Lockdown got you bored and struggling to find something to do? You’re actually quite fortunate to be at home with the family. Others are risking their lives taking care of people they barely know. The least you can do, aside from staying home to prevent coronavirus from spreading, is to make the most of your newfound free time to stay healthy by doing home workouts while in quarantine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) already said that a healthy immune system will give you a better fighting chance in case you catch the coronavirus disease. Aside from eating properly and taking immune-boosting supplements, you need to stay physically active while in quarantine. WHO recommends 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense physical activity each week to remain healthy.
Fortunately, there are lots of activities you can do to get your weekly dose of home workouts while in quarantine. You don’t even need those fancy machines in the gym. Let your imagination go wild and find ways to use everyday things for your home quarantine workout.
We took the liberty to show you some of the gym equipment and training gear you can use at home for your fitness regimen along with more affordable alternatives.
Stretching and Warm-up Exercises
Do stretching and warm up exercises before proceeding with your home workout routine. Stretching prepares your body, particularly your muscles, for more rigorous physical activities. When you warm up, you also increase blood flow to your muscles, reduce muscle soreness, and decrease the risk of injury.
The Precor 240i Commercial Series StretchTrainer is a piece of exercise equipment meant to aid you with your stretching exercises. It is designed to help you attain the right position when stretching while providing as much comfort as possible.
If a stretching machine is too much of a stretch (pun intended) for your budget, try something simpler and a lot more affordable. The Original Stretch Out Strap by OPTP only costs around $15 yet it gives you the flexibility to do tons of stretching exercises. Plus, the 6’4” nylon strap comes with a poster showing how you can use it for your home workouts while in quarantine.
Don’t have a stretching machine or a Stretch Out Strap? Don’t throw the towel just yet. In fact, get a towel and use it to stretch your shoulders. Simply hold the towel on both ends and bring your arms over your head. Pull at each end to stretch and build your shoulder muscles.
Some stretching exercises don’t need any prop. Check out the video below for some simple stretching exercises you can do before your actual home workout routine.
Yoga
Do yoga exercises to improve your flexibility and strength allowing you to do your home workout routine with ease. Yoga also promotes weight loss, relieves back pain, and reduce stress.
You’ll need a good yoga mat. BalanceFrom GoYoga All Purpose Yoga Mat is made of 1/4 inch thick high density eco-friendly material to provide you with utmost comfort. The exercise mat features non-slip surfaces to prevent accidents, which we particularly don’t want right now with all the coronavirus cases in hospitals.
The yoga mat also comes with a carrying strap but you need to forget about taking your mat to a gym or studio for now. At least it’s easier to carry from your closet to the living room and to the yard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDZJwfJTK_A
Cardiovascular or Aerobic Exercises
Running
Some people insist on going out for a run even with the lockdown in effect. In fact, there’s been an increase in the activity since people have a lot of time in their hands right now. Ideally, you should stay home to protect yourself and your loved ones from COVID-19. Every time you go out, you risk getting in contact with someone infected or touching something with droplets containing coronavirus.
If stubborn you can’t be stopped, at least go alone, wear a cloth mask, and practice social distancing while you’re out. It’s also a good idea to go for a ruin when there are less people. In Paris, outdoor exercises like running are banned during daytime.
In case there are other joggers, maintain a significant distance between you and the next person. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) recommends people to be at least 6 feet away from other people.
Infected individuals may release more virus into the air while running because they’re breathing harder. That’s why some recommend a space of 10 to 12 feet between runners. Once you’re done, make sure to take off your mask, shoes, and clothes before entering the house. Wash your hands thoroughly and take a bath for extra measure.
You’re lucky if you live in a homestead and have a spacious enough property to go jogging or walking. If not, you can still get your blood pumping by running laps inside your house or in the yard. Put aside any obstacle so you won’t get into any accident while running. Just take it easy during every turn (you’ll be making lots of them) so you won’t hurt your knee.
Also, don’t forget to warm up first. A few minutes of easy walking around the yard or in your home should be good enough to prepare your body. If you have a treadmill or stationary bike, you can get on them and start with a slow pace.
