The new WFH: Workout From Home

Currently, everything has moved to the online format. Whatever that was once thought to be impossible has been rendered possible overnight. To give an example from my experience, the company where I worked previously never allowed work from home (for reasons best known to them) but come mid-march and they had transitioned overnight to a work from home culture. Adversity teaches you to adapt, even if you are not prepared to.

Fitness as a concept has always been introduced as an outdoor or group activity. It is widely regarded that if you decide to embark on a fitness journey alone, the chances of failure are higher. Hence, you are always advised either of the following:

• Join a gym instead of working out alone.
• Train under the guidance of a trainer.
• Make a gym-buddy.
• Play a sport like Football or Cricket.
• Join a fitness community to stay accountable.

Do you see the point I am trying to make? In order to ensure higher success rates it is always advisable to stay in contact with someone – could be anybody.

I can vouch for the benefits of this. Back then in Bangalore where I had joined Cult Fitness, on days when I could just not bear the thought of moving, the mere act of dressing up and tying my shoe laces would prep me up. The force that pulled me back towards my bed existed only until I landed at the door step of the gym after which it was a breeze. There were also times when I would enter the gym but be unable to push myself for a decent workout. This would be so until I would hear someone furiously grunting while doing a bicep curl or someone haplessly panting on the treadmill while running at a speed of 10 km/hr. Other people sweating it out does serve as a source of motivation to push yourself harder.

Now coming to the online space and the pros of an online workout which undoubtedly, I would list as the flexibility of being able to work out as per your convenience from the comfort of your home. Just like the various OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime which allow you to consume content on demand. On a lighter note, no one is judging you when you do not perform a yoga pose correctly or let out some air while attempting to perfect the same.

There is no dearth of online fitness classes these days. Almost every fitness chain and fitness influencers are offering online programs for a nominal amount. But there are cons to this like every other offering.

• Your internet connectivity game should be strong to ensure uninterrupted streaming when you join these classes.
• You need to be intrinsically motivated to join these classes in the first place!
• There is no one to physically guide you in order to correct your postures.

This is the trickiest part actually. What’s worse than not exercising is exercising with an incorrect form as this makes you more vulnerable to injuries – something which I am struggling with these days. I had joined Cult in order to learn Yoga but now since I have to rely on online classes, I am immensely skeptical of trying out a new pose without any guidance. As a result, I am just mastering what I already know – the Surya Namaskar.

So to sum up, Workout from Home as a trend is here to stay – the pandemic has definitely made us realise this. The ones who have a fixed routine and fitness plan in place as well as the ones who are high on will power and can work out without guidance, they can continue to reap its benefits.

For someone like me this works perfectly well. I have discovered the importance of body weight exercises recently and that along with a couple of dumbbells for strength training and a stationary bicycle for cardio training serves enough to keep me fit.

This does not mean that gyms will stay out of business forever. Recently Noberts – a fitness chain in Goa restarted its operations during the Unlock phase and I can list at least 10 people from my list of friends who made a dash for the gym despite the restrictions of wearing a mask while working out or sanitizing the equipment after use. The thrill that one gets from pumping iron at the gym is something which cannot be described. Also, not all have the luxury of being able to purchase fitness equipment for their homes.

With work from home increasingly blurring lines between professional and personal spaces, cutting out an hour exclusively for a workout from home seems difficult for many. Under such circumstances blocking your calendar strictly for a visit to the gym seems more viable – the choice which is to be made by you.

People will eventually return to gyms in a staggered manner  because we as humans crave for a social connect.

Until then irrespective of the choice made, choose to move.