Why & How Freelancers Should Exercise (from Fitness Expert Scott Tousignant)
Posted September 1, 2010 in Interviews, Lifestyle
As freelancers, our biggest assets are our minds and bodies. If we get sick, we can’t do any work. If our minds are foggy, we can’t produce our best. Therefore, we don’t make any money or as much money as we could.
Unfortunately, the care of our bodies is not always a top priority for many freelancers. It’s easy to get caught up in all our work–particularly because we enjoy it so much.
Plus, if you work from home, you have fewer reasons and opportunities to get up, walk and move. I know of at least one writer who can sit in front of her computer for up to six hours straight!
That can’t be good for anybody. In fact, research has shown that sitting for most of the day puts us at higher risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
Scott Tousignant, a fitness expert, recently agreed to share information about the importance of fitness for freelancers. I’d like to share with you a brief excerpt from that interview.
Seven Fitness Tips from Scott
Below are some highlights from my interview with Scott. We covered why freelancers are more likely to get out of shape, what we can do about it, and how to stay motivated.
1. You say the average person gains 30 pounds in the first year of working at home. What is your basis for saying this?
Scott: A lot of that information came from my own personal experience and from polling my friends who work online.
Even though I’ve been working out my entire life, the first three months I decided to focus completely on my online business and write my eBooks and create my programs. I dropped exercise for three months. I stopped working out. I wasn’t eating right.
I was mainly living off of what could give me a boost, because I wasn’t getting the boost that I get from exercise. So, I was resorting to coffee, caffeinated bars or Snickers bars and stuff like that.
And in those three months, I had put on 45 pounds!
I thought, “If I gained this much weight, I wonder what’s going on with my friends.” Through live events, masterminds and in forums, I asked people, “Did you gain weight after you started working at home?”
The average number that I kept getting was 30 pounds, not even for a year, but in the first six months. People were putting on weight really rapidly.
It’s funny because, at that time, I was attending a lot of live events. And I would see all my friends’ bodies changing–not for the better–each time I’d see them. Almost to the point where I didn’t recognize some of them after six months, because they’d put on so much weight.
2. Why do you think it’s easier for work at home freelancers to gain weight than those who work in an office?
Scott: They become so focused on the one goal of getting their business going, getting things off the ground. They’re really motivated to make this home business work and they just neglect everything else in the process.
Ironically, for most of us, our goals for working at home were all to create more freedom in our life, to have more time for our family, and we end up sacrificing everything that meant the most to us in order to build our businesses up. We just put everything on the back burner and focus on our business, focus on that one goal, and we end up doing more harm than good in the process.
3. What is the impact of our level of fitness in our daily lives and freelancing in particular?
Scott: When you neglect exercise and fitness, a lot of the time, you’re tired, you’re fatigued. And I remember during that period, in that three-month span when I just locked myself in the basement and I wasn’t exercising, I was lethargic. I couldn’t focus and get through the day.
It had a big impact in my life by gaining that weight and neglecting to exercise. I remember being so focused on the business and sacrificing all the freedom and everything I enjoy. Angie (my wife) kept reminding me, “Scott, I think you’re trying too hard.”
Sometimes you can try too hard and lose focus of what really matters. At that time, I finally listened to her and made it a priority to get my fitness back in order, spend time with the kids, and do the activities I enjoy.
I was actually working less, but ended up making more money. I was more productive in my business, because I may have gone from working 12 hours to eight hours, but I was getting a lot more done in that shorter time frame.
It’s amazing when you sit at your desk for hours at a time, how much of that time is actually wasted, because you’re distracted.
4. What short and effective workouts do you recommend for time-crunched freelancers?
Scott: I recommend the type of workout that my wife, Angie, and I created for ourselves, because we both work at home. It was a challenge to get to the gym and get in long, full workouts. We’ve found that it’s possible to get short and effective workouts in our home office, even with the limited amount of space.
We thought, “Let’s see what we can do in 10 minutes. It’s better than not getting any exercise at all. Let’s try these 10-minute workouts.”
We found after a few months that we were getting better results from shorter, more intense workouts than we were spending 60 minutes in the gym. It was transforming our bodies quite well. That’s when we realized we were on to something.
