BY AMANDA GABRIELE
As we approach 2025, it’s crazy to think the pandemic started almost five years ago. Obviously it was a terrible time, but spending all those hours indoors improved my life in two significant ways: I cooked a lot more than I used to, and I also made exercise a daily activity. I still cook as much as I can, but being back in the office three days a week has unfortunately decreased that significantly (commuting, after all, takes a huge chunk out of your day, cutting into precious prep time). My minutes exercising have decreased too, from somewhere around 210 minutes a week to 150.
Besides using a slow cooker, there’s not too much I can do about the cooking bit, save for getting the shopping done in advance. As for exercising, I know that 210 minutes really isn’t a feasible number unless working out is your job. But 150 minutes is easy enough to spread out across the four days I’m not in the office. Years ago, I had ClassPass and belonged to a budget gym in my neighborhood. Like many during the pandemic, I turned to online classes, and my husband bought a Peloton bike. Now I use Peloton’s platform for everything from dance cardio to Pilates, and I subscribe to Alo Moves for yoga classes.
But when the announcement was first made that we’d be going back to the office three days a week, joining a gym seemed like a good idea.
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