The first lockdown due to Covid19 was extremely challenging for most of us who were not accustomed to the life of just keeping to ourselves. One of the most challenging aspects is to keep ourselves active and fit during the lockdown. Not everyone has the luxury of a home gym with equipment to get the exercise that we would otherwise go to a gym for. The first lockdown came when the weather was nice enough and a jog outdoors was not a problem. With the weather getting colder, most places are not adept for outdoor activities anymore. I live in Toronto and we wouldn’t see warm weather for another 5 months at the least. For those of us in similar weather conditions and with lack of options at home to keep yourself, here are a few ways we can keep ourselves active and fit.
1. HIIT Work without Equipment: If you struggle with time and don’t have any equipment at home, engaging in High Intensity Interval Training at home can be a great option. You can keep yourself fit by spending less than 30 minutes a day and 4 days a week. These are high intensity though and could take a toll on your body if you don’t choose the right exercises. I suffer from bad knees so am very mindful of choosing the exercises that do not make them worse. Here is a workout program video that works you out without impacting your bad knees.
2. Breathing Exercises: If you suffer from condition such as hypertension, controlled breathing for a few minutes everyday will immensely help you. Not only it helps with hypertension, it relaxes your whole mind and body. You can spend less than 20 minutes on these controlled breathing exercises to work towards a much healthier version of yourself. Here is a video from Dr Berg that focuses on lowering blood pressure using controlled breathing
3. Yoga Stretches for body ache: One of the most common issues we all face is stiffness and body aches after waking up. It takes us some time to get shake off the lethargy and kickstart our days. During the lockdown when we have stay at home for work it becomes even more difficult. Stretching using Yoga can be a great way to get rid of the stiffness and feeling more relaxed and energetic. The video below is a good one to get started.
It is tough to be motivated and disciplined when you have 24×7 access to your bedroom but the incentives of keeping yourself active and fit are too big to ignore. It is very important for all of us to be consistently engage in activities around the house and keep ourselves fit. Let’s all hope that the we find a way out of this pandemic soon and are able to enjoy the life as we used to. Since, then be active at home and be healthy!