I’m talking about doing two 10-minute workouts every day. One is a resistance training workout, where you’ll either do body weight movements or use some dumbbells. This is to sculpt your body, to add some lean, sexy muscle to your body.
And then there’s a 10-minute cardio session, which is always some form of body weight cardio.
Both of them will help to melt the body fat, but the resistance workouts are more for sculpting your body, shaping your body. Together, both of them are great for skyrocketing your metabolism.
I like to break it into chunks because one 10-minute chunk is going to elevate your metabolism for several hours. But, then it’s going to dip again.
Let’s say four hours later, you decide to do the 10-minute cardio, you’re going to get another boost in your metabolism. So, your metabolism will stay elevated throughout the day.
It’s gives you a mental boost as well. Getting that exercise in will boost your mental clarity as you’re working.
A lot of times, I also add in a 30-minute walk or bike ride to my day. That time I don’t count as exercise or working out because it does so much more for me. I use that time to plan out my day, to clear my head.
For example, for freelancers, that’s an ideal time to brainstorm an article or a book or something like that.
I carry my Sony voice recorder when I go for a walk or bike ride, so I can record whatever ideas come to me. When I get home, I just play the recording and type out the article or blog post that came to me during my “exercise.”
It’s like killing two birds with one stone. I find that I write or think better when I’m out exercising. It must be all that oxygen pumping throughout my brain. And I’m completely focused at that time.
Whereas, if I’m in front of my computer, I might write a paragraph and then I get distracted by something. Someone tweets me, the phone rings, or something happens.
5. Why is this type of workout effective? Other people spend hours in the gym.
Scott: It’s more intense. When I created these workouts for myself, I took the workouts I was doing in the gym that were lasting 45 minutes to an hour. Where I used to take a minute to three minute-break in between each exercise, I reduced my rest time to five to 15 seconds. I just cut out the rest period.
I’m doing the exact number of reps and sets, but in a condensed period of time. I may not be able to lift as heavy a weight as I could if I gave my body more rest in between sets, but I find that these workouts produce the results I want.
Short, but intense, workouts elevate and accelerate your heart rate, and get your muscles pumped–a greater pump than you’ll get from 60 minutes of less intense exercise at the gym.
The short cardio workout is made up of short bouts of intense activity followed by 30 seconds of rest. In that short period, your heart is pumping more and working more than in a less intense but longer workout.
6. Is there an optimum time for doing cardio and resistance training? Or, does it even matter what time we exercise?
Scott: Whenever you have the most energy, I find, is the best time to do the weight training.
If you’re going to work out first thing in the morning, the cardio might be the better choice to do. When you first wake up, you’re not going to have the energy to lift weights.
Fuel your body with healthy, nutritious foods first and then a few hours later do your weight training.
There’s no real ideal situation, but I definitely like to have as much energy as I can when I lift those weights, because I want to produce the greatest contractions with those exercises and lift the most challenging weights that I can.
Our muscles are metabolic furnaces and the more we can work those muscles and build those muscles, the more calories we burn and add some sexy shape to our body as well.
7. It’s easy to fall off from regular exercising especially when you have a particularly busy period. What are your tips for staying motivated?
Scott: We all experience setbacks. I’ve been there. The best of the best go through it too.
The people who are able to persevere and push through are the ones who can look at those setbacks, the challenges, the reasons why they fell off the wagon, and learn from those experiences.
Ask yourself: What happened? Why did I fall off the wagon this time? Was it because I got distracted with work? Was it because I was so focused on this business that I had to put exercise aside for a month or so while I got this project off the ground?
If that is the case, how can you compensate for that so the next time you have a big project to complete, maybe you can’t do 10-minute workout chunks but you could break it up into five-minute chunks. Do whatever you can do to schedule it in and make it a priority in your day.
Maybe your setback was, you went away on vacation and couldn’t get your momentum back again. Just have a plan in place for the next time it happens.
Learn from these setbacks and challenges and be prepared for when they happen again. Have a plan in place for overcoming them.
Another way to motivate yourself is by having that strong, powerful “why.” What are your main reasons for working out?
When you don’t feel like working out, or you’re struggling through a workout, constantly remind yourself of your reason why. That’s the trigger that will inspire you to give it everything you’ve got.
It’s also good to focus on growth, especially if you’re in pretty decent shape already and don’t really need to lose weight. Focus on growth. Have a growth mindset.
