Staying Fit at Home

Fitness is a challenge for many of us as we work from home. We don’t move around as much since the commute has been shorten to bedroom to living room. And most of the gyms and stadiums are closed. A lot of our exercise routines are disrupted. Classes are off, workout groups cancelled, and exercised buddies disallowed to meet. So what can we do?

Exercise Guidelines

First, figure out how much exercise you need. If you have no idea, World Health Organisation guidelines are 150 minutes moderate or 75 minutes vigorous aerobic exercise a week, with 2 days of strengthening exercise.  What does that mean? 

Aerobic Exercise 

Aerobic exercise is anything that makes you breath faster and your heart beat faster. Running, climbing stairs, dancing, and mopping floors all count as aerobic exercise. 

Moderate means you can still talk while exercising, but not sing. In other words, you are slightly out of breath. Vigorous means you can only speak a few words, but cannot complete a sentence. In other words, you are significantly out of breath. If you cannot speak at all, stop. The exercise is too vigorous for you. On the other hand, if you can still sing, it’s not vigorous enough.  

You’ll need at least two and a half hours of aerobic exercise a week. This averages around 20 minutes a day. And you can do them in bouts of at least ten minutes. Thus getting out of your chair and jogging on the spot for ten minutes before continuing work counts. So does scrubbing your toilet for ten minutes. If you do both, you’ve hit your quota for the day. If you want more health benefits, you can do double that: 300 minutes moderate or 150 minutes vigorous a week.

Strengthening Exercise

Next, strengthening exercises. These are anything that makes your major muscle groups stronger. The major muscle groups include the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms. So carrying weights count, but so does carrying your groceries home from the supermarket, especially if you are only shopping once a week or less.

There are many strengthening exercises you can do at home, including push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and planking. The National Health Service of UK has some suggestions here, and The New York Times has a 9-minute workout you can try. Google for more exercises you might like. Twice a week, you’ll need to do a set of strengthening exercises that covers all your major muscle groups.   

Other Exercise

Besides strength, you’ll want to have some flexibility exercises. This can be elaborate ones like yoga, or casual, like getting up from your chair and stretching. The American Council for Exercise has some suggestions for what you can do.

Stretching before and after doing aerobic exercises can be a good way to warm up and cool down. And make sure you stretch every major group after you have strengthened it so that you do not lose flexibility as you gain strength. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to stretch your entire body at least once a day. If you’re 65 and above, this becomes even more important.

Also, if you are 65 and above, incorporate balance exercises into your routine. Again, these can be formal, like tai chi, or informal, like standing on one foot. The National Institute on Aging (part of the National Institutes of Health, USA) recommends these balance exercises.

Mental Exercise

Lastly, the biggest hurdle in exercising is really not knowing how to do it, or how much to do. It is the will to do the exercise. It can be hard to start exercising in the midst of so many other challenges. The mental will to start is probably the most important exercise of all. Just remember this. Exercise boosts your immunity, improves your mood, and reduces stress. All of which you probably need at this time.

Keep healthy, and keep well!