Everyone Can Use These At-Home Fitness Tips
We’re seeing so much these days about working out at home. It can be hard to know where to begin. More than anything, it’s crucial to do something.
Keeping our bodies strong during COVID-19 is good for immunity, and for overall health once we resume our regular lives. Plus, it’s a core component of good mental health at a moment when we’re feeling particularly stressed.
Consider these general recommendations as you get going:
1. Keep it simple.
There are a lot of options. With many gyms still closed and social media showing us what everyone else is doing, there’s unprecedented attention being paid to home fitness. The choices can be overwhelming, which is why it’s so important to find something that works for you and stick it. You don’t want to be bored, but you also don’t want to invest too much energy switching from routine to routine.
2. Try to connect.
In normal times, exercise can be a great social activity. Even in our current situation with physical distancing, that’s still true.
Whether it’s working out with friends and family via video, or taking streaming classes, exercising with others can be great for you physically while also providing some much-needed social relief. So try a virtual group workout because it’ll help keep you motivated and on track, with the bonus of feeling a little less isolated.
3. Take it easy.
But not too easy, of course. You want to make sure your physical activity is working up a sweat, but it also helps breakup the day.Use the stairs, go for a walk around the block (with proper caution, of course), and otherwise take opportunities to avoid long periods of sedentary behavior. Sitting for long hours in your home office can be painful, so start with some stretching and low-impact movement. Check out our stretching and mobility class with fitness app NEOU here.
4. Set achievable goals.
Setting goals is always a good idea, but it takes on added importance these days. Cooped up, dealing with COVID-19-related stresses, unable to do a lot of the things we’d like… we all need to feel some forward momentum right now.
Make a reasonable exercise plan for the week or month, and then follow through. Track your activity. Keep building on what you’ve done. Your goals may not be identical to anyone else’s, but by achieving them, you’re doing wonders for both physical and emotional health.