Things that I’m doing now that I’m an office worker to ensure I keep making gains in the gym and life!
Today, I’m going to be talking about my eating and training habits now that my main job is now an “office worker”. I put office worker in “ “ because half my time is spent out on the field, doing my thing and the other half in the office filling out the paperwork saying how I’ve done my thing. I still coach people, but it’s done before or after my 9-5 gig or online. Anyways, that’s not what this article is about so I’ll veer it back towards training and nutrition. *Note: I split the article up in two. One talking about training, the other about nutrition.
Strength Training Days
I still follow a 4-day a week strength training program. What’s change is when I do it. My working hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Even though a lot of my time is spent in the office, I still get tired doing the things I need to do. To combat the feeling of “ceebs” (Can’t be bothered) training after work, I start my training week off on a Saturday, after I train my clients.
Saturday is a leg day, and Sunday is an upper-body day. I found that getting two training sessions before the week has even started, has made it easier for me to find two days during the week to train. These days have been Tuesday and Thursday after work.
Workout length
When I do the Saturday and Sunday sessions, they generally are around 1.5-2 hours long because I usually have a bit more time and energy to do a more extended session. During the week, when I train on Tuesday and Thursday, my sessions are generally 1-1.5 hour long. The reason I don’t do longer sessions during the week is 1) It’s not ideal to be amped up 2 hours before bed (you won’t get good quality sleep even if you can fall asleep), and 2) I’m tired because it’s the end of the day. I usually would do 3-4 exercises or even a double session on a Sunday, but during the week, I only perform 1-2 exercises.
As you can see, I don’t too much volume (reps and sets). I still make strength and fat loss gains, though. Ideally, I would do a whole bunch of exercises and workout for close to 2 hours. Realistically though, during the week, and sometimes even the weekend when I have something on, it’s not achievable. This is when having your nutrition dialled in comes in handy so you can continue making strength, muscle and body fat loss gains.
What about cardio?
Personally, the only cardio I do is walking. More specifically, I aim for at least 10,000 steps per day minimum. Currently, I am aiming for around 12,000. Walking is a powerful fat loss tool IF paired with a nutrition plan geared towards body fat loss. Walking a lot but still eating like crap isn’t going to do much for you, unless you have a lot of weight to lose.
As I mentioned, half my role is office work and out on site. Depending on what I am doing on-site, I can either be moving around a lot or just be standing. To ensure I reach my step goal for the day, the first thing I do in the morning is to go for a walk. The length will vary depending on what I have on that day. Generally, I would wake up at 6:10 am, drink a lot of water, do my business and be out the door by 6:20 am, and I’ll walk for at least 30 minutes. A rule of thumb is every 10 minutes you walk is roughly 1000 steps. Even at my slow pace, I can get around 1200-1300 steps in 10 minutes. On an average morning, I can get around 3000-3500 steps. Morning walks help because depending on what happens during the day, the rest of the 10,000-step goal can be made up of the steps I take for day-to-day life.
What about other forms of cardio?
My training philosophy has always been prioritising lifting weights and getting as strong as you can at different rep ranges. Cardio, for me and my clients, is an add on. An add on at the end of the session or on days I’m not lifting weights. For long term results, you can’t skip out on a proper strength training routine.
For me, an additional form of cardio is done once every second week or every week, depending on what I have on during that week. Some weeks my after-work clients cancel, and I’ve done all my four-day strength program. In this case, I might do some HIIT style, metabolic conditioning with skipping or kettlebells.
A reason for me not performing a lot of circuits and HIIT work is because; 1) my goal is to get as strong as I was pre-COVID lockdown at a lighter bodyweight and 2) there’s no need for me to be doing excessive amounts of cardio, besides walking, because I have a nutrition plan.
Summary
To save time, I will split the topic of “what I’m doing with my training and nutrition now that I’m an office worker” into two parts. Part 1 today is what I’m doing with my training. Part 2 will focus on my nutrition and what I am doing with that to help me with my goals.
This is a blueprint of what I do. I hope that by reading this article, it can show you that it is possible to achieve your health and fitness no matter what your circumstances are. All you need is a goal. If you need help with this, feel free to reach out to me in the comments below or by directly contacting me.
Peace out!