Use the Stairs
You probably use a stair climber at the gym to get a good cardio workout. This darn pandemic is keeping you out of the gym, though, and now you don’t know what to do with your life. If only there’s something at home you can use to work out those leg and bum muscles. Here’s an idea… use the stairs! That is, if you have stairs at home. If you don’t, just find something sturdy you can step on and off repeatedly. If you live in an apartment complex and want to use the stairs for your home workouts, just make sure not to touch the rails. Wear a face mask for extra measure. But remember, it’s still best to stay in your home.
If you love trail running but don’t want to go out and risk infection, try this exercise. It’s the closest thing you have at home.
Even if you’re relegated to home workouts while in quarantine, you should still wear the proper attire and gear. Running up and down a flight of stairs can be dangerous if you’re wearing flip flops. Put on a proper pair so you don’t hurt yourself, especially your feet.
The Brooks Men’s Ghost 12 Running Shoe is lightweight yet comes with plenty of cushioning and support. It’s a good pair to have for cross training and some light running up and down the stairs.
Use An Exercise Machine
If you’re planning to purchase a treadmill or stationary bike for your home workouts during lockdown, be prepared to wait awhile since the pandemic has affected most businesses including courier services. You can still order one and have it delivered to your home though.
The NordicTrack T Series Treadmills seem like a popular choice based on its Amazon reviews. It comes with a 5-inch backlit display that’s iFit Coach ready. This paid feature, which you can try free for one month, allows interactive personalized fitness coaching. It lets you access popular trainer-led workout programs.
This home workout must-have can withstand up to 300 pounds of weight and provides plenty of leg and elbow space. It’s also pretty comfortable thanks to the FlexSelect deck cushioning.
This NordicTrack treadmill also has a Smart Response Motor, auxiliary music port, and dual digitally amplified speakers. Its SpaceSaver design and EasyLift Assist features let you fold the machine without difficulty for hassle-free storage.
A treadmill is actually an alternative to walking or running while stationary bikes were invented for people who can’t go out to ride an actual bike. If you don’t have these machines at home, just do the real things.
Resistance or Strength Training
Resistance training exercises target particular muscles to help improve their strength and mobility. Push-ups target the biceps, triceps, pectorals, and deltoids. Squats work the quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, and gluteus. Abdominal crunches or ab curls, meanwhile, benefit the rectus abdominis and obliques. The list goes on.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands allow you to do what cable machines and similar pieces of gym equipment do. The best part is that you can use them anywhere and anytime. That makes resistance bands a must-have for everyone doing home workouts while in quarantine.
The Fitness Insanity 5-Piece Resistance Bands Set contains five resistance bands, two cushioned straps and ankle straps each, a door anchor, and a carrying bag. Fitness Insanity also included a workout guide and poster to help you with your resistance training at home.
Robe ties, the one you use to tie your robe, can also double as resistance bands. They’re long and stretchy enough yet will offer resistance to help you work out those muscles.
Push-ups
Push-ups are perhaps one of the simplest and most popular exercises around. All you have to do is get on all fours (on your exercise mat or clean floor) with the hands a tad wider than the shoulders and your toes keeping you balanced. You can also do knee push-ups where your knees are on the floor instead of your feet.
Start by raising your body so your arms and legs are straight. Lower your torso making sure your chest doesn’t touch the mat. You can’t do anything about your big belly, though. Just don’t rest on your stomach when you’re in this position. Next, push your body back up. Repeat until you look like Chris Hemsworth. Kidding.
Beginners should do at least 20 push-ups per set two or three times a day. Less if you’re really having a hard time. As you regularly do your home workouts while in quarantine, you can probably do a hundred push-ups easy-peasy by the time this pandemic is lifted. Probably not if Trump and the people fighting for their rights to go to their hairdressers have their way and get the lockdown lifted prematurely. But that’s another story.
