Workouts You Can Do in Your Living Room

Finding the right exercise routine can be next to impossible for busy professionals and parents to fit into their schedules. Personal fitness can be even more difficult to manage when there is little free time available, often conflicting with work agendas, children, and an increasing amount of home responsibilities.

Fortunately, many simple workouts can be done from the comfort of home. These exercises will work with any schedule and can be done without having to attend a gym, helping to save time and money. Exercising at home will not only help improve physical and mental health but will increase productivity and prepare workers and parents for the day ahead.

Jumping Jacks

This simple but effective workout will help get the blood flowing and warm the body at the beginning of an exercise. When done for at least a minute, this exercise is the perfect addition to any cardio routine.

Lunges

This targeted workout is great for exercising hip flexors, thighs, and abdominal muscles. Increasing the repetitions can help tone leg muscles.

Squats

Perfect for toning glutes and hamstrings, this effective exercise move is ideal for quick workouts. This workout can also be performed with weights, serving as a dual exercise for both legs and arms.

Sit-Ups or Crunches

These workout moves target abdominal muscles, quickly warming the body while toning the stomach. Whether performed together or separately, these workouts are ideal for any routine.

Bicycles

Warming up hip flexors, quadriceps, glutes, and abdominals, this workout is ideal for toning the lower body.

Push-Ups

This move is great for working out pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. There are many variations of this move to choose from, including wide arm, military, decline, and more.

Dead Lifts

This exercise targets many muscle areas, including shoulder and arm muscles. This move can be performed using dumbbells, a barbell, or any heavy object on hand.

Calf Raises

This move can be performed with or without weights. It is perfect for toning calf and glute muscles.

The Right Routine

These moves can be performed and modified as needed, allowing busy individuals to craft the perfect workout routine to fit their lives.

This blog was originally published on James Crickmore’s website.

Tips on Working Remotely

Over the past few years, more and more companies around the world have discovered the benefits of allowing their employees to work from home. Not only does remote work allow companies to save money on their overhead, but employees enjoy spending more time with their families and simply having a more flexible work schedule. However, remote work does also hold its challenges. Thus, the following list includes a few tips on working remotely.

Communication is Key

One of the most challenging parts of working remotely is keeping open a clear communication channel with co-workers. Thus it is incredibly important to invest some time researching the various communication tools available to you and your team. Tools like Slack, Team, and Google Hangouts are some of the most popular of these tools. In addition, you should also take the time to set up communication channels for all your different groups, such as your HR department and clients, to name a few.

Develop a Routine

Working from home can be great, especially if you don’t like your boss breathing down your neck. However, this freedom often leads to procrastination and eventually less than stellar work. Therefore, it is important to give yourself a work routine. This means waking up at the same time, clocking out at the same time as well as giving yourself daily tasks and datelines.

Location, Location, Location

Just because you are able to work from home does not mean you can sit down anywhere and concentrate. You should never work within busy areas of your home, such as the living room or kitchen. Working from within a home office is the ideal situation, but we understand that not many have this luxury. Great alternatives include the bedroom, patio, or even your tool shed.

Give Yourself Breaks

When you’re working from home, you no longer have managers forcing you to get off the computer and go on break. This lack of accountability can lead to people overworking themselves, which can quickly lead to a decline in their work and overall mental health. Instead of simply agreeing to go on break, make it a habit to set up alarms. These can be quick 10 minutes breaks where you are able to get off the computer for a bit or a whole hour that allows you to step outside and simply energize yourself with some sun and food.

This blog was originally published on James Crickmore’s website.

Leading With Respect

Many leaders perpetually wrestle with others as a way to gain respect for their authority instead of realizing that their approach is internally flawed. The missing aspect is honest respect for the value that their team brings. As backward as this sounds, it is the single piece that will strengthen a leader’s success outside of their own personal abilities. Here is why.

Team Efforts Strengthen a Leader’s Vision

Everyone has valuable pieces to offer to the puzzle, and this should not be taken as a threat. In fact, the input of others actually adds to a leader’s vision, providing various perspectives and an influx of ideas to make a plan better than before. A leader’s duty is to encourage the involvement of their team and to credit them as often as possible. This creates a continuous effort of paying favours forward.

Leaders Are Only As Good As Their Team

Being the head honcho can be a disastrous journey if a team is lacking or improperly represented. A true leader recognizes that group efforts produce the most monumental results. By encouraging autonomy, requesting feedback, asking for help, implementing the ideas of others, and showing endless gratitude, team members will go above and beyond to produce the best outcomes. But if they feel disenchanted, a world of dead ends will follow, sending a leader on a downwards slope.

