Being home is great but we know how important it is to keep an eye on long-term health and fitness. And it’s not just a physical thing. Stress is at an all-time high, and exercise and movement are both great ways calm, the mind and relieve stress.
So, what can you do to help stay fit and healthy whilst social distancing? Well, here’s what we’ve been doing.
Staying fit whilst social distancing
Spend a few minutes stretching each morning
Whether you’ve only got five minutes, or twenty, spending a few minutes first thing in the morning stretching out and working the joints and muscles can be very beneficial for both the mind and body.
Spend time outdoors each day
Spend some time, even if only a few minutes, outdoors every day. If you have a garden or a park, that’s great. Don’t have either, or maybe the weather is terrible, at least open a window. Breathe some fresh air. Feel nature on your face and skin, whether that be sun, wind, or rain.
There’s something calming about connecting to nature, even more so during times of uncertainty and stress. We recommend finding a local field or a secluded woodland area (so that you can keep to social distancing rules), turning off your smartphone notifications, and getting to know it well. If you like gardening, that’s the perfect excuse to get outdoors and get moving!
Walk
Walking is one of the greatest exercises you can do, because it’s easy to scale it up or down depending on your fitness, and doesn’t cost anything.
We find this to be a really great way to relieve stress. Pop some earphones in, put on some music, an audio book or a podcast and put one foot in front of the other. It works great even during times of self-isolation because most of us will know places we can go that are relatively quiet.
Can’t go outside? Go for a walk indoors. Sounds crazy, but you can get a good walk, especially if you have stairs!
Get up out of your chair each and every hour
Move more. Most smartwatches and fitness trackers have a feature that reminds you to move every hour if you’ve been still. Use it! Don’t sit for many hours on end hunched over a keyboard. It’s not a viable option in the long term.
Get up, stretch, have a drink, go look out of a window for a few minutes.
Spend time with your pets
Dogs need walking, cats need playing with, other pets could do with some attention. Spend some time with your pets. They’ll enjoy it and you will feel much better.
Try online classes
Classes are out, but there’s a lot of great ones online, either in the form of live classes or pre-recorded sessions. We especially recommend practices that put a lot of focus on the breath, as it’s a brilliant stress-buster.
Convict Conditioning
Really need a good workout but the gym is closed? No problem! Convict Conditioning is a book that was written by Paul Wade that consists of a series of body weight exercises that, as the title suggests, can be done while incarcerated. Sounds ideal when self-isolating, right? You need only minimal equipment and a small space, and while the exercises sound simple, they have a huge impact!
Other Suggestions
- Clean your house or apartment like it’s never been cleaned before
- Use stairs instead of lifts
- Do something: press ups, pull ups, squats, each time you enter a room (kitchen, bedroom, office)
- Get an exercise bike
- Try a standing desk
- Buy a skipping rope (and realise just how much harder it is now compared to when you were a kid)
Any other tips for staying for and healthy while social distancing? Let us know!