As simple and effective push-ups are, you can still complicate it a bit to get the best results. Use Perfect Fitness Perfect Pushup Elite to work out more muscles. It’s designed to slightly rotate, which targets other muscles that regular push-ups don’t work that much.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups are another popular exercise you can do at home during lockdown. That is if you have something to hang on to. Fortunately, there’s the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar.
This simple piece of ingenuity will let you do pull-ups on your doorway. Simply hang it on your door frame and you’re good to go. The Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar is not just a pull-up bar. Use it to do elevated push-ups, dips, and crunches, as well.
Weight Training
Dumbbells are a common sight in every home gym. They’re small and portable enough to keep in your home and are pretty useful in different training exercises. They’re mainly used for bicep curls, shoulder raises, and other muscle-building exercises. Dumbbells also help attain weight loss, healthier bones, and improved cardiovascular health.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAjPa5tyAzI
Amazon Yes4All 200lb Adjustable Dumbbell Set, which includes two 52.5-pound dumbbells for a total weight of 105 pounds. It consists of sixteen plates weighing 5 pounds, and four 2.5-pound and 1.25-pound plates each. These cast iron plates are painted with black finish to keep them from rusting and corroding. The set also comes with four star-lock collars and a couple of diamond knurled chrome handles measuring 16 inches.
In place of dumbbells, use some household items for your weight training. For light lifting and cardiovascular exercises, use canned goods or bottled water as hand weights. For heavier lifting, fill empty gallon water bottles with sand or even cement.
Want to work out at home but the kids won’t leave you alone? Use them as dumbbells. You get your exercise fix while also having fun with the young ones. Just be careful with them and ask your spouse to be your spotter.
Watch Online Classes
Newbies to the home workout scene may need some help to make sure they’re doing the right thing. Those who jump into the lockdown exercise bandwagon without proper knowledge may end up doing more harm than good to their bodies. Remember, you can’t afford to go to the doctor right now so you better do some research first before doing any rigorous physical activity.
Aside from consulting online with professionals or friends who are fitness freaks, you can also join online classes. If you’ve been lying dormant for years, start with online classes that offer simple workout sessions you can do at home.
Want to do yoga? Try Yoga with Adriene or Hotel Yoga. Feel like dancing the blues away? Bust a move with Move with Colour. Is HIIT workout your thing? Check out the Heart and Soul Fitness (HASfit) YouTube channel below. Here’s a list of online home workout classes you can watch and work out to while in quarantine.
Virtual Race
Are you a competitive runner? If so, you’re probably yearning for the day you can go back on the tracks and race against other runners itching for some friendly competition. For now, the best you can do is to join an online race or marathon.
Check out groups that sponsor virtual races. iRunFar and Quarantine Backyard Ultra already crowned their respective winners but you can still check it out to see how they did it. These online races pit you against other runners while doing your thing on your treadmill or by running around your property.
Even if you’re not a serious runner, you can satisfy your competitive juice racing your friends online for fun and bragging rights. Try a “last-man standing” virtual marathon. Go on Zoom and start running on your treadmill at the same time. The last person still running wins.
Some of your friends may not have their own treadmill at home, though. What you can do is run around your property and track your progress with a GPS watch. The first to reach a pre-determine goal or figure wins the race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v86PIM2n5PY
The Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Running Watch has all the features necessary to track your run including distance covered and your speed. It also tracks your heart rate, receives notifications, and lets you control music on your compatible smartphone.
Lockdown is not an excuse to just sit on the couch, watch COVID-19 news all day and all night, and feed your pandemic anxiety. The World Health Organization is quite adamant that everyone should stay physically active during self-quarantine. Considering a healthy immune system gives you a better chance against the coronavirus disease, you should definitely give this a try. They even listed down a few home-based exercises that don’t require any bulky piece of gym equipment.
Many professional athletes and common folks around the planet are putting their extra time to good use by staying in shape doing home workouts while on quarantine. You should, too. Home workouts are a good way to keep your body and mind healthy during these tumultuous times. Follow Gentleman Pirate Club to know more tips on how you can survive this crazy pandemic.
