Many people were taken by surprise when quarantine orders were announced. The first few weeks can be a highly stressful experience even for the recluse. Chances are if you’ve been in quarantine, you lost the motivation to stay in shape since the gyms are closed.
Staying fit during quarantine is vital to your overall well-being. Being sedentary and eating junk food all day will take a toll on your mental and emotional health. In this article, we’ll take a look at what you’ll need to do to stay fit while you’re indoors.
Keeping Your Heart Healthy
While under quarantine, make it a point to perform some sort of cardiovascular exercise two to three times a week. If your local authorities allow you to go for runs, then that’s great!
If not, it might be worth investing in a treadmill if you have space for it. There are plenty of high-quality treadmills under $1000.
If running just isn’t an option for you, a great alternative would be the skipping rope. In fact, as you progress with your skipping skills, you can actually burn more calories than running!
Cardio isn’t only good for your heart’s health, but the endorphins released will enhance your mood. If you’ve been down in the dumps lately, this may be the solution.
Resistance Training
If you think that you can’t work on your muscles without weights, you’re wrong.
Bodyweight training can be just as effective as training with weights. Your muscles don’t recognize whether you’re lifting a barbell off your chest or doing a push-up off the floor.
For as long as there’s tension within the muscle combined with the right volume and intensity, you’re set for muscle growth! An exhaustive list of bodyweight exercises can be found here.
With some creativity, you can also create makeshift weights using things scattered at home. I’ve been experimenting with barbell curls using a broomstick with two filled gallon jugs hanging at both ends.
It’s not as heavy as I’d like, but with slow negative reps, it really becomes an intense workout!
Watch What You Eat
Being stuck at home isn’t an excuse for you to stuff your face with brownies (you can get away with the occasional one, though!). At home, you have the luxury of time to prepare healthy meals.
If you don’t know how to cook, now’s the perfect time to learn!
It is comforting to know that you are watching out for your own body and accrediting the fact that you did it on your own will improve your self-esteem. With a well-balanced diet, you’re reducing the risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and a whole host of heart problems.
The Internet has a boatload of healthy recipes for you to try. Instead of buying random ingredients off the shelves, plan ahead. Find a few interesting recipes you’d try for the week, and create a list before you leave for the store.
When you’ve envisioned what you want to eat, you’re less likely to grab those chips as you walk by the aisle. This way, you reduce the anxiety of grocery shopping and waste less money.
