(Newswire.net — April 30, 2020) —
You do not need access to a gym to stay in shape. Which is good, since every gym in the world is currently closed due to social distancing and the closure of all non-essential services in our society. The current CDC recommendations for protecting oneself against the coronavirus include staying home as much as possible. However in order to protect your mental and physical health during this time, it’s important to find ways to remain active. You can find ways to still workout and maintain your healthy lifestyle, even while at home.
Getting Started
First things first… What exactly does one need to do in order to maintain or improve fitness levels? The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous level aerobic activity and 2 days or muscle strengthening activity per week. They also suggest spending less time sitting, as even light activity is better than being sedentary. In practical terms, this means 30 minutes five times per week of moderate activity or 25 minutes three times per week of high intensity activity, in addition to 2 days of strength work.
If you are a beginner, take the time you need to work up to these recommendations. It would be better in the long run if you start with five minutes of activity five days per week and add minutes weekly. This gives the new habit a chance to form before you burn yourself out by jumping into a 30 minute run your body is not ready for!
Another consideration is equipment. There are many different ways to workout at home that do not require a lot of stuff. Minimally, good shoes are needed. Beyond that, there is simple and inexpensive equipment that may add variety and challenge to your routine: a jump rope, yoga may, dumb bells or resistance bands, for example. Don’t get too hung up on these things though; they aren’t necessary to achieve an effective workout at home.
HIIT
According to Insider.com, high intensity interval training (HIIT) uses bouts of high-intensity exercise alternated with short rest periods to maximize calorie burn and cardio fitness in half the time of slow-steady state cardio. This is an easy to follow HIIT “recipe” from the article that was designed by a fitness trainer, it’s called the P.A.U.L. method:
Choose one exercise for each of the following four categories:
P- Plyometric cardio (e.g., Jumping Jacks)
A- Abs (e.g., Plank)
U- Upper Body (e.g., Push Ups)
L- Lower Body (e.g., Squats)
Set a timer to beep every 30 seconds, or use an online interval timer.
Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, switching every time you hear the timer beep.
After performing all four exercises, rest 30 seconds and start again.
Continue with this circuit until you’ve reached 10 minutes.
Calisthenics
Body weight exercises are efficient as well as effective and can be a really fun way to move your body. Calisthenics are exercises that don’t rely on anything but a person’s own body weight. These exercises are performed with differing levels of intensity and rhythm. These exercises allow for the development of strength, endurance, flexibility, and coordination.
Here is a simple, no equipment calisthenics workout from Mensjournal.com, called the hotel room calisthenics workout (there are other great workouts on the page, too):
Pushups (10)
Lateral Lunge (10 per side)
Plank (One Minute)
Squats (10)
Crunches (20)
Simple and easy.
Fitness apps, YouTube and other videos
There exists on the internet so much content relating to fitness and working out that you could do a different instructor-led workout everyday in quarantine, and probably every day after that. There are many fitness apps that are giving extended free trials during the coronavirus lock-down. And there is always tons of free, high quality content to be found on YouTube.
Get Your Body Moving
Remember, the outdoors is not closed. Spend some time outside, because getting sunshine is as important to your health and fitness as lifting heavy things and increasing your heart rate. Getting and staying fit is as simple as moving your body, which only requires your body.