This means you feel uncomfortable when you’re not improving yourself, whether physically or mentally. You always challenge yourself to get better, to become stronger, to constantly grow as an individual.
I also encourage everyone to become fascinated with your body. Look at yourself in the mirror, examine yourself. You may not like some of what you see, and that’s ok. You’ve got room for improvement. It’s awesome how you can take what you’ve got and make it more beautiful, sculpt it, improve upon it. The possibilities are limitless.
There are so many reasons to work out. A lot of people associate it with weight loss. But exercising is so much more than that. It’s so much more than trying to lose weight. It’s about achieving mental clarity, getting more productive throughout the day, and being strong enough to do certain activities.
All your life’s experiences are impacted by your physical fitness, strength, endurance, stamina. It has such a great impact on everything we do. It’s way more than just losing weight.
Those multiple things can inspire and motivate you to move on and work out every day.
My Parting Thoughts
I hope this post inspires you to get up and exercise. Scott recommends a specific type of workout that can easily fit into a busy schedule.
However, the best workout is the one you actually do. So find an exercise regimen that you enjoy doing, and do it.
Over to You
I’d love to know: did YOU gain weight when you started freelancing? Do you exercise? If so, what type of exercise do you do? And how do you stick to it?
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About the author: Lexi Rodrigo is the creator of The Savvy Freelancer, a blog that's all about achieving creative and financial freedom through freelancing. Check out Lexi's free guide, 31 Days to Start Your Freelancing Business (or Make Yours A Better One).
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52 Comments
Jordan Walker
September 1st, 2010 at 9:10 ambrb…off to the weight room
Joanne
September 1st, 2010 at 9:10 amI recently started walking a mile and a half almost every morning and that has done wonders for my energy level and concentration. I also take frequent breaks during the day and do some stretching and strengthening exercises recommended by a physical therapist. I have neck, shoulder, and back problems, so it’s important – otherwise it’ll be a lot harder to get work done!
Scott Tousignant
September 1st, 2010 at 9:45 amJoanne, congrats on your consistent walking schedule! It’s great to hear that you are taking frequent breaks throughout the workday to stretch and get your body moving. It’s doing you a world of good.
I have 3 videos that I would like to share with you, which may be of help in strengthening your neck and back muscles…
Neck and Shoulder Exercises
http://fatlossquickie.com/blog/30-day-home-office-fitness-challenge-day-4/
Shoulder warm-up exercises
http://fatlossquickie.com/blog/how-to-prevent-shoulder-injuries/
Lower Back Exercises and Stretches
http://fatlossquickie.com/blog/30-day-home-office-fitness-challenge-day-5/
I hope that you find these 3 videos to be useful. Keep up the great work!
Scott Tousignant
James Seymour-Lock
September 1st, 2010 at 10:08 amVery interesting and detailed post, since freelancing i put on a fair amount of weight, maybe 5KG over a 2 year period! but for the past year i get up and go to the gym every evening. i don’t really go the exercise, but i find it helps me unwind from sitting in front of the computer for 10 hours straight.
Swimming is a great idea, doing a few laps and run over projects in your mind in a relaxing environment (just go late at night when the pool isn’t full of screaming kids!)
Rachel Small
September 1st, 2010 at 10:10 amI started doing yoga a few months ago and it has greatly improved my physical and mental health. I stay way more focused after a good session!
Rondal
September 1st, 2010 at 11:00 amGreat article, Lexi. I would have liked to learned more about the specifics of Scott’s routine, though. In my case I work in an office full time, though I do freelance on occasion, so what kind of exercises can I perform for a quick boost and avoid “chair-rot?”
melissa
September 1st, 2010 at 11:01 amI have to workout 3-5x a week or I get too sore to sit and work. The best and most motivating way to stay on track is to pay a personal trainer. I have a gym membership, but I don’t go bc nobody is there waiting on me….but with a trainer, I know someone is there and I have to keep the appointment.
I also schedule my workouts for the month FIRST, before setting meetings. That way, I know I’ll workout.
And, I never ever keep cookies or cake or sugary soda in the house. They’re gut busters. Keep good stuff, like baked cheetos if you need salty/crunchy, or carrots and hummus around for snacks, but nothing that is packed with empty calories.
