LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Working from home is so 2020. So what's the next trend in remote work?
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Yeah, forget coffee shops. Some people now want work to come with a workout.
MIKE BLILEY: I feel like I can put in a day that's 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. And I can get a lot of work done and also stay active and stay physically fit.
FADEL: That's Mike Bliley, an attorney from Fairfax, Va., who works two days a week at a coworking space in a rock climbing gym.
BLILEY: It makes the workday more enjoyable. It takes the edge off a little bit. So I find that when I finish up a climbing session and start work, I feel like my brain is already mentally primed with that creative energy. So I'll notice that I'm more productive in that session immediately afterwards.
MARTÍNEZ: Jeff Shor is the marketing director of Sportrock Climbing Centers in Alexandria, Va. He insists working out of a gym promotes employee productivity.
JEFF SHOR: Getting your blood pumping, reconnecting with your body, feeling physical sensation is a great way to pull you out of this really intense, cerebral workflow and allow you to come back in recharged and to be able to work productively.
FADEL: For Bliley, working at the gym is self-care.
BLILEY: The biggest stressor that I've been dealing with over the last few years is just trying to find that semblance of work-life balance, which is famously not great for attorneys.
MARTÍNEZ: And it's a lot easier to get a workout done when you're already at the gym.
BLILEY: Being able to get all of these leisure activity in in a day where I wouldn't be able to do so. It really just helps with that balance.
FADEL: Jeff Shor hopes more people give working at the gym a try.
SHOR: We should all think about how much of our lives are spent sitting in a kind of stagnating way and how the integration of movement into our lives can be really impactful and beneficial. And I find great value in it.
FADEL: I wonder if NPR would let us do our jobs from the gym? Although I prefer a bakery, but whatever. What do you think, A?
MARTÍNEZ: Well, see - I consider the world to be my gym, Leila. I mean, the ground is right there. Do some pushups. I mean, why not? It's right there. What's the problem?
FADEL: I guess the world is my gym, too. But I usually run to the bakery, get cake and then walk home.
MARTÍNEZ: See - at least you're doing some exercise. You're running to the bakery.
FADEL: True, true.
(SOUNDBITE OF OWEN PHILLIPS' "HAPPY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
