Ways To Be Active At Home When Gyms Are Closed

 Due to COVID-19, many facilities and businesses have had to remain closed for many months now. This includes gyms and recreational centers. These facilities are useful for staying active because they have equipment and space that many people do not have within their own homes. Since these facilities have been closed, people have had to find other ways to exercise. My goal for this post is to provide resources that can help people achieve fitness and other goals at home or outside of the traditional gym. We have to be adaptable and open to new situations, especially during these uncertain times. If anything, it is even more important now than ever to take care of our bodies and our health. I will list tips and advice in this post that can make exercising during these times still fun and manageable.

Exercising At Home

Being able to exercise at home can be difficult for many differed reasons. Such reasons can include; lack of space, noise level disturbance, and lack of equipment. However, there are ways to combat such issues.     

Lack of space in your home does not mean you cannot exercise at all. Standing workouts can be helpful since they do not require more space than an arm's length. They also do not usually require equipment but equipment can be useful for those who are more intermediate or advanced. They can even be done in a park since you don't have to lay on the ground to complete them. There are many small-space friendly workouts available on YouTube for free, such as this one by Chloe Ting.

    Noise level disturbance can also be another issue especially for people living in apartments or living with others. Sometimes there are conflicting schedules in a household and it is possible that someone may only have time to exercise while others are sleeping. Luckily, there are ways to exercise more quietly. The aforementioned standing workouts can be useful in this situation as well since there is no jumping and/or quiet low-impact alternative exercises which leads to them being more quiet and less disturbing. Even though these workouts are quiet, they are still effective and can provide results. Here is an example of a quiet workout by Pamela Reif.

Lack of equipment can make it difficult for people to be able to exercise at home, especially for people who usually workout at a gym. There are ways to add resistance to your workouts with household items, but it should be noted that one should take caution when doing so in order to stay safe. Water bottles can act as weights and the weight can even be adjusted by adding/removing water from the bottle. A backpack filled with items can also be another make-do weight. If you are doing exercises that require your hands or back on the floor, towels or blankets can be used as a make-do mat to prevent discomfort. Stairs can even be used for exercise! However, if it is in your budget, resistance bands are usually affordable and can be used in many different exercises. A yoga mat can also be affordable, many can be found under the price of $20. The good thing about both of these items is that they are transportable so you can take them with you to the park too if you need a change of scenery.

Hopefully with these resources and advice it will make exercising at home a little more easier and accessible. As mentioned previously, it is important that we take care of our health, especially now that we are stuck at home and may have decreased levels of physical activity. There are many free resources on the internet like the videos provided above that there is a wide variety and many options to choose from. I encourage you to explore what you like and dislike and find videos/programs that are fun and work for you. It can also help to dedicate certain times or certain amounts of time during your day to exercise, so that if it is scheduled it can help you make the time to accomplish it. When it comes to exercising, it is up to one's self to be determined and accomplish it on their own. Thinking about all of the benefits of exercise helps motivate me to do it, and it always makes me feel good knowing that I dedicated that time to working on improving my health. I encourage everyone who reads this to find their determination and goals for improving their health in hopes that it would be encouraging.