6 Ways To Stay Active During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As we shelter at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, many who are working on their health and wellness find it difficult to stay physically active. Being stuck at home leads people toward more sedentary activities, like reading or watching TV. Being active is important, not only for your physical health and weight loss goals but also for your mental health. As a weight-loss practitioner, Dr. Urshan wants to encourage you to stay active at home, so you can avoid unwanted weight gain or strength loss when the pandemic passes. Healthy activity during the COVID-19 pandemic will take creativity, but you can find ways to move your body while sheltering at home. These tips will get your creativity flowing so you can get active, even while you stay home.

1. Go Outside

Spending time outside means being active, so head outdoors. There’s something about being outside that makes you naturally more active. A walk around the neighborhood or a hike in a local forest preserve not only gets you active, but it also lets you see something outside of your own four walls.

As you head outdoors, remember to maintain current social distancing protocols. The CDC recommends standing at least 6 feet apart from others that aren’t in your immediate household. Find areas with fewer people so you can practice safe distancing.

2. Workout at Home

Just because you are home doesn’t mean you can’t work out. Set up a small home gym, and enjoy working out from home.

A simple home gym doesn’t require equipment. You can find videos online using nothing more than yoga mats and hand weights! You can order these online, or improvise with a non-slip rug and some cans of soup. Many gyms are setting up virtual workout options for their clients, so check with your gym or look on YouTube to find video-based workouts.

3. Create Accountability

One of the hardest parts about quarantine is the lack of face-to-face interactions with other people. Seeing others pushing toward their fitness goals or talking to coworkers about their workout routines is highly motivating and creates a bit of accountability to keep you on track.

During this time at home, you’ll need to recreate that accountability. Find a buddy who will keep you accountable online, or print a 30-day at-home exercise program to cross off each day. By building accountability into your week, you’ll be less tempted to skip your daily exercise.

A virtual race could give you that accountability. These races encourage participants to run or walk at your own pace from your home on a treadmill or around your neighborhood. As you complete various distances, report your results to the race group. Many virtual race groups offer medals for completing specific distances, so you can track your accomplishments.

If you have a fitness community, such as a gym that you frequent, reach out. They may have online groups to help their clients through this challenging time. This can be a great source of accountability with help from people you already know.

4. Use Your Own Bodyweight

You may not have access to weights at home, but that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying a rigorous workout. You have a built-in weight resistance in your own body. Many common exercises, including burpees, squats, lunges, and push-ups, require nothing more than your own body’s weight. You can do strength training at home with bodyweight exercises like these, and keep yourself strong while you wait for the gyms to open again.

5. Add Activity to Your Daily Routine

As you quarantine, you will likely get into a new daily routine. Perhaps you get up in the morning and check email for work, then have coffee before starting your work for the day. Find places where you can work some activity into that daily routine.

Since you no longer have a commute, why not take the time you would normally be driving to work to run up and down your sitars a few times? Make this a daily habit, and you’ll start getting more exercise naturally in your day.

6. Get the Family Involved

You’re not the only one in the family who needs to get active. Everyone can benefit from a little exercise during this time staying home, so make exercise a family activity. Take the kids outside to shoot hoops in the driveway, or set up an obstacle course in your home. Find kid-appropriate workout videos and do them together. Create family fitness challenges to get everyone involved and create some fun rewards for those who complete the fitness quest.

If you’re looking for help with your weight loss goals or need additional motivation to stay active during quarantine, Dr. Urshan Weight Loss Center is here. Unlike other weight loss centers, we don’t believe in fast fixes that fail to bring life-long change. We also don’t believe in using pills with unwanted side effects. Instead, we provide a natural, evidence-based system that creates lasting results. Contact us today to discuss your weight loss goals with a weight-loss practitioner.