As we continue to follow the Public Health Wales advice to stay at home and only leave our property for a very limited number of reasons, many of us will be concerned about maintaining our fitness over the coming weeks.
Some of us have had to relax our fitness regimes as we’re unable to do the things we’ve become accustomed to, but there are things we can do to stay healthy from within our homes…as long as we’re prepared to adapt and think outside the box.
Here’s five ideas that may be worth considering ????
1. A living room workout
Who says a workout has to take place at a gym or sports hall – why not push the sofa to the back of the room and create your own mini-area to exercise?
With most streaming services having a wide selection of home workouts that don’t require any equipment at all, this is well worth considering.
There’s a number of free workouts available on Youtube too, but look out for the ones that are highly recommended and have plenty of views…you don’t want to end up copying someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.
Or even root out an ‘exercise DVD’ if you have one hidden away. Many of us have been given a celebrity version as a Christmas present at one time or another, but have never tried it out. See if you still have it and give it a blast.
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2. Home cooked food
When we’re out-and-about, it’s become all to easy to grab food on the go and it’s not always the healthiest option for us.
Those of us who claim to have never had ‘the time or space’ to cook for ourselves could see this as an opportunity to get on top of our diet.
Now we’re spending more time at home, it’s a good chance to get those culinary skills up to scratch…channel your inner-Gordon Ramsey if you like.
Have fun with it and be creative. You might actually enjoy it.
3. Use technology to exercise with friends
If you go for our home workout idea, but are missing the camaraderie that comes from exercising with your mates, why not make use of technology so you can still exercise together?
You’ve got plenty of options here – Facetime, Zoom and Skype are just a few of the ways for you to link up with your gym buddies without actually leaving home and still getting to spur each other on.
Remember, we said you’d need to think outside the box with some of these ideas.
4. Take short fitness breaks when sitting
This is a good one for those of you who don’t want to commit to exercising for a prolonged period of time – and why should you have to anyway? Do whatever suits you best.
Whether you’re working on your computer or watching television, get up and move around for five to 10 minutes every hour-or-so that you sit. Pace around the room for a little while, or do 10-20 jumping jacks.
Add some push ups or sit ups too if you feel up to it.
5. Add some speed to daily chores
Sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, even making the bed are all things that will burn calories, especially if you do them slightly faster than normal.
Playing some energetic music and increasing the intensity which you tackle the chores with will get your heart rate up and not only will you get in a little exercise; you’ll also have a clean home as an added bonus.
Don’t go crazy and start sprinting round the gaff though, please remember to do this safely 🙂
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