The whole planet is currently going through one of the major disasters in history. It is significant because the pandemic has affected us physically through sickness and reminding us about our vulnerabilities, and economically because the forced isolation of countries to try and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus has led many countries to economic distress.
This isolation affects the country as a whole but also the individual. Each person will have their own unique situation and will be affected differently and each person will have to tackle the difficulties that come up living in such an environment.
Sports and fitness in general has been affected heavily since most activities are done in groups, at the gym and popular sports – basketball, football, rugby, volleyball – all require some sort of proximity and contact with others, making it close to impossible to practice freely.
Luckily in this technological age laptops, smartphones, and internet have become essential tools in keeping everyone connected and helping in continuation of certain businesses. The fitness industry is harnessing technology in a very positive way. Even if I believe that once coronavirus is under control gyms will become popular again the option of setting up a small home gym and training from home will be a serious option considered by many.
Nowadays the options for the home gym have improved a lot. There are adjustable dumbbells; an endless variety of cardio machines which take up little space and the thousands of body weight exercises and workouts that our human imagination has come up with enables one to be able to maintain a certain level of fitness even if one does not attend a gym. Personal training is an added tool to help one stay motivated and focused towards a certain goal, because let’s face it, sitting comfortably on the sofa and having to get up of your account to do a workout is one thing but knowing that at a particular time you have to connect with your personal trainer online to do your workout helps one stay on track and keep in contact with someone, even if from far away.
Because of this new scenario most gyms and personal trainers have set up an online platform which can assist their clients with different levels of service. It can only be for exercise but may include even nutrition plans and 24 hour activity and weight management to help them stay on track with their fitness schedule and therefore reach their set goals. This setup might even be better than the traditional one because the personal trainer is now able to monitor their clients continuously from afar and with a touch of a button ‘pull their ear’ and readdress them in the right direction.
So here is an example of a full body home workout which requires little equipment:
Warming up:
5 mins – Step ups: Find a step or a sturdy box to step on. Have a timer or watch to guide you. Start slowly stepping up and down and on every minute do 20 seconds of fast stepping with the rest being slow stepping.
4 sets – exercises are done in succession resting as little as possible
Jumping jacks – 20 jumps
Sit-ups – 10 – https://youtu.be/X19xCaZLVNg
Push ups – 10. If regular push-ups are difficult, put your knees down and continue.
Main workout:
Superset 1 – this means that the exercises are done in succession resting only in between rounds.
4 rounds of 15 repetitions each exercise with 40 seconds rest after each round.
Air squat: to increase challenge grab large bottles or have a backpack which you can fill with stuff according to the desired weight.
Bicep curl: grab large bottles of water in each hand or curl your backpack with both hands. https://youtu.be/micelFts4xY
Superset 2
3 rounds of 15 repetitions each exercise with 40 seconds rest after each round.
Lunges: Forward lunges and return back. 1 repetition is when both legs are done. Grab some weighted object to increase challenge.
Shoulder press: Grab your large bottles of water or backpack lift overhead and press up the bag or whatever object you have chosen.
Superset 3
3 rounds of the exercises with 40 seconds rest after each round.
Crunches: 15 – https://youtu.be/ww1dWJyy74I
Mountain climbers: 10 – https://youtu.be/NQplKbxFMNo
Flutter kicks with abs hold: 20
Enjoy the burn!
Until next time stay strong, stay focused, and stay safe!
