleep!

Too little sleep doesn’t allow enough time for muscles to repair and recover. This could lead to soreness, stiffness, and even injury.

Too MUCH sleep can also cause issues as well. Sleeping too much can contract muscles for extended periods of time. This can lead to tight muscles, headaches, muscle cramping, back pain, and even muscular atrophy.

Stick with a reasonable bedtime and set an alarm in the morning. Your body will thank you!