If you’re used to hitting the gym a few times per week for a workout, you might be feeling a little cooped up. Even worse, you might be starting to feel weak.
For the last two weeks most, people have stayed away from the gym—whether from their reservations about working out during the coronavirus outbreak or because their gym has closed.
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Staying healthy and strong, however, is essential to priming your immune system and making sure you maintain muscle strength, mobility, and function. You don’t want to lose the benefits of your hard work.
Generally speaking, your metabolism will slow down after about two weeks of no exercise. Your strength may begin to drop and your muscle mass can begin to deplete. That’s why it’s essential to perform at-home workouts during the pandemic.
Of course, your workouts will be different. You might not be able to lift weights, run the track, or perform yoga with your regular class. Understanding that the exercise will be limited by circumstances is essential to maintaining your strength.
One of the first things to focus on, if you’re working on strength training is tension and contraction. You can easily perform pushups, squats, and lunges using elastics or bodyweight.
To offset the lighter loads, you’ll want to focus on moving slowly through your repetitions to maximize tension while operating in higher rep ranges at times. But a slow, controlled movement where you’re activating the muscle throughout the motion is ideal.
For those of you who enjoy circuit training to get your heart rate up, you’re in luck. Such workouts will lend themselves rather easily to your surroundings. Doing circuits including jumping jacks, pushups, squats, burpees, sit-ups, and running on the spot will do.
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You can do a blast of 25-30 minutes for your cycle, or do three or four five-minute intervals over the day.
Yoga can be performed using video or audio instruction, or your own knowledge, to guide you through poses.
Spending more time at home does not mean you can’t exercise. Try these methods to stay strong, fit, mobile, and healthy during these trying times.
Mohan Garikiparithi got his degree in medicine from Osmania University (University of Health Sciences). He practiced clinical medicine for over a decade before he shifted his focus to the field of health communications. During his active practice he served as the head of the Dept. of Microbiology in a diagnostic centre in India. On a three-year communications program in Germany, Mohan developed a keen interest in German Medicine (Homoeopathy), and other alternative systems of medicine. He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs. An ardent squash player, Mohan believes in the importance of fitness and wellness.
