Lockdown doesn’t mean putting exercise on hold
Gyms and fitness centres are closed, but there are other options
It’s as important as ever for people to stay physically active despite a provincial lockdown, say public health officials.
The province’s latest stay at home order created some confusion when it made exceptions for outdoor activities like skating, cross country skiing, tobogganing, snow shoeing, hiking, running and similar winter sports.
Despite the closure of fitness centres and gymnasiums there are plenty of indoor options to maintain your fitness.
“Realistically, during the lockdown the safest place to remain is still in your home,” said Peterborough Public Health health promoter Matthew Bryan. “You should avoid leaving your home unless it’s for essential reasons but physical activity is an essential part of mental wellbeing and health and has been identified as essential in the regulations. Going outside for physical activity is considered an essential purpose.”
It’s important, he said, to abide by the provincial rules of keeping to groups no larger than five and only with people from your household bubble and maintaining physical distancing. Mask wearing is encouraged but Bryan said regulations acknowledge it may not be possible for some strenuous activities. Outdoor rinks should be posted with capacity numbers based on the ice dimensions.
“We really do want to emphasize that you shouldn’t be gathering with people outside of your household,” said Bryan.
Physical activity is an important component of mental health, he said, and that’s why these exceptions exist.
“The World Health Organization puts it best when it says, ‘There is no health without mental health.’ Mental health, in and of itself, is not just a mental state of mind. It’s the ability to be well and deal with life’s challenges and stresses and cope well. Physical activity is a really big part of that no matter how you look at it. Even something as little as five minutes of physical activity can increase your mood and reduce the stress hormones your body makes. it also plays into the bigger picture of being well as far as outdoors goes in being able to connect with nature,” said Bryan.
Those looking for indoor activity to stay fit, Josh Gillam, of Hybrid Fitness Health Performance, said almost every local fitness centre has migrated to online workouts for clients.
“The first lockdown really made a lot of people pivot and put a lot of their programming online to reach their clients or members at home,” said Gillam. “That option is there for a lot of people who are your avid gym user.”
Don’t have any exercise equipment? No problem, says Gillam. There are many online resources with exercises requiring little to no equipment.
“People get creative. They use juice jugs, milk cartons for their weights. There are a lot of body weight exercises that are actually harder than if you’re holding a set of weights. You have tons of variations of pushups, like putting your feet up on a chair and doing decline pushups. You can do sit-ups. jump up and down off your couch, if your mom and dad will let you, squats, stair runs, reverse lunges, split jumps, there are so many things you can get creative with. I could probably make a list of 500 body weight exercises.”
Gillam said the best way to stay committed to fitness is variety.
“Try different online videos or different coaches and you may be able to find a nice mesh,” he said. “Get outside and try different activities. Getting into a mundane routine while stuck at home is something that happens and people quit on the routine. Try to find ways to keep it fresh.”
It also doesn’t require a lot of time, he said.
“If you can get 20 to 30 minutes of focused, dedicated time for exercise you will feel way better and your energy will go up,” said Gillam.