Are you more likely to work out if you go into the office?

Want a guaranteed way of getting yourself to the gym? Strong Women editor Miranda Larbi argues that going into work is a sure-fire way of making sure you exercise – but not everyone agrees.

If you’re struggling to find the motivation to move these days, then here’s a little tip for you: go to work. At least, that’s according to a report released at the end of 2021, which claimed that at least half of us work in an office at least once a week, and that many of those who do, use their commuting time to work out.

The ClassPass research also found that on the days we’re in the office, the chance of us going to the gym more than doubles. In other words, if you’ve got a membership – or a ClassPass subscription – you’re more likely to get your money’s worth if you’re not working from the sofa and still dressed in pyjama bottoms at 2pm.

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That sort of makes sense; if you could go to the gym en route to work or on your return home, why wouldn’t you? If you’re hybrid working with two or three days in town a week, it follows that you might want to get all your socialising, meetings and gymming done on those days to free you up for the days you work from home.

It’s certainly true in my case. While I tend to run around my local area when working from home, I’m far more likely to go to the gym on the days when I go to the office. Because I cycle, I’m already dressed in my gym kit and doing a 7am class means turning up to work showered, dressed and focused. There’s no way I’d schlep into town for a gym session if I had to come all the way back home an hour later. 

Habit stacking your work-life commitments

A lot of this has to do with ‘habit stacking’. If you want to get into a good habit, tack it onto something non-negotiable so that you’re not having to make a tremendous effort to do it. If you want to improve your balance, for example, but can’t be faffed with practising yoga, try brushing your teeth standing on one foot. You have to brush your teeth at least twice a day (habit one), so doing that while balancing (habit two) kills two birds with one stone. If you’ve got to go into work, you may as well come back via the gym – or roll out of bed and shower at the gym near the office.

When we put the question to Instagram, however, the majority (64%) of the Strong Women community said they were more likely to go to the gym when working from home. And when I asked Twitter which was more conducive to working out, 73% said the same. So why is that?

“I’ve worked out way more since I’ve been full-time working from home,” says writer Jess. “I don’t know how I even had the time (to exercise) between commuting and eight-hour office days and evening events.”

You might think that a WFH situation is more conducive to a relaxed lunchtime class or jog, but running coach Laura Fountain has found that her 7am training sessions “were far busier when more people were WFH. Now runners tend to come if it’s their WFH day, rather than on the days they’re heading into the office.” And that, she believes, is because “people want the connection with others that group sessions offer on days when they might otherwise be on their own”.

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Writer Rose Sgueglia has tried gymming at work and at home, and it’s only now that she’s back at home more that she’s managed to organise her day around fitness. “It’s a bit like at the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, I just downloaded the same fitness app again,” she tells Stylist. “When you work from home, you actually have to force yourself to do some sort of exercise. I know that if I don’t, I’ll have trouble sleeping or focusing the next morning.”

Perhaps that’s more the point; if you commute, you’re naturally more active. I cycle to work, but back when I took the Tube, I’d have to walk 15 minutes to the station at both ends. You go out at lunchtime for a snack, get up to chat to colleagues, to make a coffee, nip to the loo. At home… you may well sit in your chair for hours on end without looking up – making intentional exercise absolutely necessary. 

WFH v office convenience

It also probably depends on a number of other factors like age (if like me, you’ve spent years in offices pre-pandemic, squeezing in a 7am gym session pre-office is something you might be used to), energy levels (if a full day at the office is exhausting, you’re probably not going to want to smash a HIIT class afterwards) and space (if you live in a tiny flat like me, the gym is a preferable option to home workouts).

Fundamentally, it doesn’t really matter when you’re more likely to move – so long as you are moving intensely for 150 minutes every week. You might clock that up on your cycle to work, on your bi-weekly jogs at home or in your post-work strength sessions. But honestly, if you are hybrid working and can’t remember the last time you went for a workout, try gymming on your office days. The others may disagree but I’m with ClassPass.

For more exercise tips, visit the Strong Women Training Club.

Images: Getty

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