Daily Excerpt: Exercising in a Pandemic (Young) - Exercising at Home
excerpt from Exercising in a Pandemic (Young) -
Exercising In the House
Exercising at home doesn’t involve
travel time to the gym, and it sets a good example for kids and other family
members who might be parked in front of the television set or computer screen.
Maybe they will get up and exercise with you. Maybe you can switch the
television or computer to an exercise program and involve the whole family, or
just leave the television on and exercise while you watch something the whole
family enjoys.
If the television is turned off, find
some lively music on the radio to work out with. Stretch to classical or new
age music. Work out to jazz or rock. Find whatever lively music your whole family
likes if you are working out together. Working out to music you enjoy makes
exercising more fun. You will be more likely to continue an exercise regimen.
Start with basic exercises. Jumping
jacks, stretches, squats, lunges and push-ups or knee push-ups are good
starters.
Planking (getting down on the floor on
your elbows and toes, keeping your body in a straight line) is good for core
strength. Core strength involves those muscles around your trunk and pelvis. Suck
in your abdomen while you plank for added benefit to the tummy.
Merisa Winters, a retired registered nurse
in New Mexico, says, “Core strength is the most important aspect of exercising,
especially as you age, because it helps improve balance and avoid falls.”
She says planking really helps build
core strength, and squats are the most important exercise that almost anyone
can do.
Squats are done in a standing position
with your feet about shoulder-length apart. Bend your knees until your thighs
are parallel to the ground, and squeeze your buttocks as you stand back up.
Repeat this exercise as many times as you are comfortable with.
Make squats more challenging by adding
some weights. Anything will do. Pick something out of the pantry that you can
lift without too much effort. If you have a baby or toddler, hold the child
(gently) while you squat. Your child will think it is fun, and you will get
some quality time with him or her in the process.
No small children? If you have a dog that
likes to be picked up and doesn’t squirm too much, hold the dog while you do
squats. A small or medium size dog will do. This might not work well if your
pet is an Irish wolfhound or a St. Bernard.
You can do reverse squats by lying on
the floor, balancing something heavy on your feet, bending your knees and then
straightening them. It is a mirror image of the squats you do standing up.
Hops are another form of squat and are
easy to do in the house. Start in a squat position. Now jump to the right,
trying not to touch the left foot down. Then jump to the left, without putting
the right foot down. This exercise is good for balance, too, but it might not
be the greatest exercise to do if you live on the upper floor of an apartment
building. You might get complaints about pounding noises from the people living
in an apartment just below you.
Another good exercise to improve balance
is to just stand straight, pick one spot to focus your eyes on, and slowly lift
one leg. With your knee bent, slowly rotate that leg in circles. Repeat this
exercise with the other leg. It is best to attempt this exercise next to a
chair or wall at first, so you will have something to hold on to if needed.
A glute bridge is another excellent at-home
exercise. Lie on a mat or towel, face up with your knees bent and feet flat on
the floor. Lift your hips off the mat to form a “bridge.” Lift one foot off the
floor, put it down, and repeat with the other foot, keeping your hips still.
Many exercises can be done while you
watch television or keep an eye on the kids. Lie on your side and do lateral
leg raises. Get on your hands and knees and do kicks out behind you with each
leg.
Stand and do oblique crunches. Keep your
feet shoulder-length apart and put your hands behind your head with your elbows
wide. Lift your left leg and bend your torso toward the left. Repeat with the
right side.
Sit with your arms and legs wide and do
toe touches, right hand to left toe, left hand to right toe. This is a good
exercise for your waist. It is also a good way to stretch. Try to hold on to
your foot and touch your forehead to your knee. You might not be able to
accomplish this at first, but if you try it every day, you will eventually be
able to do it.
Exercise should be part of a routine,
and fun rather than a chore. It is easy to do simple exercises that build a
strong core without ever leaving the house. Good music is the key to good
exercise routines, and it will keep you coming back to exercise the next day.
Beach towels make fine mats on a
carpeted floor if you don’t have a rubber mat, but mats for working out are usually
available in sports stores or department stores.
Work out with light weights. You
don’t have weights? Sports stores sell them, though with the popularity of home
exercise during the pandemic, hand weights became almost as scarce as hand
sanitizer.
You can improvise or build your own
weights. Two soup cans, one for each hand, work just fine. Or make some weights
using empty plastic water bottles filled with wet sand or rocks. You can also
get short PVC pipe scraps, caps and glue. Fill the PVC pipe with wet sand or
rocks, glue the caps on, and you have a light weight that fits nicely in your
hand.
Resistance bands are good, too. Put
one end of the band under your foot, and hold the other end, moving your arm up
and down. Hold the band with both hands and move your arms in and out. Put the
band on both ankles and, while standing, move one leg in and out, away from
your body, then repeat with the other leg. If you don’t have resistance bands,
a couple of ubiquitous bungee cords will work, too.
Try to make exercise a part of your
everyday routine, and stick with it. Start with aerobic exercise for a couple
of minutes. Just jogging or marching in place will do. Then do strength
exercises (get out those weights or soup cans), or do lunges or squats for a
couple of minutes. Repeat this three times for one complete workout. You can build
on it as you get stronger.
Even if you don’t have a “routine,”
you can stay active in your home. Do you have stairs? Walk or run up and down
the stairs a few times. Add some weights (remember those soup cans?) and do arm
curls while you climb the stairs or walk around the house. Repeat this several
times a day. You will be amazed at how many calories you can burn off just by
staying active in your home.
Do you have a swimming pool in your
back yard? Swim laps. Walk back and forth in the pool. Working out in water is
an excellent, low-impact form of exercise, and it is particularly rewarding in
the hot summer months.
A friend and certified Pilates
instructor in Florida, Kathleen Esposito, says that some people she has worked
with in class are even getting certified themselves to learn how to exercise
properly at home.
Any chores you do inside the house
will burn calories. Do you like to cook? Put on your favorite music and dance
while you work your culinary expertise in the kitchen. Dance while you dust or
mop. The main point is, do something. Move something.
Redecorate a room. Wash windows.
Rearrange furniture. Shampoo the carpet. Find some project you have been
procrastinating on, and do it. If you have the budget and want to invest in
some exercise equipment, start with a bicycle. Put it where you can watch
television while you pedal.
If you like yoga or simple
stretching exercises, turn down the lights. Light a candle or some incense. Put
on some soothing music. Simply stretching is good for your blood pressure and
good for your mental health. It offers wonderful stress relief during these
very stressful times we are living in.
Young children should do physical
activity throughout the day, because it enhances growth and development. Adults
should get at least 2 hours of moderate activity a day. Seniors should start
with whatever they can do and build on it. To summarize, exercise is just a
very important part of everyday life.
There are many television programs and
video streaming websites you can follow for an exercise program. The buddy
system works well and will keep you going in your exercise regimen. Invite a
friend or neighbor over to exercise with you, following social distancing rules,
of course.
The main thing is to stay active. Do
something. Keep moving.
If you live in an apartment building
that has a rooftop area for socializing, go to the rooftop and work out.
Connect with other nearby apartment dwellers and get them to join in from their
own rooftops. Make it a fun neighborhood “get together,” with social distancing
way beyond the norm. This technique was actually started in Spain when the
virus was at its peak.
Do anything it takes to stay active while the pandemic is a part of our lives. When the pandemic is over, stay in the habit of exercising.
For other posts about Pat and her books, click HERE.
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