With gyms closed, organized sport on hold, and with self-isolation and social distancing now the normal, keeping fit has certainly become more challenging! Also for those working and studying from home, you will find your incidental exercise (walking to public transport, walking around the office) will reduce, so you will need to get this exercise in other ways! For those involved in sport, it’s really important to keep up your strength & fitness levels, for when sport resumes you don’t want to run the risk of injury due to being out of shape!
Fitness benefits aside, exercise can help manage stress and improve immune function. Exercise also releases chemicals in your brain, like serotonin and endorphins, which are great to improve your mood. Exercise can also lead to better sleep and give you more energy.
So what are some current options for exercise:
Walking
Running: we’ve noticed a lot more people recently lacing up the runners to hit the pavement! If this is something that interests you, check out our Running for Beginners guide here
Cycling: dust the cobwebs off the bike and get out for a spin!
Take your workout online: Support your local small business with many local Personal training studios offering online coaching and classes. Alternatively YouTube provides endless exercise videos, regardless of your fitness level or the size of your living room. From strength workouts to yoga & Pilates, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and more.
Movement “snacks”
Current situation aside, we advise all our patients to perform regular movement breaks or “movement snacks” throughout the day. This helps to break up long blocks of sedentary time and helps to introduce more incidental movement into your day. What constitutes a movement snack? You can be pretty creative here, but it could be every 45-60mins getting up and
Walking from one end of the house to the other 10 times
Performing 15 air squats
Pumping out 10 push-ups
Too much too soon?
Whilst some of you may now have more time to exercise, it’s important NOT to overdo it. A sudden increase in training can not only result in injury, but also reduce immune function and leave you more prone to getting sick (the last thing you want at this time!).