Fitness equipment for at home: Practical tips for the mini gym

Workout in the living room
Staying fit despite mobile office: The expert recommends these devices

The end of the corona pandemic was a turning point in many respects. The emergency solution of home office has become the permanent state of mobile office. With all the consequences. Also for fitness. Ex-triathlon professional Maximilian Longrée knows which muscles are neglected in the mobile office and gives tips for the mini-gym at home.

The coronavirus has largely disappeared from everyday life. But it left its mark. This is particularly clear in the world of work. The interim home office model has developed into a flexible model called Mobile Office. This has some advantages but also disadvantages. Millions of people in Germany now continue to sit at their desks at home for hours two to three days a week, even though they could urgently need some relief. Or better: The muscles, which are often neglected, are hungry for challenges.

Most of the time, the chest, leg and back muscles of desk workers have a miserable existence. The fitness level greets you from the basement, muscle structures have shortened and are gradually breaking down. In addition, the body hardly uses any energy when sitting permanently. And because many people rightly indulge in one or two more treats after work, the time has come for new love handles.

Personal coach, Ironman winner, author and fitness expert explains which muscles particularly suffer in the mobile office, why even simple gadgets can help and why not everyone needs their own weight bench Maximilian Longree in the interview. The 42-year-old former professional triathlete won the amateur world title at the legendary Ironman Hawaii in 2006. He now advises and supports companies and private individuals in the areas of fitness and nutrition, among other things. (You can find more information about Maximilian Longrée here.)

Mr. Longrée, how does regular or even permanent work in the mobile office affect our fitness level?
From a physical point of view, we are primarily dealing with muscle loss. This applies regardless of fitness level, including people whose muscle mass is not as developed, such as amateur athletes who regularly go to the gym. People who do little exercise in their free time are more likely to miss out on everyday movements such as walking to the car or climbing stairs at work. In this group, however, muscle loss is less noticeable than in active athletes who have built up muscles and maintained them. As the mobile office time increases, their muscles weaken more, their basal metabolic rate drops and they gain fat because they move less and may even eat more than before.

Which muscle groups are mainly affected?
The muscles don’t just atrophy. It is also becoming increasingly shorter because the stretching effect that is part of every everyday movement is often eliminated in the mobile office. The traditional office illnesses or complaints intensify. The classics such as neck pain or the infamous piriformis syndrome, i.e. the pinched sciatic nerve, could be more severe or occur in people who had no problems with it before because they were at least moderately active – even if it was just the way to the canteen or that Climbing stairs was. The leg muscles in particular, our largest muscle group, atrophy due to the lack of exercise.

Now you can come to terms with it or, as you already said, do something about the muscle loss. Now, not everyone has the space for a gym at home. How can you still do something good for neglected muscles?
This depends heavily on your current fitness level. For anyone who has barely done any exercise and just wants to maintain their muscles and health, I would recommend simple ones to start with Rubber bands recommend in different strengths. That sounds banal, but you can use it to implement many classic exercises. For example, do something for the shoulder blade or chest muscles so that you can sit more upright in the office chair again. These are enough for that Fitness bands, because you don’t need particularly strong stimuli to maintain your muscles or even build them up a bit. I think push-ups on knees are useful as an additional exercise. For anyone who doesn’t feel like it, I recommend going for a walk and taking the stairs instead of the elevator on the way to the apartment. Anyone who can do this should be able to maintain their fitness level well.

What about those whose muscles suffer involuntarily because they haven’t seen the inside of their gym for months? I mean athletes who used to train there two or three times a week.
This is where things get a little trickier. These athletes are already more efficient and can therefore do exercises independently that I would not recommend to less active people. The first thing I think of is squats – with or without weight. Or also side raises two dumbbells in each hand for the shoulder muscles. Basically, the higher the fitness level, the more difficult it is to maintain the status quo or even build muscle mass. Nevertheless, the worst thing you can do is not do anything for your body. I also think it’s important that you free yourself a little from being able to maintain the level from before the corona pandemic, let alone reach top form.

What equipment do you think is appropriate for the in-house gym?
Next to one Weight bench In my opinion, it is worth adding a storage rack and a small selection for more ambitious athletes Dumbbells and barbells. This doesn’t take up too much space and is also suitable for rental apartments. If you don’t have space for this, you can still work with your own body weight or with the fitness bands mentioned.

In the large weight bench comparison 2024 you can find out about the current models.

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