Relatability Is The Greatest Act Of Humility

The bottom line is, people like to be related to, not looked down upon. This is why plenty of talented leaders manage to miss the mark and fail to rise to their greatest potential. Meeting others at eye level is not a way of compromising one’s own power. It is, however, a way of speaking the language of those who are tasked to build and nurture the overall operation. When people can see themselves reflected in a leader’s ways, it bridges the gap between superiority and inferiority, reminding everyone that they are respected for who they are, despite their rank.

There is great strength in numbers. No matter how much talent a leader possesses, without the backing of a strong team that feels honoured to build towards their success, they will never reach their highest potential, limiting their life-long achievements.

This blog was originally published on James Crickmore’s website.

5 Podcasts to Inspire Entrepreneurs of Any Age

Every entrepreneur knows the importance of time management. Sometimes in order to keep on track, you have to multitask. And in that pursuit, many of us reach out to podcasts. For entrepreneurs, there is an incredibly diverse field of podcasts to choose from, most of which aren’t necessarily the highest quality.

How I Built This

This podcast, hosted by Guy Raz, is one of the most traditional podcasts on this list. Guy interviews entrepreneurs from every industry imaginable, and explores their thoughts on what happened before, after, and during their big breaks.

Guy doesn’t shy from difficult conversations about how success – and lack thereof – affected his guest’s personal lives, including their relationships with family and friends. The stories are inspirational and touching in equal measure, this is a must-listen

School of Greatness

This podcast has one of the most robust libraries of past episodes to look through. With over 500 hours of content including interviews with greats like Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss, this podcast can be an incredible resource. Much like other podcasts on this lists, host Lewis Howes really explores how one can apply different skillsets and concepts to many different aspects of your life.

GreenPlanet BluePlanet

This podcast is inspiring to many thanks to its consideration of the environment. Because of how big businesses often let environmentalism fall to the wayside, younger generations are flocking o smaller businesses that put it front and center. Host Julian Guderley platforms his guests, offering them a space to offer up solutions and theories about how to incorporate sustainability, environmental consciousness, and spirituality into entrepreneurship and businesses.

Impact Theory

Tom Bilyeu hosts this podcast, a more philosophical and high-minded exploration of entrepreneurship. His guests are brilliant entrepreneurs who think deeply about the effects they have upon their industries, communities, and businesses. The questions asked and explored are jumping-off points for thinking about how the skills and ideas used for entrepreneurship are really skills and ideas for life.

Everyday Wellness

Whether starting or reinvigorating a business, putting ample work into a concept can be difficult. Long hours, skipped lunches, missed nights of sleep… it can be a struggle to stay healthy during the peak work seasons of a startup. This is why the last podcast I’ll suggest is dedicated to looking inward, thinking about how to stay happy and healthy as you work to achieve your goals.

This blog was originally published on James Crickmore’s website.

How to Retain Top Talent

It has become a bit of a stereotype that modern employees – Especially Millennials – are less likely to stay with a company for longer than a year. The quality of the workforce hasn’t changed, but the modern workplace culture prioritizes moving to a new position over holding on for opportunities to advance. So for a company with a strong young talent pool, the question becomes, “How do we retain our most talented employees?”

Get Them Involved Quickly

Only a 3rd of new hires report feeling engaged with their role. This is frustrating for many departments who have made commendable efforts in improving their onboarding process and communication with new hires.

Investing in software that fosters open communication and collaborative work can really pull a new hire into the fold, and help them find their role’s rhythm. Starting strong can help prevent discouragement.

Be Constructive in Criticism and Frequent With Praise

Nobody is perfect, and mistakes are inevitable. But how we deal with mistakes is more important than avoiding them.

When your workers slip up, make sure to frame your criticism in a constructive way. If a due date was missed, focus on helping them think about time-management. If the budget was exhausted, work with them to trim the fat.

And most importantly, give praise when you can. A worker that feels recognized and appreciated is going to think twice about leaving.

Invest in the Workforce You Have

An average of four hours a week is spent by workers looking for information they need to know. Lack of efficient systems and outdated technology are two of the greatest factors in worker dissatisfaction. So one of the first steps taken to improve productivity and retention should be to reinvigorate and streamline the work experience. Working with employees to find pain points and bottlenecks is a necessary step for maximum productivity.

For every company, the retention of employees is of the utmost importance. No business wants to spend more resources than necessary for hiring and training. But in order to avoid the onboarding investment, you must make an investment in the employees you already have. Sometimes all you have to do to lengthen their time with you is to make the most of it.

