Pomodoro Office Workout

No excuses.

Just. Do. It.

This week it’s “Working differently week: happy(f) agile“ at the UMC Utrecht. During this week the idea is to try to do things a little differently and break existing routines. For a while I have been doing this as well. Here’s what I do: the Pomodoro Office Workout

The basic premise of the Pomodoro Office Workout (POW) is as follows. Break up your day into chunks of 25 minutes of concentrated work on 1 specific task/item, and 5 minutes of a workout*. "Workout?", I hear you thinking. Yes. That’s right. I'll explain the details in a moment. After 3 or 4 rounds, you take a longer break (break) where, for example, you have lunch with a walk, or just while staring out the window. This break is explicitly not meant to answer your apps on WhatsApp, tweet, open your favorite news-app or anything else on your computer/phone.

Ok, so about that workout. It’s simple and easy. You set an alarm clock for 5 minutes, and you do some simple exercises. For example, you can do a specific exercise x-times each minute on the minute, or 5x 30 seconds that specific exercise. The rest of the time is a break. Just make sure that you start each minute that specific exercise. But you can also just go for as many of 1 particular exercise as possible in 5 minutes. Some examples:

• 5x 30 seconds squats, 30 seconds rest

• 5x 30 seconds front or back lunges, 30 seconds rest

• 5x 30 seconds pushups, 30 seconds rest

• 5x 30 seconds office table pull-ups (you lie under your desk and pull yourself up at your desk), 30 seconds rest

• 5x 5-10-15-20 pushups (whatever you can handle initially), 30-40 seconds rest (depends on how fast you are)

• 5x 5-10-15-20 office table pull-ups, 30-40 seconds rest (depends on how fast you are)

• 5 minutes of as many sets of as many pushups, pull-ups, squats, or lunges as possible

• 5x 30 seconds plank, 30 seconds rest

• 5x 30 seconds commando plank, 30 seconds rest

• 5x 40 seconds side plank with reach under, 20 seconds rest

Before you know it, you've had 4-6x 5-minute breaks, in others words a 20-30 minute workout! And before you know it, those were for example 2x 5x10 pushups, 1x 5x 30 seconds 20-30 squats, 1x 5x 30 seconds 20-30 lunges, 1x 5x 30 seconds plank. Do that 5 days a week and you've done 500 pushups, 500-750 squats, and 500-750 lunges on Friday afternoon, and planked for 12.5 minutes, etc. Totaling up to 100-150 minutes of a light workout that week.

Ok, granted, this can't be done everywhere in a hospital; I haven't figured out a solution for the clinicians yet - sorry. But in 99% of cases, it can be done just fine in the office or other work places.

Personally I was inspired by the book "Living With A SEAL". In it, the SEAL, David Goggins, had Jesse Itzler do all kinds of exercises in the office or wherever they were at that moment, between meetings and doing business. It’s a great example, admittedly a very special one, of stepping outside your "comfort zone," "simplicity," and especially "no excuses." Where I am from we sometimes say "can't be done, doesn't exist" (literally translated, but I guess you get the point). And that's right. Is the POW a little crazy? Sure. Is it something you've done before? Probably not. Is it easy? Hell yes, you don't need anything. Is there any reason not to do it? Actually, no. So, what are you waiting for?

Just. Do. It.

*I use the Flow app on my Mac to help me with timing. And I use the ‘High Intensity Interval Training’-option in the Workout-app on my Apple Watch to track my progress.