5 ways to keep fit at home without going outside or visiting gyms

PHOTO BY: Dane Wetton on Unsplash

Being cooped up at home during a pandemic means no access to gym and sporting facilities, but there are ways of keeping fit at home.

PHOTO BY: Dane Wetton on Unsplash

Being cooped up at home during a pandemic means it has been difficult for us to take care of our physical health. However, even with no access to gym and sporting facilities, there are ways of keeping fit at home. Here are 5 of them: 

#1. Do some yoga

Yoga has elements of exercise, meditation and breathing techniques. Its many benefits include improving flexibility and managing stress. By doing yoga, you can synchronise your heart, mind and body to achieve overall body wellness.

If you are new to yoga, start off easy with poses such as the camel, cobra or downward facing dog. 

#2. Join an at-home workout challenge

Missing your gym trainer? Here are two fitness instructors that you can follow to help pace and motivate you at home. One of them is Chloe Ting. She has a 2-Week Shred Challenge and many more that you can find on her website here. Another popular fitness influencer who has free workout programmes is Blogilates and you can check out her challenges on her website here

#3. Add weights to your workout

Spice up your regular workout routine by adding in some weights! Some examples would be carrying a backpack (on the front) filled with books while you do squats, doing tricep dips and push ups on a chair or holding a filled water bottle on your chest while you do crunches. Just make sure you don’t spill any!

#4. Cleaning your room

Cleaning your room is beneficial for both your physical space and your mind and body. Without all the clutter surrounding you, you would be able to concentrate on your thoughts and tasks that ought to be done. For every hour you clean, you can burn about 215 calories. That is equivalent to 20 minutes of running!

#5. Diet is key

Your diet makes up to about 80% of your overall wellbeing as opposed to exercise, which only takes up 20%. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that we watch what we put into our bodies as much as we do when we exercise to meet our optimum health targets.

Have more wholesome foods and try to include fruits or vegetables with every meal to have a more balanced diet.

Although the pandemic has been very tough lately, we should strive to stay strong and overcome it by keeping ourselves healthy.

Sources:

Benefits of Yoga. (2019, July 13). Retrieved from https://osteopathic.org/what-is-osteopathic-medicine/benefits-of-yoga/

Gomez, A. (2019, June 11). Is Weight Loss Really 80 Percent Diet and 20 Percent Exercise? Retrieved from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19982520/weight-loss-80-percent-diet-20-percent-exercise/

How many calories can I burn doing housework? | Calories. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sharecare.com/health/calories/how-calories-burn-doing-housework

How Many Calories Do You Burn While Running? (2020, February 6). Retrieved from https://www.verywellfit.com/how-many-calories-does-running-burn-2911108

Link, M. R. S. (2017, August 30). 13 Benefits of Yoga That Are Supported by Science. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga#section2

McCall, T., MD. (2017, April 12). 38 Health Benefits of Yoga. Retrieved from https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/count-yoga-38-ways-yoga-keeps-fit