How to Exercise Safely At Home During Lock Down
Sadly, we’ve been told to stay indoors and keep away from others during this COVID 19 lockdown. We can no longer take on most of our favourite hobbies, or visit a gym or even go for a swim at the local pool.
We’ve now been forced to take on exercise at home and we’ve seen a number of clients start to be more active at home.
But how exactly do we stay safe when we exercise at home? Here are some of our top tips!
Top Tops To Exercise Safely At Home
Make Your Space Safe
Make sure your environment is clear of any obstructions and has sufficient room for your activity of choice. Make sure you are still wearing proper footwear! Slippers, sandals and socks with no grip may not be advised!
Warm Up And Cool Down
Try and get the body warmed up before undertaking any full on exercise and make sure you stretch and cool down post workout.
Maintain Your Sleep
Proper sleep is critical. It affects everything from healing, recovery, metabolism, muscle growth, weight control, mental health. One way to improve sleep is to remove any distractions, such as electronics, bright lights and noise at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Remember, exercise also helps you sleep….
Keep Hydrated
Drink water before, during and after any type of workout to avoid cramps and fatigue. If your exercise has high exertion or you have a high sweat rate, you will need to keep those fluids up!
Eating Right
Fight injury with great food by eating with health in mind. Vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron and electrolytes all play vital roles in avoiding injury, sports performance as well as general health.
Do I need fancy equipment?
No! A few simple tools should help you keep active at home. In fact, at PACE Health Management we have exercise packs that we can deliver to your home. Contact us to find out how.
Some of the basics might include:
Elastic resistance bands
These can be used to train the muscles of the arms, chest, shoulders and hips. It gives a similar toning effect as some gym equipment if you select the appropriate band resistance.
Your own body
Many machines in the gym can actually be replaced with your own body weight!
Toning exercises that are useful to strengthen and tone major muscle groups include:
Push-ups
Tricep Dips
Partial crunches, and
Half-squats
Other affordable equipment could include:
Skipping rope for a good cardiovascular workout
Free weights for strength-building and toning
Gym ball to improve flexibility and maintain body balance
A good exercise mat is useful too!
Final Thoughts
We have all been forced to exercise indoors or limit our outdoor workouts, but that shouldn’t mean we stop moving. Moving is essential for your physical and mental health, so however you can move - DO IT.
It does, however, mean you have to be extra cautious about your own personal safety.
At PACE Health Management we have set up a number of different ways to make sure you can keep moving AND be monitored by an accredited professional.