After a few weeks of being in social isolation and lockdown, many people are starting to feel fed up, bored, and even demotivated. The economic situation is very unstable and many jobs are at risk. During this time, all we can do is follow the guidelines from the government. Stay indoors, if going out, keep your social distance from others while picking up necessities.
These difficult times of uncertainty can cause stressful feelings and tempt us to be more inactive. While the world waits for this pandemic situation to pass, there is a variety of reasons for why we all need to stay as healthy as possible.
Governments and healthcare departments worldwide are borrowing enormous amounts of money to fund people out of work and fund the treatment of the corona virus.
To make this whole situation better, if we keep fit and mentally healthy, we can reduce healthcare costs further and allow healthcare professionals to focus on the current task at hand.
It’s very important that we don’t get attached to cabin fever by spending countless hours at home.
Fitness is not just about your workout. During this time, it is important to balance your day with healthy activities as well as getting your daily exercise. Let’s take a look at a few examples of how you can maintain your health during quarantine.
Let’s keep it simple and start with the easy steps first.
#1 - Keep a Healthy Metabolism
How do we keep a healthy metabolism?
There are many factors that contribute to speeding up and slowing down our metabolic rate.
Slowing down your metabolism can promote weight gain.
Being sedentary and sitting for long hours is the main contributor to slowing down our metabolism. If you’re stuck in your home for long hours, try to stay active by having an organised routine. Keep a clean living space, do your daily chores and try getting things done that require you to be on your feet.
Try not to eat too late at night. After 6pm our metabolism starts to slow down dramatically. While in quarantine we can be tempted to snack. Try get to bed earlier and get a good nights rest. Quality sleep is a key contributor for weight loss and maintaining healthy weight.
- Other Tips For Keeping an Active Metabolism
- Drink Plenty Of Water – Stay Hydrated
- Drink and Eat Detoxing Nutrients
- Eat Plenty Of Protein
#2 — Rays From The Sun
A lack of sunlight can lead to feelings of negativity, depression and anxiety.
Light from the sun increases our levels of serotonin in our body and also releases endorphins. This is great for our mental health and keeps negative feelings at bay. Makes sure to get sunlight for at least half an hour each day. Sit in the garden or go for a short walk and keep your distance from others.
#3 — Make a Home Workout Plan
As the gyms are closed, it is essential to create a home workout plan. If you have fitness equipment at home, it would be ideal. The best equipment to obtain is apparatus you can use for full body workouts. Equipment that is light and easy to carry, regardless if you wish to train in your home or outdoors. Great examples of such equipment are:
- Resistance Bands
- Light Dumbbells
- Roll Up Mat
- Kettlebells
- Agility Ladder
If you haven’t got any equipment at home, or unable to obtain it at this current time, there are plenty of exercises you can perform without weights.
Here is an example of some of these exercises you can do at home without fitness equipment:
Step Ups
Step Ups are a great exercise for promoting both muscular and cardiovascular health. They are a dynamic exercise, involving a lot of movement, helping you to burn calories, while targeting all muscles in your legs – quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles and calves. At home, you can perform this exercise with a chair or bench.
Image: Article author license, getfit
How To Perform Step Ups:
- Start in a straight stance with your feet planted opposite each other, shoulder width on the ground.
- Begin to step on to the chair and bench. Keep your core engaged, making sure your back stays straight at all times.
- Drive the force through your heel and life your other foot to meet it, standing on the bench.
- Make sure your legs are fully extended when standing on the bench.
- Step back with your starting foot, followed by your other foot.
- Repeat 20 repetitions at steady pace. Repeat on the opposite side.
Indian Style Squats
Indian Squats are a great variation of squats that promote your whole body functionally. Like Steps Ups, the main muscles targeted are all the muscles in the lower half of your body – quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, hips and calves. Demonstrating great form also strengthens your core and back. For this exercise, you won’t need any fitness equipment.
Photo by Oleg Magni
How To Perform An Indian Squat:
- Position your feet shoulder width apart. Align them straight with your knees, and fully extend your arms out in front of you. This helps to keep your back aligned and hip engagement when performing the squat.
- Keeping your focus in front of you at all times, push backwards with your hips, as if you were committing a sitting position. Lower yourself till your thighs and your hips are positioned horizontal to the floor.
