Fitness & Wellness
How to stay fit indoors during the second wave of Covid?
With no signs of relief from the second wave of Covid-19 on the horizon, here are a few ways by which you can stay fit from the comfort of your home.
Fitness freaks need not fear the impending lockdown that is being imposed across several regions in India. While it is important to stay away from gyms at this time, the maintenance of fitness is also crucial to ensuring a healthy lifestyle and has benefits such as building immunity as well. We take a look at some ways to maintain fitness while staying indoors during a lockdown.
Calisthenics
The free-form fitness routine has been practiced by people all over the world for several centuries. Many might consider it to be less effective than weight training but calisthenic exercises come with their own set of benefits. The entire idea behind it is to train specific muscle groups by doing free hand exercises with concentrated sets and routines. It can be done at home through push-up variations, pull-ups, planks, muscle-ups, planches, bodyweight squats, burpees, etc.
Yoga
Its benefits need no introduction and no one has to be a professional or extremely flexible to do yoga regularly. Simply putting the mind at ease and performing certain asanas every day can be beneficial for helping tone the body and staying in shape. Mind you, yoga can be tiring as well especially for beginners but its benefits are unparallel to many forms of exercise.
Home Weight Training
For gym freaks who are missing the adrenalin rush at gyms and the heavy workouts, their closest substitute for no weights can be home workouts. Filled water bottles, bricks, loaded backpacks, ropes, and chairs can all be substitutes for weights. Using home weights can be beneficial for staying in shape and not so much for building the dream body for people. But it can do the trick of at least keeping the momentum going while staying indoors with no access to gyms.
On the Spot Cardio
Investing in a good quality skipping rope, high jumps, jumping jacks, or using treadmills are all ways to keep the heart pace going. While exercise machines for cardio might tough to procure, skipping and jumping jacks are extremely effective means of pumping the heart and letting the sweat run. Moreover, for those looking to lose weight, even scheduling a daily cardio session for half an hour is more than enough to not be out of touch with running.
Basic Stretches
This can be done at any time of the day but preferable not after meals. Stretching in the morning after waking up helps the body kickstart the day. Moreover, it keeps lethargy from setting in which people might feel frequently during the lockdown. It is not as effective in losing weight but can help improve flexibility and mobility for the body over time.
Diet
The first step to achieving fitness goals is the maintenance of the diet. Whether it be cutting or gaining, eating right without too much exercise can also have major benefits for the body in the long run. For people who had a set routine, the diet should not stop regardless of the reduction in exercising. While food must be monitored but giving the body its daily fuel is something that should not be compromised in light of no regular activity.
Meditation
The mind needs to be healthy and plays a role in contributing to the overall mental and physical health of the body. Setting aside 15-20 minutes a day to meditate can immense benefits to the overall well-being of people. This can be done at the start or finish of the day depending on the schedule of the person. Deep breaths, staying still, clearing the mind of all thoughts can help spread positivity and energy that the body desperately needs while locked up indoors.
