Ways To Stay Fit During Quarantine
We live in unusual times. Being quarantined might be the opportunity you’ve always wanted. In fact, even if you didn’t want an opportunity to get and stay fit during quarantine, there’s nothing else to do, so why not? Why not experiment with healthy dishes and start on a daily fitness routine. If you want the wild life, why not settle on wildlife viewing instead and go for hikes and walks in the park. Most people say that they’d get fit if they only had the time, now is the time. Even if you’re working from home, your day is cut shorter by lack of commuting and your work clothes are now workout clothes, so there’s no wasted time trying to decide what to wear.
You don’t have to have a gym, you can do bodyweight exercises.
Bodyweight exercises require no equipment, except the one you have with you at all times, your body. The good news is that it only gets stronger the more you use it and instead of wearing out. Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges and squats are just a few of the bodyweight exercises that build muscle and strength. Stretches and other types of calisthenics are great flexibility workouts.
Get your heart pumping with a HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout.
Whether you go for a walk or do calisthenics, how you do it makes a big difference in its effectiveness. HIIT workouts involve going at top intensity for a few minutes and then spending equal time or longer at a slower recovery rate. The high intensity section should boost your heart rate to 70 to 90% of maximum rate with the recovery level lowering it back to 60 to 65%. HIIT workouts get your heart in shape quicker, improves your breathing and lung function and burns tons of calories. It helps stabilize your blood pressure and level your blood sugar.
Start eating healthier and learn to cook healthier.
What a great time to opt for healthier eating. You have time at home to babysit the beef roast as it or hang around while the sprouted bread rises. Eating healthier can become an adventure that turns to an avocation or hobby. You’ll be amazed at how good healthy food tastes, especially when you made it yourself. You may even start a program of meal prep and plan meals and make them for the whole week, with some left to freeze for later, when you’re busy.
- Just walking can improve your fitness and even your mood. Fresh air and sunshine are necessary to keep you healthy and a walk in the park or other natural setting can bring a sense of calm.
- You can use common everyday objects to replace exercise equipment. Soup cans and detergent bottles filled with sand or water can replace weights. A broomstick can be used alone or double as a barbell with a weight added to each end, like a backpack. A milk jug can double as a kettlebell.
- If you want to have more variety and use inexpensive equipment, try resistance bands or a stability ball. Doorway pull-up bars can also be $20 or less. Use the real stair for a stair stepper machine.
- Create a schedule and stick with it. Not only will you get more done, you’ll be more likely to stick with a program of exercise. If you’re working at home, schedule a five-minute break every hour to get up and move, whether it’s doing jumping jacks or just walking around.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness!
Is your schedule packed? Do you wish you could get more done in the time you have available? People are always looking for ways to get more done in less time and that holds true in the exercise world, too. I often get asked for ideas for effective workouts with the least amount of time invested. At Next Level Fitness, our program is based on providing the most effective workouts that also save you time. If you’re working out on your own, here are a few ideas.
The easiest way to fight any disease is to avoid getting it. That means building up the immune system and helping your body to be at its best. At Next Level Fitness in Irvine, CA, we help clients tone their body and eat healthier to improve their potential to stay healthy this summer. Not only can lifestyle changes boost the immune system, it can improve the body’s functioning to prevent serious conditions and lower the risk of injury. Even a health condition already exists, lifestyle changes can help control it better and even improve the quality of life.
If you want to be successful and finally stick with your exercise regimen, one technique that can help is a regular exercise schedule. How many times have you had a busy day and decided you’d go workout later, only to end the day without ever making it to the gym? That’s what happens when you decide you’ll find the time later, rather than putting it on your schedule and making your workout a specific time. It makes working out a low priority, when it should be at the top of your list.
Food journaling is nothing more than writing down information about what you eat and when you eat. It can reveal a lot of information that might otherwise be missed. How often do you mindlessly eat something, barely being aware that you put it in your mouth or felt sick or bloated frequently? Food journaling can not only help you count calories, but also tell you when you eat the most and based on how you do it, the stimulus that made you overeat.
Do you want to eat healthier, but also want to save money? Consider opting for in-season fruits and vegetables. In fact, you can probably get many of these from local farmers and benefit yourself, but also your local economy. No matter what season you choose, there’s something delicious and healthy being grown in Irvine, CA. Some food, like beets and cabbage, are in season in all months. Beets are especially good for you and some people call them superfood, because of all the nutrients. Both are inexpensive and provide a great start to many tasty dishes.
Do you grab some carryout at noon or rush to the local food vendor? That can get expensive for both your health and your pocketbook. There’s a lot of reasons to eat healthier, but often people think that’s too expensive. They’re wrong, you can save money by packing a lunch and making that food healthy. When you pack a lunch, you have control over the food you take and the ingredients in it. Whether you’re creating a sack lunch for children or taking your lunch to work, there are healthy options.
Whether you have your own personal crisis in Irvine, CA, or a nationwide crisis like the pandemic, one thing is certain, staying healthy will help you navigate the pitfalls more successfully. Some common effects on stress include chest pain, stomach problems, headache, fatigue and a lowered immune system. It can cause lack of motivation, restlessness, anxiety or depression and lead to heavy alcohol or drug misuse, social isolation or even overeating. You can see why avoiding stress is part of staying healthy.
You may know that a healthy breakfast will get you off to a good start, but taking the time to make it doesn’t quite fit in your schedule. Well here’s a great idea. Make those breakfasts ahead and even eat them on the run. It’s time to bypass that donut and get some healthy meals to start the day, without taking a lot of time for preparation. Here are some easy breakfast sandwiches you can freeze and eat later. Just prep them on the weekend and enjoy them the entire week.
What is your BMI—body mass index? It’s just one measure of your health. It uses both height and weight to calculate a number that is used with a chart to predict your overall health and whether you’re underweight or overweight. It replaced those charts that used to show the ideal weight and gave a better picture of your overall health that’s expressed with just one number. For example, if you’re a woman who is 5’6″ and you weighed 120 pounds, you’d be on the low end of normal. If you lost six pounds, you’d be underweight. You’d have to gain 35 pounds to inch your way into overweight. There are several online BMI calculators that you can use.