- While keeping your arms in front of you, remember to keep your core engaged, to assist keeping your lower back straight.
- Push from the balls of your heels to return to starting position.
- Repeat exercise x 20 repetitions.
Lunges
Lunges are another great dynamic workout that don’t require any equipment. This exercise can be done in a static position or performed while moving (walking lunges). They burn a lot of calories for this reason. Again, this exercise is a full body workout. It works out all the muscles in your hips and legs and strengthens your upper body when performed right.
Image License: Article author from Shutterstock
How To Perform A Static Lunge:
- Keeping your upper body straight, relax and slightly retract your shoulders. Focus looking ahead at all times during this exercise. Keep your core engaged by aligning it straight with the rest of your body.
- Take a step forward with one leg. Keeping your foot straight and in line with your knee, lower yourself to the floor by using your hips.
- As you descend downwards, make sure that your ankle is aligned with the rest of your leg to your knee. If it isn’t, you’ve haven’t gone far enough, or you’ve gone too far. Make sure to make adjustments so you are in this position.
- Lower yourself till your knee on the back leg almost touches the ground.
- Drive your body weight through your heels to return to starting position.
- Repeat repetitions x 20 and perform the exercise on the opposite side.
Bridge Exercise
Bridges are an excellent exercise for training various components of your fitness – strength, endurance and flexibility. People find it hard to engage their hips and glutes when doing many different exercises. The bridge exercise offers an easy way to target these muscles. This routine is also great for targeting your pelvic floor muscles, which many women need to do after giving birth. You can use a mat to perform this exercise. If not, choose a clean and firm surface at home.
Image License: Article author from Shutterstock
How To Perform The Bridge Exercise:
- Extend your body fully as you lie flat on the floor. Bring your arms to your sides, extend them and keep your hands face down on the floor at all times.
- Flexing your knees, bring your legs back until they are making contact with your glutes. Your legs should now be fully flexed and keep your heels on the ground.
- Use your hands and feet to help push your body upwards while contracting your hip flexors and your gluteal muscles
- Once your body is full starting in the air, hold this position for a couple of seconds before returning to the ground.
- Repeat 20 repetitions.
Push ups
Push-ups are a great exercise for targeting your pectoral muscles (pec major and pec minor). It also strongly targets the triceps muscles as a secondary muscle group. While performing this exercise, you strengthen your core muscles and lower back, due to its gravitational position. This makes push ups a great routine for developing strength throughout your whole body. You can use a mat for this exercise but it isn’t necessary. Just make the surface offers support to your wrists.
Photo by Kefit
How To Perform A Push-Up
- Going on your knees, position yourself on all fours. Position your hands so they are aligned directly with your shoulders. Your hands should be positioned slightly wider than shoulder width when performing this exercise.
- Straighten your arms fully and extend both legs backwards, until your toes are supporting your body weight.
- Leading with your face first towards the floor as you lower yourself. Keep your neck and back straight at all times.
- Use your chest and your triceps as the main levers to push yourself back to original position.
- Repeat the exercise over 20 repetitions.
#4 — Consult An Online Or In Home Personal Trainer
Personal training at the gym or taking classes are not exactly an option right now.
But adjustments can be done! Consult your personal trainer to take your sessions to your own home.
This can be done with online personal training or having an experienced in home personal trainer track your progress on applications and keep you on a steady program. This helps build healthy habits at home and keeps you track with the progress you have made. It is also good for your social health, as it is an extra person you are communicating with daily to get productive activities completed.
#5 — Maintain Muscular Endurance
Try to find active jobs around the house or apartment that promote muscular endurance.
This type of activity is great for keeping your muscles, joints and your mind healthy.
Maybe you were thinking about de-cluttering or getting rid of plenty items that are simply getting in the way of your living space! Or perhaps, it’s a great time to shovel the garden and work on those renovation plans that were never coming. Heavy lifting and performing repetitive muscular movements improves our musculoskeletal health. This benefits our well being later in life, when we still want to get out there and perform these activities at an older age.
Make a goal to write down the activities that need to be done on you agenda, and take them down one at a time!
About The Author
Ben Walker is a fitness enthusiast, personal trainer and entrepreneur from London Fitness. He is passionate about physical, mental health and living a balanced lifestyle. If interested in any tips on how to stay healthy at home or during this current time, feel free to reach out to him.
