Whew. Well, last week certainly took a very quick turn into crazy town. Luckily, my husband and I were paying early attention to the news and were pretty well stocked up on supplies before the Great Toilet Paper Run of 2020. On the other hand, we also fell into the group of universities that decided to migrate courses online. And I teach Strength Training and Yoga. Talk about a scramble.
I know many of you are also doing the scramble. Whether you need to figure out your all-of-a-sudden-working-from-home balance, or manage a new childcare situation, or are just trying to calm anxiety. So I wanted to jump in today with a couple of thoughts. Some of which are pretty random, but hey, that’s the world we are living in at the moment.
I teach my students that physical health is the absence of injury or illness. And that fitness is the state of good health especially as a result of exercise and nutrition practices. Those are very different. One (health) is a baseline goal that we should all have regardless of anything else. And we are all hopefully really striving to maintain this right about now. But the other (fitness) is about doing something more.
And here’s the funny thing. Through the process of “doing more” via nutrition and exercise, we are setting ourselves up for better health outcomes. When we move our bodies regularly, they respond by getting stronger in many different ways. Including in their ability to fight off infection. When we choose to eat more healthfully, we are giving our bodies the microscopic tools to build antibodies if needed.
The universe loves irony and just two weeks ago, I posted about re-evaluating goals. And you guys know how much I keep yammering about consistency. In the current climate, a lot of people are wondering how to keep to their fitness plans. And I’ll honestly be the first one to tell you, a gym or fitness center is probably not the best place to be at the moment.
But that doesn’t mean you should throw all of your plans under the bus. As I already alluded to, exercise is a key component in not only meeting individual goals but in maintaining health. If you want the buzz word for that, it’s self care. But instead of re-evaluating your goals, you just need to re-evaluate your process.
You can maintain excellent workouts at home. As long as you aren’t under strict quarantine, the weather is improving (thank you spring!), so take a walk, jog, or bike ride outside. Being in the fresh air will certainly help your Mental Health Dimension. It’s relaxing and calming. And, oh yeah, fresh air helps your immune system, too.
You don’t need any equipment for a yoga workout and there are some great ones on YouTube (try Yoga With Adriene). You also don’t need any equipment to get a rocking strength workout at home. You can refer to my Playing Card workout or use this as an excuse to check out all the equipment-less workouts that Kelli and Dan post on Fitness Blender.
My point is that rather than see the glass as half empty and bemoan a derailment of carefully laid plans, try to see the glass as half full. This can be an opportunity to rethink what is most important in respect to your long term goals. And it can also be a great chance to try something that you otherwise might not. Who knows, you might find a new fave workout.
Lastly, whatever your situation is, please remember basic prevention strategies. Cough and sneeze into tissues if possible or your sleeve on your forearm if not. Wipe down commonly touched surfaces frequently (i.e. doorknobs, faucet handles, light switches, and cell phones). Try to avoid touching your face.
And for goodness sake, wash your hands. Hand sanitizer is a no other options measure. Wash your hands. With warm water and soap. Including finger tips, in between your fingers, and thumbs (the most missed places) for at least 20 seconds. Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to yourself, that’s about 20 seconds.
Tell us in the comments how you are keeping active at home!
Until next time, be well, friends!
