If you are wondering how to stay active during quarantine, you are not alone. The good news is that staying active and working out at home even thou it might sound easier said than done is a lot simpler than you think.
For most people, not being able to go anywhere, see family, or hang out with friends, sounds like a great time to focus on health. They start eating healthy and focusing more heavily on a workout routine. After all, they probably have a lot more time in their daily schedule.
Some of us may be able to focus on this approach to life during our stay at home orders. But, most of us are significantly less motivated and have found we are moving less and eating less healthy.
This time is unprecedented and full of stressful circumstances. It is very reasonable for our focus and priorities to shift when our life changes drastically without any warning. You may have even found your one rigid workout schedule, and a healthy eating plan is not your priority anymore. That is completely okay and normal, so remember that.
Our top priorities these days go beyond needing to take drastic measures to ensure safety. Besides taking care of ourselves, we have to care for our families a little more. Needing to work from home, cleaning all the time, and homeschooling can be very demanding. And on top of all of that, we are not able to socialize.
In the middle of all that, it is essential to remember that taking care of yourself begins with focusing on self-care and staying active and moving around regularly.
Moving helps release feel-good hormones, helps us feel happier, and keeps immune function working effectively and efficiently.
Since you cannot go to the gym, and sometimes lack time and motivation to work out, we have something for you. We have put together a few simple, easy, and fun ways to stay active during self-isolation with these simple quarantine workouts.
Walk
If you want a super easy, low impact, relaxing, and stress-free way to work out and stay active during quarantine, get outside and go for a walk. Powerwalk your way around your neighborhood or park (while social distancing, of course). Walk the dog, or maybe even do some walking and jogging intervals if you are up to it.
Taking a walk outside will get your out of the house and into some fresh air and sun. Walking outside will do wonders for your body and your mental health as a whole. You don’t always have to make working out complicated. Working out doesn’t have to mean doing HIIT, sweating it out in the elliptical or lifting heavyweights. We are at a time where we need to keep things simple – not pressure yourself into working out in ways that aren’t appealing to you.
Go back to the basics
Again, working out while at home and during a stressful time should be comfortable and not make you feel more stressed. Sometimes thinking of doing a big hard workout can feel intimidating, defeating, and make you even less motivated to want to get moving in the first place. That is why it is essential to focus on doing some movement – even something super simple.
For instance, set a timer for 20 minutes. During the 20 minutes, repeat a few exercises in a row with a short break in between until your timer goes off. Go for a natural and essential workout and pick some of your favorites. A sample workout could look something like the following:
- 20 squats
- 20 alternating back lunges
- 20 front kicks
- 10 pushups
- 15 crunches
Repeat the circuit as many times as you can in 20 minutes, and you’re done for the day!
Working out should never feel complicated!
In the end, quarantine workouts should be simple. They should not make you feel stressed. They should not make you dread working out. Instead, they should energize you and make you feel good. Just get moving any way you please. Add simple routines to your weekdays, and in no time, you are going to start feeling better.