Now Is The Time To Get Fit and The Right Amount Of Physical Activity At Home

The effect of the coronavirus lockdown is still being felt around the world. While there’s an economic impact, there’s not as much information on how it might affect people’s health and wellbeing. With gyms closed, it’s harder for many to even get the minimum amount of physical activity in a day. However, just because there’s a pandemic doesn’t mean you can slack on your exercise. It’s more important than ever before to consciously choose to work out as it is very easy to sit for hours on end when you’re working from home.

Stay Safe and Stay Active With A Home Workout Routine

You’ve probably read that a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your physical and mental health. In general, sitting or laying down for more than eight hours can lead to serious physical problems down the line such as obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer. Luckily, getting 60 to 75 minutes of moderately intense exercise can counter the effects of too much sitting.

If you want to get or stay fit, the best thing you can do for your health is to work out at home. You don’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles you find at a gym to get a good workout. All you need is a little floor space and some discipline to get in shape. In general, any activity is better than none so if you’re getting started, don’t push yourself too hard. Start slow and with an easy goal. Once you’ve gotten used to doing that, slowly start increasing the duration or intensity.

Benefits

While most people know that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, its benefits aren’t always obvious. Most people only view exercise as a method to lose weight. After they have shed those pounds, many people go back to their sedentary lifestyle. Interestingly, studies have found that exercise does not help people lose weight. Yes, it can help a little, but the majority of weight loss is achieved through diet. With that said, exercise does help you maintain your weight.

However, weight loss or maintenance shouldn’t be your main reasons to work out. Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally. So if you’re still unsure of whether you should start working out consider the following:

It can improve your mood. Exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which can help produce positive feelings and reduce pain. It can also help alleviate some symptoms of depression.
It strengthens your muscles and bones. Physical activity can help stimulate muscle building so long as it’s paired with property protein intake. This is especially important as you age since you’ll start losing muscle mass through the process of sarcopenia. Decreased muscle can lead to injuries and disabilities.
It increases your energy level. It might sound counterintuitive, but since exercise increases your heart rate, you end up delivering more oxygen and nutrients to your body.
It reduces your risk of chronic disease. Regular exercise has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular fitness, decrease blood pressure, and decrease fat levels.
It can improve your brain health and memory. An increased heart rate increases the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain. It can also help enhance the growth of brain cells!
It can improve sleep quality. While exercise can increase energy levels, it also helps improve your sleep. The exact mechanism is still unknown, but studies show that people who exercise for at least 150 minutes a week had a 65 percent increase in sleep quality.

Ultimately, exercise offers amazing benefits that can improve every aspect of your life. You don’t even have to spend a lot of time to see the positive effects. You don’t even have to do any vigorous workouts if you don’t want to. The point is to get up and get moving for at least 30 minutes a day.

5 Elements of Fitness

There are five components of fitness, all of which can be done at home. They include:

A warmup
Cardio workout
Resistance exercises
Flexibility moves
Cooldown

You might notice that flexibility moves are actually after the workouts. Once upon a time, it was considered common knowledge that you have to stretch before working out. Recent studies suggest that stretching before workouts does more harm than good. Runners who stretched beforehand ran slower, weight lifters couldn’t lift as much, and so on. Instead of stretching, experts now suggest doing a light warmup first. This could be as easy as a walk or starting out at a slow pace on a treadmill or stationary bike. As the name suggests, this portion of your exercise is all about warming up our body by gently increasing your heart rate.

Once you’ve gotten your body warmed up, it’s time to do some cardio. Cardio is the bane of many people’s existence, but it doesn’t have to be painful or boring. If you are already biking or walking for your warmup, all you have to do is pick up the pace a bit. If you’re not into walking or biking, you can also do jump rope, step aerobics, and so on. Find an activity you enjoy that also gets your heart rate up. You should do cardio for at least 30 minutes five times a week.

After you’re done with your cardio, it’s time to move on to the resistance component. You don’t need any fancy equipment for resistance training. It can be as simple as doing some squats, push-ups, and abdominal exercises. If you do want to go a step further, you can get some bands or dumbbells. Regardless of how you choose to do this segment, you should make sure to follow proper form to reap the full benefits of the workout.

After you’ve completed your cardio and resistance exercises, now is the time to do some stretches. Post-workout stretches can reduce injuries and also helps improve your overall flexibility. After that, it’s time for a cooldown. Much like the warmup, a cool-down helps bring your heart rate down slowly to a resting state.

You don’t have to do your strength and cardio separately. There are many workouts that combine the two. If you’re short on time, you can also increase the intensity of the workouts. Just make sure you always do a warm-up and cool down.

