How I'm Staying Active at Home

Truthfully one of the more challenging parts of staying at home this past month has been not being able to go to the gym. It’s also a reminder how incredibly grateful and lucky I am that it's one of the things I’m struggling with.

The gym has become a huge help to me this past year in that for two hours each day I go in, focus on myself, and unplug from other distractions. I’ve also found from doing cardio it genuinely helps to clear my mind of other stress factors, or just focus on my breathing to help calm myself down when I start to get overwhelmed. 

Not having that outlet as a stress reliever during this time has definitely been difficult, but doable.

For starters I begin with my usual stretch. I lay out my yoga mat and do everything that I usually do before my workout. This usually takes about 10 minutes because I like to focus on different areas of my body. I also use a foam roller to help with my back which does wonders.

My cardio and strength training has definitely become much more limited.

Everyday I go on a walk around my neighborhood to get in some fresh air. I make sure to always wear a mask in addition to keeping social distance and if a street looks too crowded to just go down a different block. People have definitely become much more social during these walks, waving to one another when before everyone would just ignore each other. As soon as I get home I make sure to wash my hands and disinfect my phone, but it's nice to get some fresh air.

In addition to my walks, I also try to get in a mile run around my block twice a week. I don’t enjoy running, so this hasn’t been fun, but improving my mile time has been one of my fitness goals for this year. I had been working on this on a self powered treadmill known as a woodway, which I love and miss very much, so running outside has definitely been an adjustment for me. I’m pacing myself for running on the longer block section, and then when I turn to corner walking the shorter block section, and so on until I’ve done 4 laps which ends up being about a mile. I’m very dramatic about the whole thing which isn’t surprising if you know me, but I’m improving which is a little rewarding.

For my strength workouts I’m really lucky that my trainer set me up with some at home ones with the equipment I have before the gyms closed. I’m definitely more limited with what I have compared I would usually get to use, but I’m trying to make the best of it. These workouts usually take me about 20 to 40 minutes depending on if I get distracted. 

This is a strength workout I put together. I find it helpful to stay on track when I already have a plan laid out for me instead of trying to figure it out as I go along.

There’s also a bunch of digital workout videos out there from different platforms as well as ones being offered by local fitness studios such as Training Mate and BoxUnion here in Los Angeles. I’ve personally really been enjoying taking Peloton classes. I know Peloton is most known for their cycling but they offer so many more classes. Their bodyweight strength classes have been my go-to. I’d highly recommend taking Oliver Lee’s classes, he’s quickly become my favorite. They’re a good pace, easy to follow, and it’s nice to have some commentary to distract you. They also have yoga and meditation classes which have been beneficial on the days where I want to give my body a break.

The final thing I do is a little more extreme, but I bought myself a treadmill. Nothing too fancy, a reasonably priced one that can fold up to take up less space. I ordered this the week before “Shelter in Place” went into effect and it seemed inevitable that the gyms were going to close. The first time I used it I could not believe how much better I felt. My head felt so much clearer and I felt relaxed. I also got my first good sweat in weeks which had me stoked on life. I decided to follow along a Peloton treadmill class as well which made it enjoyable. If this is something within your budget, I’d definitely suggest it. There’s also inexpensive cycling bikes if that’s more your style.

Finally I just want to end this by saying you should in now way feel pressured to workout during this time. Everyone is coping differently throughout this and this is what has been helping me get through it. I wanted to share this as a way you can use fitness as an outlet, but please don’t feel pressured that you have to use this down time for only productive things. There’s no award ceremony at the end of this for who accomplished the most. Stay safe and take care of yourself.