This blog was originally published on James Crickmore’s website.

Valuable Life Lessons to Learn From Golf

Some of the most important life lessons are not communicated through books or big ‘movie-style’ moments. They come to us in little ways as we spend our time doing things we love. A footballer will tell you about the importance of teamwork and healthy competition. A painter could tell you about planning and perspective.

But us golfers have a different mindset. Golf is an art form as much a sport – a meditation as well as an activity. The experiences we have are unique to each golfer. And from that, the life-lessons we learn are as unique as the sport itself. Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned over the years.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SILENCE

In a solo sport like golf, you may find yourself in a much more meditative mindset than if you were playing football or tennis. Many golfers find themselves much more comfortable in the calm atmosphere of the green.

There is always a time and place for a raucous event, but a golf pro will know better than most that if you have a goal for yourself, the best way to achieve is to spend some quiet time to focus, breath, and plan.

FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE

Anyone who has been on a golf green knows that it’s easy to lose track of a small goal. Getting off track – into the rough – can feel like you’ve ruined the chance of completing. But golfers know the importance of seeing the big picture.

Pushing through and taking the process step-by-step will find you sinking your putt in no time – even if you start off overwhelmed by how far away it feels.

MAKE THE MOST OF WHERE YOU ARE

Even the greatest golfer will end up in the rough sometimes. An inevitable part of life is making setbacks, mistakes, and finding yourself discouraged. But there is always a way out. With the right tools and knowledge, you can work around the roughest of terrain. It just takes patience, focus, and a cool head.

These are a few of the life lessons that I’ve found myself prioritizing as a golfer. The things that I’ve pulled from my hobby and lived my life by. But I believe that golf is an experience that is truly unique to each of us who play it. So what life lessons have you learned from golf? What have you learned and worked into your life?

This blog was originally published on James Crickmore’s website.

Fitness Routines You Can Do at Home

Health care providers recommend that adults get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderately strenuous physical activity each week. Individuals should also strive to incorporate strength training exercises at least twice a week. Personal schedules or a self-conscious nature may prevent people from working out at a local fitness center. However, there are many exercises that are easily accomplished within the home that rely on the weight of the body and do not require special equipment.

Push-ups

The exercise might be accomplished in a variety of ways. Women are often advised to perform bent knee push-ups, as the majority of a female’s body weight lies below the waist. However, some may prefer completing the exercise in the same time-honored manner that men replicate. Strong, fit adults may modify the exercise by performing one-armed push-ups. Lifting one leg is another option.

Crunches

Crunches have proven to be more effective for toning abdominal muscles compared to a traditional sit-up. The exercise simply entails lying on the floor with knees bent. Put both hands behind the head. Attempt to sit up until the upper region of the back clears the floor. Variations of the exercise include extending one leg. A reverse crunch is performed by extending both arms out to the side. The legs are then straightened and brought up toward the head.

Lunges

Lunges are performed by stepping forward with one leg while keeping the back straight. Lunge forward while bringing the hips down toward the floor. Push back to a standing position using the front leg. Variations of the exercise include glute lunges. Instead of putting one foot forward, cross one leg forward over the other. Lunge forward with arms outstretched. Turn the torso to the opposite side. Repeat the exercise with the opposite leg. The side lunge is accomplished by standing with the legs apart. Keep the back straight and step to the side. Lower the hips and body weight onto the extended leg.

Squat Jumps

The jumps are a good way to incorporate cardiac enhancement. Stand with feet together. Squat forward while arching the back. Jump while forcing the arms out and up. Focus on bringing the knees toward the chest. Land on the middle of the feet and resume a standing position.

This article was originally published at JamesCrickmore.org.uk.

The Beginner’s Guide to Golf

Playing golf is a wonderful way to spend the day, but the sport can be a little scary for newcomers. In addition to learning all of the small rules, developing a decent swing takes a lot of time and practice. These are the four things every new golfer needs to do when they are first picking up the game.

Get Your Own Clubs

If you are absolutely serious about learning how to golf, then you will need your own set of clubs. You will never be able to develop a consistent swing if you are constantly borrowing clubs from a friend. Most golf stores sell a complete set of clubs designed for beginners. These clubs are generally very affordable and specifically designed to help new players hit the ball better.

Sign Up for Lessons

It takes years and years of practice to become a decent golfer. If you want to quickly boost your skills, then you will need to get regular lessons from a trained coach. They will teach you the proper way to grip and swing the club. It is best to get lessons as early as possible. It is much easier to train a new golfer because they do not have any bad habits that need to be broken.