Improvise

You don’t need any fancy equipment to stay fit. Yes, it might make your life a little easier if you have an exercise bike or treadmill, but they’re not necessities. If you’re not in lockdown, you can go outside for a run or brisk walk. For those still stuck inside, you can get some cardio in by walking briskly around your house or going up and down the stairs. You also want to avoid sitting as much as possible so stand or walk when you’re on the phone. If you’re working from home, take a break every 30 minutes or so to stretch your legs. Dancing is a great way to bring up your heart rate so put some music on for around 15 minutes a day and get in some dancing. You don’t have to be the best dancer, the point is to move around. If you have kids, invite them to dance with you.

For weight training, you can do bodyweight exercises. These compound workouts target numerous body parts, making it a great option. Squats, pushups, planks, lunges, etc. are all great workouts that can help build your core muscles. You can increase the difficulty by adding some ‘weights’ in the form of canned products and bags of rice. A balanced workout combines pulling as well as pushing motions. For that, you can take a jacket and tie it to a post and pull your body weight. Alternatively, you can invest in some resistance bands and look up a few workouts.

YouTube Videos

If you’re not sure where to start or you’re getting bored with your routine, why not turn to YouTube? There are hundreds of videos you can find for cardio and strength workouts. There’s a video for everyone regardless of fitness level. Are you just getting started? There are hundreds of beginner workouts that can coach you through the easiest exercises that will still get your heart pumping while also teaching you proper form. If you’re short on time you’ll be able to find 10-15 minute exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home. Be forewarned that the shorter the exercises, the more intense they will be.

There’s this idea that exercise should be grueling, but it shouldn’t be that way. After all, if you hate doing it you probably won’t stick with it. Luckily, there are plenty of fun instructors and exercises you can find on YouTube. It might take a bit more searching, but you should be able to find something you enjoy.

Helpful Tips

There are two obstacles that plague people when they start exercising - lack of motivation and boredom. These obstacles become even larger with at-home workouts. So what can you do to combat these two issues?

Challenge yourself. You don’t have the range of equipment and classes that are available at the gym. In many cases, you probably don’t have any equipment at all! If you’re bored of doing the same workouts every day, it’s time to mix things up a bit. Browse the web and fitness forums to find some new workouts. Even if you might feel silly doing it, try it anyway as a change of pace can really help keep you motivated.
Find a partner. Do you have a live-in partner or maybe even just a roommate? Try to get them to work out with you. Even if you feel a bit lazy, your partner can help spur you into action and vice versa. Do you live alone? Then have you can do a video call with a friend to make sure you’re both working out.
Schedule your workouts. Most people need routine. Setting aside time out of your day for exercise is especially important now that so many people are working from home. Choose a time that you can keep even when you end up going back to work. For many people, mornings tend to be the best time to workout. All you need is around 30 minutes so schedule your workouts in your calendar for at least a month out. If something comes up, reschedule immediately!
Journal your progress. This might seem silly, but a journal is a great way to stay motivated. Write down your workouts and meals for the day and make sure to note any breakthroughs or even bad days. This can help you find patterns and either continue them or break them. For example, maybe you find that you do a great workout after eating a salad. It can also keep you motivated as you can see all of the progress you’ve done. It can be so easy to lose sight of your improvements so a journal can show you what you have accomplished.
Set goals. When setting goals, make sure they are SMART - specific, measurable, actionable, attainable, and relevant. They should also be a bit challenging and require some time to achieve. Make sure to give yourself mini-rewards along the way to keep yourself motivated.

Important To Stay Active and Fit During This New Norm

There’s a myth that forming a habit of any kind takes around 21 days. The truth is that it varies between people, but in general, it takes around 66 days. In order to incorporate fitness into your lifestyle, you need to be vigilant in the first two months not to fall off the wagon. While one missed workout might not seem like a big deal, it can lead to a cascade effect where you start skipping other days. If you really don’t feel up for your regular workout, do something else. You want to avoid ‘zero’ days where you don’t work on your goal. That means doing a brisk walk instead of a run or lowering your workout set. Focus on keeping your schedule. Of course, there might be reasons why you can’t exercise such as an illness or injury. In those cases, follow your doctor’s recommendation.

Adapt To A New Norm With A At-Home Workout Routine To Stay Fit

It’s likely that the face of the fitness world will dramatically change in the years to come to a more digital approach. In fact, many gyms and trainers have started shifting to live video classes. Companies like Peloton have already made the switch to digital with their exercise bikes and classes. Of course, YouTube has had workout videos for years!

Whether you are looking to temporarily replace your gym routine with at-home workouts or you’re just getting started, staying fit is important for your mental and physical health. There are plenty of ways you can get started. Best of all, once you start doing a bit of research you’ll find that exercise can actually be a fun and fulfilling part of your life.

Lisa Czachowski is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Lisa is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sustainability, natural, sleep products, health, fashion and many more. She is passionate about what providing as much information as possible on products you bring in your home and what we wear.

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