So....how's everybody been doing?
It's been a testing few weeks. Life has changed beyond anything we could've imagined a month ago. We're learning a completely new way of living and I never cease to be amazed at the adaptability of the human spirit. We're mostly doing OK.
Scheduling in a daily exercise session during lockdown helps us to keep a sense of routine, crucial for maintaining a sense of well being and stability, when everything else is so fluid and uncertain.
At the moment, we're still allowed to exercise outside, albeit alone (some countries have now stopped this completely). I urge you to get out and make the very most of every minute. Get your trainers on, get out the door whatever the weather, raise the heart rate a little (or a lot). Sweat. Clear your head.
It doesn't matter what your current fitness level is, what's important here is the endorphins from the cardio and some Vitamin D from the sunshine. I can't stress enough how much this will benefit your mental as well as physical heath. Many of us are busy caring for others right now, but we need to take proper care of ourselves in order to do this.
Here's a little compilation of body weight exercises that can be added into your current daily walk, run or even dog walk.
Choose a couple of these exercises to try, or use all of them like a circuit. You can also alternate each exercise or set with a run, hill sprint or stair climb. Try 5 or 10 reps of each exercise and build up to doing 3 sets of each.
1. Single Leg Split Squats (Push through the heel of the supporting leg to come back up)
2. Step Ups (Try a lower step if a bench feels to high)
3. Push Ups (Try doing these on the back of the bench if the seat feels too low)
4. Tricep Dips (Don't come down too low to avoid strain on the shoulder but keep elbows tucked in neatly)
5. Single Leg Hip Thrust (Keep heel of supporting leg pushing down into the ground and don't arch the back, hinge from the hip)
6. Mountain Climbers
7. Step Jumps to finish
Let me know if you try any of these. What else have you been doing to keep your physical and mental strength up?