You are not alone if you are experiencing stress or anxiety due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Staying active during this period might help your mood as well as your physical health.
It can also be enjoyable if you discover the appropriate exercise for you. Being physically active can help many people lower stress, blood pressure, and sleep problems.
Here are some suggestions to get you started and keep you motivated.
Home Workout
Maintaining a home workout program may appear to be more of a “must” than a “desire.” Having a gym membership and staying active can seem like a much lower priority when many of us are out of jobs and struggling financially.
However, even a tiny amount of activity can significantly impact how well you feel and think. Exercise is one of the most effective methods for remaining physically and mentally fit—and you don’t need to join a gym or pay for a membership to gain the benefits.
You can improve your core and cardiovascular health without risking the safety of others around you by doing the following:
- Home gyms
- Web-based exercise programs
- Home-based video workouts
Many fitness instructors and organizations are now providing free online workout courses and routines to new members as a way to encourage activity and motivate people across the country.
Furthermore, exercise can treat depression, stress, and anxiety, as well as chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure.
You can take control of your mood and well-being, maintain a sense of control during these days of great uncertainty, and keep on track with your fitness goals even if your typical routine is disturbed by finding new ways to get moving and stay motivated.
Keep Your Activity Interesting
Simulate dance, skateboarding, soccer, bowling, tennis, or any games with activity video games called exergames. If you are unable to engage in the real thing, these can be excellent alternatives.
Create an engaging exercise area in your house if you have the space and keep your equipment around. Try utilizing resistance bands, water bottles, or your own bodyweight to execute resistance exercises.
You can also start with push-ups against the wall, then move on to the kitchen counter, coffee table, and the floor. If you have ladders in your house, stair climbing is a great way to build strength. Step up and down multiple times with one foot on a step, or try stepping up two steps for a more difficult workout.
Join the kids
Diverting attention away from homework or housework and playing together might help establish a good relationship with your kids. Joining the kids is one of the most efficient strategies for changing your child’s fitness habits.
Join a gymnastics club in a parent and child class, play hide-and-seek or tag, go on a bike ride, shoot baskets, or coach a football team— bonus points if you have a big yard to play in. Getting outside is essential for mental health and enhances the mood-lifting benefits of exercise.
Try Something New
Consider this time as an opportunity to improve your strength or fitness in various ways. It might be a good time to focus on an area of fitness that is simple to accomplish at home but that you haven’t given much thought to before, such as flexibility or bodyweight training, or aerobic activity.
Assess what type of exercise you haven’t done much of recently. Is there any way you might incorporate that exercise into your new routine? Try a Pilates, boxing, HIIT, bodyweight, or dance workout from the comfort of your own home.
Gyms and fitness studios offer various live exercises and on-demand videos that you may watch whenever your schedule allows. It’s never been easier to keep things interesting!
Break Up Sitting
Since most people nowadays work from home, taking a break from a long afternoon in front of a computer is the ideal time to exercise. Getting into a regular physical routine can help you relax.
Every small movement and activity you do throughout the day contributes to your health and fitness. These small activities include walking around the home and stretching your back, which can help break up hours spent on the couch in front of a computer screen.
Alternatively, you can break up a longer workout into portions and complete it as needed throughout the day. Any movement can help you shift from waking up to work mode — or use it as a break during the day. A five, ten, or twenty-minute burst of activity can improve your fitness, energy, and mood significantly.