At-Home Fitness Advice for Exercising Safely During the 2020-2021 Pandemic

Working Out at home during COVID-19

Is your gym temporarily closed due to COVID, or are you unsure about working out indoors, around others who are breathing heavily, this upcoming winter? This is no excuse to halt your fitness routine. There are easy ways to incorporate a healthy and efficient exercise schedule at home, without expensive equipment.

Benefits to working out at home.
1. Home is comfortable
2. There’s no need to share the space, the equipment, or wait your turn
3. You can easily do it whenever your schedule allows it
4. You don’t have to worry about others looking at you
5. You can choose your own playlist
6. You don’t have to worry about or waste time driving and parking
7. You can use the restroom or get water whenever you want to

Sadly, there might also be disadvantages to working out at home depending on your fitness knowledge and determination. You might be worried about downsides like, “Don’t I need all that fancy gym equipment?” or, “What if I can’t stay motivated and choose to watch TV with a bag of chips instead?”

The key is to decisively set out your goals for working out, as well as a clear weekly schedule you’ll adhere to no matter what. Whether you choose to work out twice a week or every day, put in on your calendar, stick to it, and make this time your necessary “me time” to ensure your well-being and continued health and fitness. You don’t need to block off a large portion of your day, nor do you need expensive equipment; you just need a clear plan, follow-through, and consistency!

workout exercise

Advice for motivation and consistency:

1. Dedicate a clutter free space with ample room to exercise
Make sure you have enough floor space to lay out that yoga mat, do those high kicks, or run around, without bumping into anything and worrying about possibly hurting yourself.

2. Set a clear, non-negotiable schedule
Put it all down on the family calendar, for everyone to see and know which days/times you are not to be disturbed during your workouts. Turn your phone and computer off during these set workouts so you can fully focus on yourself.

3. Decide on your exercise routine
Know what you will do in advance and if you will be doing these exercises on your own or participating in an online class with a specific link and password. Schedule examples could be:
- Monday: 30min full body workout (youtube link)
- Tuesday: 30min arms and core (by myself with my weights)
- Wednesday: 30min Yoga (class from Gaiam channel OnDemandTV)
- Thursday: 30min HIIT Cardio (DVD purchased last year but never used)
- Friday: 30min legs and tush (with a friend over Zoom)
- Weekends: off or find 20-30mins for meditation or self-pampering etc
No matter what you decide, whether it’s once a week or every day, be specific and stick to it.

4. Find a motivating playlist you can’t resist “jamming” to
Create a playlist specific to your exercise routine that will motivate you to move. You can use Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, iMusic or AmazonMusic or any other app you wish. Just make sure the music you chose is appropriate to your daily exercise and that it will motivate you to achieve and surpass your goals.

5. Find a “workout buddy”
You don’t need to be in the same room to have fitness support from a friend. Coordinate time together to exercise over Zoom or just send text reminders pre-exercise and results post-exercise. Having someone to keep you accountable for your schedule and progress goes a long way to enhancing motivation, consistency, and results.

Equipment

If you want to go all out and purchase the best exercise equipment to turn your garage into a gym - go ahead - but you don’t have to. Many super-effective exercises use your own bodyweight like dips and planks, crunches and back arches, leg lifts and squats, to name a few, to achieve similar results. Aerobic workouts like Jazzercise, Zumba, or HIIT don’t even require equipment and are well known to tone, strengthen and enhance cardio-vascular health. You may want to invest in a yoga mat and small weights or tension bands, however, simple substitutes you may have around the home could be a rug, filled up water bottles, and a jump rope. If you like running, you can run around your neighborhood instead of running in place on a treadmill, or go up and down your home stairs instead of using an elliptical machine.

We all know there’s no excuse for not taking care of ourselves. Find something active you like to do. The more you enjoy it, the easier it will be to do it consistently and the healthier you will become. Our bodies need to be at our best right now to combat COVID and the upcoming flu. Might as well get into a great routine with great habits right now!