How to stay fit without access to the gym
It’s been a difficult year to keep fit. Covid lockdowns have made it harder to stick with the gym and heightened stress may be chipping away at our mental health as well.
But we can still keep active and be aware of our health everyday.
Here are 5 tips to workout again and stay healthy when you’re at home…
1. Create a home workout space
Set aside a physical space and time to do a home workout. You don't need a big space, just enough for a yoga mat and arm length stretch. There are plenty of mini-workouts you can do in under 30 minutes using basic equipment:
Stretch/resistance bands
Light dumbells / kettlebells
Boxing gloves and pad
A yoga matt
If you're looking for a single piece of equipment that can work out your whole body, purchase a resistance band. ABC-Life has an online guide with five simple strength exercises you can do at home:
Yoga is a great way to engage every muscle in your body to improve strength, agility, and endurance. There are plenty of free and paid yoga apps, such as:
Daily Yoga app (iPhone & Android) < most popular
Down Dog Yoga app (iPhone & Android)
Yoga With Adriene Youtube channel
2. Walk in your local suburb
As people spend more time working from home, it’s time to get outside and explore your local suburb.
Walking is a great way to improve your overall health, and gets you interacting with other neighbours in the parks and your street. Just 30 minutes every day can:
increase cardiovascular fitness,
strengthen bones,
reduce excess body fat,
and boost muscle power and endurance.
It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.
Walking is a great way to unwind the mind and process thoughts away from your work environment. It’s also a great environment to make phone calls or listen to podcasts.
Get some sun and stretch your legs!
3. Drink plenty of water
Did you know, around 50 to 80% of your body weight is water.
Adequate water is crucial for most body processes including digestion, absorbing and transporting nutrients, disposing waste and regulating temperature. The higher our lean mass, the higher the water content.
The slightest bit of dehydration (even 2%) significantly reduces physical and mental performance. To know how many glasses you should be drinking, Medibank has put together a daily water calculator to help:
4. Meditate in the morning
Martha Beck in her book The Joy Diet, entitled the first chapter "nothing". To begin the Joy Diet, you must ‘do nothing for at least fifteen minutes a day’. What Martha is talking about is the practice of stillness through mindfullness.
In our fast-paced, noisy world, learning to quiet the mind is important for us to process thoughts, maintain perspective on life and create a healthy margin to simply 'be'... before we run off to 'do do do'!
"Meditation tends to reduce the inner chatter that contributes to our great anxiety." - Michael Hyatt
Practice meditating for 15 minutes as part of your morning routine. If you need help, download an app like Headspace or Calm.
If you prefer paper, pick up a journal and write down thoughts to get them off your mind.
5. Partner with a PT
If you can't get to the gym, motivation to workout can taper off quickly. One solution is to invest in a local personal trainer. A PT can help you set fitness goals, create detailed workout plans or routines and provide guidance on dieting and nutrition.
Since COVID-19, most personal trainers are now meeting at homes and parks.
Where to find a personal trainer (in QLD):
Search on local Facebook groups
Ask your local gym
Need more space at your place?
Our over-bonnet storage boxes give you more space in your carpark to store bulky items like:
⛺️ camping gear ⠀
🧰 tools ⠀
📦 archives
🎄 off season decor ⠀
⠀
Rent or buy a storage box today. Our local team are ready help, and we deliver & install to Brisbane and the Gold Coast region.
