Fitness

How to maintain a healthy body during lock-down?

1. Routine

We are creatures of habit. And having a basic routine to follow each day gives us a sense of achievement. These times have thrown us all out of routine which does play a part on our physical and mental health.

Start to develop a daily routine. Wake up at the same time each day, workout in the morning, go for your walk at the same time and go to bed at the same time each day. This simple routine will give you balance and you can work the rest of your day around this.

2. Nutrition

This for me is very important. If we are eating high sugar or processed foods and drinking high amounts of alcohol we are making life very hard for ourselves.

Have a balanced diet and lower your sugar content. Make sure you eat breakfast and snack on healthy foods throughout the day. By lowering sugar in your diet and cutting back on alcohol you will notice a huge difference in your energy levels and mood! Yes we have heard it all before add more veggies to our diet, but have we really applied it? Looks like it is time to do that.

3. Be social!

Use technology to keep in touch with loved ones. And have fun too. Run some quiz games with family and friends. Utilize the time to spend with all new and old friends look for social profiles online and catch up with one another. Maintaining a healthy mind is essential.

4.Running or cycling

Solo cycling is still permitted under the lockdown rules.

People are still allowed out to exercise, but only once a day and only alone or with members of your own household – so going for a run, cycle or a walk is fine even though team events and club gatherings are off limits.

Images of crowded parks over the weekend caused outrage with people seemingly ignoring the advice of keeping two metres apart, so a road route might be safest to avoid coming into close quarters with strangers.

With air pollution levels plummeting due to the lock-down, it might be more pleasant than you would think.

5.Yoga

Visions of rubber-limped Instagram yoga bunnies might be daunting but in reality it begins with just a little light stretching to improve flexibility – there are even a range of movements that don’t require a yoga mat.

There are thousands of free websites offering video tutorials, so it is a case of shopping around and seeing which you get on best with.

Most websites have dozens of videos ranging from beginner to advanced, as well as routines tailored to plus sizes and to those with mobility issues.

6.Stairs

Stairs can be a last-resort piece of gym equipment with the help of a few fitness tutorials

If you are short on gym equipment then you can always make use of a set of stairs, should you have them.

There are various exercises you can try including stair push-ups, reverse lunges and triceps dips – even just walking up and down them a few times will at least get you moving.

7.Sofa

Use your sofa for some simple exercises.

The call of the sofa might be strong – but see if you can resist Netflix for 20 minutes and try a quick workout instead.

It might sound simple but even sitting down and standing up again 10 times in a row will work out your thighs, or placing two hands on the sofa while extending one leg behind you will get your muscles burning.

Search “sofa workout” online for hundreds of videos promising to get you fit from the comfort of your living room.

8.Meditation

Aimed at slowing the heart rate rather than raising it, meditation might just keep you sane and save your relationships after a month cooped up with your nearest and dearest.

There are dozens of apps promising to help you breathe your way to peace of mind – as long as you can find a quiet corner of your home to focus.

YouTube is also abundant with tracks for meditation and relaxation