With the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in place, we are spending more time in our homes. But what does this mean for our fitness efforts?
At Vitality, our key principles are now more relevant than ever. Exercise if you’re well, eat healthy food and practise preventive measures, like washing your hands with soap for 20 seconds and practise social distancing by staying at least 2 metres away from each other.
How to exercise using household items
Before you run out to buy free weights, kettle bells and a treadmill, there are so many things around the house that you can transform into gym equipment. Here are some ideas to help get those creative fitness juices flowing.
- Work with the space you have
When you don’t have a lot of space, pick exercises that don’t need it. Some of the good old classics are push-ups, sit-ups, squats and lunges. For a cardio blast, try throwing a few burpees into the mix, or investing in a skipping rope.
- Take the stairs
Walk or run up the stairs to get your heart pumping. For even more cardio, do 10 jumping jacks when you reach the top and 10 burpees at the bottom.
- Your ultimate resistance band? Your towel
Use your towel to stretch or tone up. Watch this YouTube video for a full-body towel workout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKEV_CZdMQo
- Take a seat
A chair is a great piece of workout equipment for leg raises, triceps dips, squats, one-legged squats, chair planks and more.
- Sweep away the calories
Use a broom to perfect those squats and hip hinges and to improve your shoulder mobility. Try broomstick exercises to help support your movements while you strengthen your whole body.
- Any countertop will do
You can strengthen your arms and chest by doing push-ups on a countertop. These are great to do while waiting for the kettle to boil or the bath to fill. Make sure to disinfect all surfaces to prevent the spread of coronavirus 2019.
- Weights in disguise
You can do weight training with almost anything. Use bag of rice or flour to replace a medicine ball or two cans of soup or baked beans to add some resistance to your jumping jacks. Two jugs of water with a handle can be held while doing walking lunges, bicep curl and rows. Kids and pets can make great additions to your home gym too and they’ll love it!
Whatever you do, don’t stop moving. Anything can become part of your home gym – you just need to use your imagination.
Visit the Vitality at Home page (https://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/vitality-at-home-exercise-nutrition-health) for more ideas on how to stay healthy and rewarded at home.
Keep up to date with the latest Vitality news on Facebook (Discovery Vitality) and Twitter (@Vitality_SA).
Stay home. Stay healthy. Stay rewarded.
