Stay home, keep fit
FITNESS EXPERTS OFFER TIPS FOR STAYING ACTING DURING ISOLATION
Linda Gottlieb knows that even people who go to the gym four times a week don’t necessarily love working out. They know they need to work out, so they find a way to build it into their routine — possibly by sandwiching a 30- or 60-minute gym visit somewhere between leaving home and returning from work.
But we’re living in an age where the routines we’ve built up over the years have been torn apart. The COVID-19 pandemic has meant, among other things, that people can’t pop into the gym for a quick workout, or meet up with a trainer or join their buddy for a morning run. People can’t work out the way they used to, says Gottlieb, a fitness coach in Milford.
“People who work out at the gym four times a week — that’s their routine,” Gottlieb says. “They had control over it. Now we have a lack of control in spades. People are working from home. They’re eating more, stressing more, sleeping less and sitting way more.”
All these factors arguably make exercise more crucial than ever. But when you can’t work out in the way that you’re used to, what do you do? That uncertainty can be a real barrier for some, Gottlieb says.
“What’s really funny is that everybody has been inundated with free online workouts — they’re available everywhere now,” she says. “But, what happens for most people is that there are too many choices. So their head gets overwhelmed and they don’t do any of them.”
Luckily, she and other experts say getting back on track can be as simple as getting up off the couch, or out of your home office chair and do something.
“Just moving your body can help when you’re frozen,” Gottlieb says. “Pick some time during the day, and that’s what you do — you move. Put on music and dance. Kick a ball in the backyard.”
Tami Reilly, director of fitness and well-being at Quinnipiac University, agrees that staying active during quarantine doesn’t have to be difficult. “We need to be creative to get into the routine of moving a little bit,” she says, recommending such tactics as seeing if your gym is offering “virtual” workouts or working out with a friend via Zoom or another video app.
Gottlieb, for one, is still offering virtual sessions with clients, and says they’ve worked very well so far. “In the beginning, everyone was a little skittish,” she says. “Now I’ve had clients tell me ‘This is great — why didn’t we do it sooner?’”
She also offers online workout videos, teaching such classic techniques as stretching.
Missing key pieces of equipment? Reilly says common household objects, such as water bottles and soup cans, can be used in resistance training or for other workouts.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective,” she says.
Gottlieb agrees. She says most people have some sort of old, unused equipment lying around, such as resistance bands. Even furniture sliders can be placed under the hands or feet to create a challenging workout, she says. Something as simple as getting up and walking around the house or apartment in between work appointments can be beneficial, Gottlieb says.
“There are so many easy, small changes that can be done at home in a break,” she says.
Though it might feel like formulating a workout routine in these heavy times is just another burden, experts say that taking time to move could actually lighten your mental and emotional load.
“After a long day of online classes or working from home,” says Gabriella (Bella) Miceli, “trying to find a quiet space to be active with virtual fitness and wellness classes provides an opportunity not only to maintain physical health but mental and emotional health as well. Miceli is assistant director of fitness, wellness and adventure recreation at the University of New Haven.
“Even getting some Vitamin D walking around one’s neighborhood or respecting social distancing on trails can be a great way to unplug and stay active.”
She says that UNH has been providing fitness and wellness classes on Zoom, and offering other wellness-related content, since the university had to shut down its physical properties due to the pandemic.
“I believe the biggest barrier to staying active is our mindset,” Miceli says. “A lot of us have been jarred from our regular routines, lost jobs or school life. It is easy to stay in the hurt, but after wiping our tears from these new fears of what is out of our hands, it is time to reflect on what we can indeed control.”
Reilly agrees that working out and staying active can actually help people pull their lives back into some semblance of normalcy. “Movement is healthcare,” she says. “It’s so much more beneficial than just dumping yourself in front of a Netflix show.”
“THERE ARE SO MANY EASY, SMALL CHANGES THAT CAN BE DONE AT HOME IN A BREAK.”