Fitness fanatics say they will still exercise even if they self-isolate

IF YOU are fit, active and in your 60s and 70s, the chances are you may be thinking about staying indoors more because of the coronavirus outbreak and may have to put a hold on your fitness sessions.

Instructor Louie Fecou, of Ayrshire, has a number of sessions aimed at clients in their 50s, 60s, 70s and even their 80s.

At this time, when people are concerned about attending some sessions, he is advising people who are self-isolating but want to keep active to make sure they don’t fall into a rut of lazing around.

“More and more of my sessions are for people who have retired but want to keep themselves active and healthy,” said Louie.

“And I have to say these clients are among the most enthusiastic I have – they have more energy than many people half their age.

“They particularly like the dancebased and weight-based sessions and they have all grown in strength over the months.

“Many of them enjoy the social aspect, too, and they all go for a cuppa after the classes. So it will be strange if they have to self-isolate.

“I have been giving them some advice on how to stay active at home and some of them have been tuning into my YouTube channel to take part in some Tabata routines, which are four minutes of exercise that you can do at your own pace.”

Katrina, 68, is a former project administrator and loves the social aspect of her keep-fit classes. She enjoys the toning circuit, yoga, pilates, fitsteps and ballroom dancing.

And she plans to keep active if she self-isolates. Katrina said: “From a young age, I have always been active and attended fitness sessions.

“I love the social aspect of the classes and, afterwards, we talk and laugh and encourage each other. I have made so many great friends through the classes.

“Fitness has been and always will be important to me and I will be doing my utmost to keep active at home. I can easily do some Yoga or Pilates and I can use a toning bar, too. I certainly won’t be sitting around doing nothing.”

Retired pharmacy dispenser

Morag is 65 and has filled up a lot of her time with fitness classes.

She said: “Since I retired, I find myself making more time for me and keeping fit has become important to me.

“I will be making sure I do something at home, even for a few minutes every day, to make sure I keep my fitness levels up.

“It is a sad prospect that you may not be able to go to classes but there are ways of keeping fit at home and I will be trying hard to stay active.”

Here are some top ways to stay active at home:

I’m still standing:

When you are at home, you tend to sit down a lot but try to make sure you stand up and move around at least once an hour.

If that’s not possible then move your arms and legs for a few minutes to get your body used to moving, no matter how small the move may be.

Find your core strength:

Try to get up from your chair without using a walker or leaning on someone else.

All you have to do is sit on your chair without arm rests, cross your hands across your chest and lean forward.

As you do this try and put your weight on your feet as you lean forward before standing up and straightening your knees. Then, sit back down. This is a good one to repeat three to five times a day.

Stretch it out:

You can try some gentle stretches in your bed or while you are lying on your sofa.

While lying down, bring your toes in towards your shin and then point them toward the floor. Repeat this move for each foot.

Next, while sitting on a chair, lift your leg up off the seat, keeping your knee bent. Return it to the starting position and do this up to five times each leg.

If you are sitting on a chair, pull your toes up, tighten your thigh muscle and straighten your knee.

Hold this for five to eight seconds, if you can, and then slowly relax your leg. Do this for each leg.

Homemade weights:

You may not be in the gym but you can use items around the house to keep those muscles moving.

Louie said: “It’s so simple to sit on a chair with a tin of baked beans in each hand and do some bicep curls.

“Just sit with your feet hip width apart and slowly move your tin of beans up and down, keeping your elbows in close to get the full range of movement.

“You can also take a few minutes and walk up and down two steps, taking care not to fall over, this will get your heart rate a little higher than if you were resting and keep you active.

“Just because you are home, there is no reason to undo all that good work you have been doing at your fitness sessions.”