Staying Fit While Staying At Home
In this unprecedented time, it is easy to get discouraged and unmotivated. However, even within the confines of our own homes, there are many things we can do to maintain physical and spinal health. Remember that physical activity also improves your mental health.
Here are some simple ways to increase your motivation to exercise and also how to stick with it.
1) Distract your mind. If you are exercising outside there are several visual stimuli to keep you distracted. Inside, your best options are to play music, listen to the radio or a podcast or watch television while you exercise. This will make the 15-60 minutes fly by.
2) Have an exercise partner. Being accountable to an exercise commitment or holding someone else accountable is one of the best ways to stick to the program.
Instead of a friend, pick a family member as your partner. If two of you are exercising you will probably motivate everyone in the home to exercise as well.
3) Pick a specific day and time to exercise. We have all had those vacation days where time just flies by without any plan for the day. That might be great for a few days on holiday, but after a while your brain and body start turning to mush. Plan your day. Include what time you will wake up and what time you will exercise. Without a specific time, 9 am will quickly turn to 9 pm and then no exercise.
4) Repetition is key. Try to do some type of activity or exercise every day. Start with 15 minutes and work your way up to 60 minutes or more per day. This can include a combination of strength, endurance and cardiac training. So now that you are motivated to exercise, what can you do? If you live in an area with lots of open space for social distancing, nothing beats going for a walk. For many, short walks multiple times per day may be a better and safer option than doing one long walk. Start with 10-15 minutes and work your way up to a cumulative 60 minutes per day. If you can not walk for various reasons ( knee, hip and back issues, heavily populated are) I would recommend a treadmill, stationary bike, marching in one spot, climbing your stairs multiple times or jumping jacks.
In terms of strength and endurance exercises, the list is truly limitless. Yoga, Palates, Tai Chi, core body exercise, weights , resistance tubing exercises, interval training are just some of your options. You can easily find many exercises on the internet and various webpages. If you follow an exercise video your planning is quite simple. If you are making your own routine then pick a selection of 5-6 different exercises. Write down your program which includes the order of the exercises and how many repetition or sets of each exercise you want to do. Vary it up each day and add a few more as your strength and endurance improves. Remember to start slow and maintain proper technique, otherwise you could end up injuring yourself or causing repetitive strain problems.
For most of us, the biggest obstacle to doing regular daily exercise is not lack of time or physical abilities. Rather, it is lack of motivation, lack of planning and fuzzy thoughts on what to do and when to do it. All this time off can be an opportunity to kick start your health to a higher level. We can make the most of it or the least of it. The choice is up to you.
James DiGiuseppe is a local chiropractor with a busy family and wellness practice. For more health information or to contact Dr. DiGiuseppe visit