How to Stay Active During Quarantine

By Jonathan Elkins

With most gyms and other recreational facilities shut down nation-wide, it can be difficult to do the same exercises at home. I struggle with this as I don’t have space for a full collection of weights and equipment. Over the past few weeks, I have found a handful of convenient alternatives that are sure to keep you active if you’re like me and need equipment to execute a certain exercise or are going for specific results. I have found a handful of convenient alternatives that are sure to keep you going in the meantime:

1. Utilize resistance bands.
   I found that most stores are fresh out of dumbbells and plates, but usually have a good assortment of resistance tubes and bands. I personally have been needing to resort to bodyweight exercises lately and resistance bands have been incredibly useful. I hate needing to do tons of reps and the bands add enough tension to my exercises to make my reps feel meaningful. They may feel odd at first but can add a lot to your squats and other bodyweight movements.
   
2. Incorporate exercises during the day helps to break up the monotony of social distancing.
   I have recently started keeping track of different things that I do during the day and translating those into exercises. During competitive online games, I track how many matches I lose and tally them on my whiteboard next to me. Each tally equates to five reps of either push-ups, sit-ups, or squats. I find that this system works well to incentivize me to play better and keep me from sitting around for hours.
   
3. Find free and discounted fitness content online.
   With so many people staying inside, companies have been providing discounts and offers for products ranging from streaming services to food; this is especially true for streaming services involving fitness. Bodybuilding.com is offering eight free video workouts created by professional trainers. There are also entire collections of older workout programs on Archive.org and you can find programs like the old P90x and others for free.

It can be difficult to find workout equipment with everything going on right now, but that doesn’t mean you should simply give up staying active. Being too sedimentary can be truly harmful for your well-being and while we need to keep ourselves and others safe, there are still steps we can take to ensure that we get the exercise we need while remaining in the comfort of our own homes.