Oh, and get a dog. They make you get up out of your chair multiple times a day. Plus, they make you happy :)
Lexi Rodrigo
September 1st, 2010 at 11:08 amThanks for sharing, everyone! Looks like most of you are squeezing some exercise in. Good job! And for those who are like me and need constant motivation, let’s keep working at it.
@Melissa – Great tip about the trainer. I may just have to check out that option. I’ve also been thinking of joining a yoga program, just because I love yoga.
@Scott – Thanks for dropping by and sharing links to those exercises. I tend to carry my stress on my shoulders (literally, having the world on my shoulders), and the get all knotted up when I’m under pressure. I’ve bookmarked those pages :-D
Lexi Rodrigo
September 1st, 2010 at 11:27 am@Rondal – Check out Scott’s blog for more details on his workouts:
http://www.FatLossQuickie.com/blog
Cheers!
Stephanie
September 1st, 2010 at 11:44 amI’ve actually lost weight since I started freelancing. Freelancing afforded me the flexibility to work out in the middle of the day — when my body is most amenable to exercise. Plus, no one’s watching if I take a 90-minute lunch break to work out and shower. And eating at home has helped me stay away from high-sodium, high-fat restaurant foods for breakfast and lunch. It’s been a great change all the way around for me!
Bogdan Pop
September 1st, 2010 at 12:10 pmGreat article! Great change of topic! A lot of good tips and ideas to stay in shape.
@james Yeah, swimming was the first thing that popped in my mind after reading the article, though I have some weights 5 meters away from me. Going to the pool and back is better than going to the weights behind me and back.
Nicole
September 1st, 2010 at 12:37 pmGreat motivation to get moving! I work at home, but I technically have both a “day job” (that allows me to work at home) and a website I am building at the same time. I am also a wife and mom of two young boys.
It is SO hard to find time to work out and I agree you can do a great workout in just 10-15 minutes, but where I get stuck is finding that 10-15 minutes in that it’s not just that much time. I put on my work out clothes, work out, then I have to shower. From start to finish, it’s really 30 minutes, at least, which gets into “too long in the middle of the day when I have so much to do.” realm. I want to make it a priority, but it’s very hard. How do you handle the shower aspect? It would be nice if I could literally take a “coffee break” for exercise, but it just doesn’t happen because of the “but then I have to shower, too.” mentality.
Since exercising wasn’t happening, I took it upon myself to change my diet, instead, though. I started eating healthier food and smaller portions and I’ve dropped 5-6 pounds in 3-4 weeks. More than that I *feel* better and more focused, too. I do hope to add exercise into the mix, but making it a routine that happens every day (or a few days per week) at the same time is where I fall off the wagon.
Adam Bluhm
September 1st, 2010 at 1:19 pmExcellent interview! I’ve actually lost weight since I started freelancing as well. Just like Stephanie, working from home has given me the opportunity to eat much better throughout the day. I eat out less and have more home made food and now exercise in the time I saved from my commute.
RobbyDesigns
September 1st, 2010 at 1:20 pmI guess I’m lucky on this count, I teach martial arts and freelance web design :)
Freelance FactFile
September 1st, 2010 at 1:40 pmNo, I LOST weight when I started freelancing! None of those business lunches.
I exercise five times a week and, because I’m in charge of my daily schedule, I can go to the gym when I please. I went this morning – to a Pilates class. I’m still at my desk now at 18:45 to make up the time when I was out earlier. But working late isn’t a problem, as I don’t have much of a commute to my kitchen to start cooking supper. :)
Bexxie
September 1st, 2010 at 2:32 pmI used to exercise about 3-4 times when I was able to work from home a few years ago, but now with a 9-5 and freelancing part-time, I’ve been really slack when it comes to going to the gym. I go to yoga about once a week now and follow along with some of the exercise shows on hulu.com about once a week as well. The weird thing is I’ve lost about 15lbs. Maybe some of it is muscle weight I lost combined with a lot less snacking than when I was at home all the time. Anyway, I look forward to the day where I can freelance full-time and go to the gym whenever I want.