Practice at the Range

You may be tempted to jump out on the golf course shortly after picking up the sport, but this would be a huge mistake. All of your time in the beginning of your golf career needs to be spent practicing at the range. Take a few months to hone your skills before testing them on the course. Not only will this make you a better player, it will also keep your from feeling frustrated and overwhelmed during your first round.

Start Off Small

Just like the rest of your golf career, you need to take it slow when you leave the practice range for an actual course. It is best to play your first few rounds on a local par-3 course. These courses still require you to use all of your skills, but they are much shorter than a traditional course. The short course will let you focus on your game without having to navigate hazards and hunt for misplaced balls.

This article was originally published on JamesCrickmore.org.uk.

How to Stay Fit with a Desk Job

Working a desk job shouldn’t take away from physical fitness. It’s possible to still remain fit even while working at a job where sitting throughout most of the day is part of the normal routine. Here are a few smart ways to stay fit while working at a desk job.

Get Up and Move Whenever Possible

Whenever time can be found during the day for breaks, it’s best to use this free time to take walks or do something else that’s physically active. Moving can also help the body feel less stagnant and allow the mind to recharge itself.

Perform Exercises at the Desk

If getting up and moving around isn’t possible, certain exercises can still be performed at the desk during spare moments to promote better physical fitness. Arm circles and leg raises can be performed while sitting. Squats and wall sits can also be done to work leg muscles and other muscles in the lower body.

Eat Nutritious Snacks

All too often, people who work in office positions tend to snack on greasy chips, sugary candy bars and other unhealthy snacks. By nibbling on some carrot or celery sticks, staying fit will be easier on the job. Yogurt, berries and string cheese also make excellent healthy snacks.

Be Aware of Posture

Poor posture that often results from typing and performing other office duties can put undue strain on the back, neck and shoulders, which can hamper physical fitness. This undue strain can also make engaging in physical activities during nonwork hours more difficult because of the pain and muscle stiffness that it often causes. Sitting with the back straight comfortably with the feet flat on the ground and maintaining this position continuously throughout the day can help alleviate strain on the body. Ergonomic chairs, keyboards and other pieces of office equipment can also be used to promote better posture naturally.

Stay Hydrated

Drinking enough fluids throughout the day can be good for both physical and mental functioning. Staying hydrated can prevent problems like excessive fatigue and concentrating difficulties. Keeping a water bottle deskside is a great way to ensure that enough water or juice is being consumed throughout the day. Sugary and caffeinated drinks can dehydrate the body and should be avoided.

Staying fit while working a desk job can be accomplished with the right methods. These innovative ways to stay in shape can prevent the dilemma over whether to sacrifice physical fitness for a fulfilling career.

This article was originally published at JamesCrickmore.org.uk.

Healthy Weekday Lunches

Everyone knows that it’s important to eat healthy. The problem is implementing that. The first issue is knowing just what that means. The second is how to make healthy choices in an affordable and manageable way. No one wants to be working hard at tomorrow’s lunch when they’re home from work.

There are several easy, quick and most importantly, healthy meals that people can prepare in advance for the whole week. Batch cooking staples like rice or pasta on a Saturday or Sunday can be a lifesaver when it comes to meal prep. With this kind of thinking in advance, healthy dishes can be thrown together in just a few minutes for the next day.

Pasta and rice aren’t just good hot dinner dishes. They’re very filling and versatile. In fact, cold pasta and rice salads can be a refreshing lunch. Add some colorful vegetables like sliced tomatoes and arugula. Maybe mix in a spring or two of parsley. And don’t forget to add a little something in the way of protein, whether that means tuna from a can or some black beans. The variations for this type of lunchtime salad are almost endless.

Another great solution for midday meals during the week is the humble egg. Normally seen as a breakfast staple, eggs are a great source of protein. They’re inexpensive, and they keep quite well when they’re hard-boiled. That means that eggs are another great staple that can be prepped for the whole week. Buy a whole dozen and boil them on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Two eggs can be a filling lunch all on their own, although it’s always a good idea to add some veggies of course. Hard-boiled eggs can also be a great last-minute breakfast, for anyone rushing out the door.

Finally, don’t neglect fruit. Fruit is a great source of vitamins and of fiber. Many fruits are also very portable. An apple or banana travels well, and can be a great addition to any lunchtime meal. These fruits make great snacks, too. The sugar in them gives an energy boost. But ince it’s processed with fiber and nutrients, people tend not to see a crash when getting their mid-afternoon energy boost from fruit.

This article was originally published on JamesCrickmore.org.uk