Jon
September 1st, 2010 at 5:06 pmI started packing on the pounds due to freelance work and going back to school. I have been trying to go to the gym about once or twice a week to get back into it. I came across a site that displays songs based on their BPM and tells you what exercise goes well with that one. Check it out, I like it a lot.
http://www.gymdj.com
Stephanie
September 1st, 2010 at 9:11 pmEver since I started freelancing, I began to adopt bad eating and sleeping habits that did no good for my body. I slept really late in order to finish a project, I would eat at most 2 1/2 meals a day because I was so busy with freelancing and school, and I was quite the anti-sociable person so I didn’t go out when there was no reason to.
It was only when I had my baby girl and when I saw those fat legs that I decided to change these bad habits of mine. I have a new laptop now so I would go up and down the stairs twice to set it up here in the dining room. If my daughter wakes up from her nap, I make it a point to get up and play with her several times in a day.
It’s not a complete work-out but I feel much better doing this routine everyday. :)
TLC
September 1st, 2010 at 10:21 pmIi have been a lifetime member of Weight Watchers for nearly 2 years now and continue to follow the plan, so that has kept my weight under control. Working out gets tricky when I get really busy. I have a bad back & have to keep moving so I won’t be in pain. Thanks for the reminders to keep this a priority!
Kirstine Vergara
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:17 amThanks for this. I was just worrying about this the other day. I recently started freelancing and it’s hard to get exercise because staying at home makes me lazy to go to the gym. I am more likely to gain weight since I can eat anytime because there’s available food in the fridge unlike in a regular office. My plan is to run for 1 hour in the afternoon so that I won’t have to gain more weight; I still need to lose this baby weight.
Anyways, my point here is that we shouldn’t let the job we chose affect the other aspects in our lives. Since we freelancers are benefiting from the fact that we get to stay home, work in our jammies, and set our own income, we shouldn’t compromise anything, especially our health. Allow me to share with you an interesting article on Financial Future and Lifestyle Success: Is Your Current Job Crippling You? Hope you like it. :)
Bakari
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:17 pmWorking out has been on my to-do list for months. I so much need to be doing this. I recently started back using a timer app (Time Out for Mac) to remind me to take breaks throughout the day. All too often I start burning out around 3pm when I still have a lot on my plate to get done. I think as Scott says, exercising would definitely be good for keeping my brain and body active, but the challenge is starting a routine and sticking to it. Thanks for this post. Good one.
Ameet
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:52 amgreat article and interview from Scott…i really liked the neck and shoulder excercise link given in the comments by Scott….
lidia varesco design
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:05 amGreat topic! Ditto on the comment to get a dog. Essie makes sure I get out of my office a few times a day (she sometimes actually puts her paw on top of my mouse to stop me from working!)
I feel like I’m in better shape since starting my own biz 10 years ago. Creating my own schedule means I can work out when it’s best for me (late morning or early afternoon) — instead of forcing myself through a less-than-effective 5:30 am or late night workout.
I know most of us left our 9-to-5s to escape schedules but when you work from home, structure does seem to help with workouts. Whether it’s a weekly exercise class or simply putting a note on the fridge with your weekly goal (hit the gym 3x/week).
I also strongly encourage regular stretch/yoga breaks throughout the day — especially on days you’re putting in long computer hours. Whether you stretch at your desk or pop in a short yoga DVD, I can attest to the fact that it will keep you healthy and pain-free, which is essential when you’re self-employed (you can’t call in sick, now can you?)
Jeremy Mack
September 8th, 2010 at 5:10 amI try to get at least 1.5 hours of exercise in a day doing jiu jitsu, although some days getting out of the office is just plain impossible. Because I’m usually up until 2-3am, missing a day of moving around really effects me negatively…
I do, however, make sure to stand up as much as possible (every hour, and during every phone call) to keep my lower back pain-free
paul
September 8th, 2010 at 12:40 pmthanks for the article, it encouraged me to research a workout routine that I could stick to. I found out about the “Walk at home” program by Leslie Sansone. It’s for people who are a bit out of shape like me.
the good thing is I can pop it in the dvd drive and do my workout in my home office!
I started today and should be able to keep it up.
Stella Aghenie
September 10th, 2010 at 11:06 amLife is a Competition, i always agreed that sport has a lot to do with our life. If you would see the rugby team All Blacks, how they inspire others, and show them that people need competition and daily exercise to make their life reach the level they always wished for…
John
November 2nd, 2011 at 10:05 amExercising is also a great way to relieve some of the stress involved in owning a business. Simple jogging/running can work it all out.
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