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Bodyweight fitness exercises for the COVID-19 pandemic

Staying fit during the coronavirus pandemic can be easier than you thought

By thepavsalfordPublished 3 years ago Updated 9 months ago 4 min read
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Although I didn’t want to write any posts about the COVID-19 virus, I finally changed my mind.

In this post, I will tell you about how I try to keep myself fit during the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially during lockdown periods, when I have to stay at home all day, because of movement restrictions that apply.

Since I enjoy walking as regular exercise, the movement restrictions that resulted from the measures taken against the new coronavirus have had a twofold effect on me.

First of all, I am not free to go out and walk as I used to, and this makes me feel uncomfortable, because, as I said above, I am an avid walker.

Secondly, since I stopped doing my favorite daily exercise, i.e. walking, I’ve noticed that I started gaining weight, with fat accumulating in various parts of my body. What is more, because I lead a sedentary life in general, things have become even worse, when it comes to keeping fit, since not walking means that I will not have any exercise at all.

However, this needn’t be so.

You need to be a little inventive and look around your home to find anything that you can use to have some form of workout.

Use an aerobic step

The discovery of an old aerobic step has helped me a lot in moving and having at least some exercise amidst the pandemic.

I do the simplest workout you can do with an aerobic step, which is just going up and down, for 15 minutes every day. I don’t want to do any complex workout; just the standard exercise, which is very similar to climbing up and down stairs. I also change legs every 10 reps.

According to various websites, and based on the weight of my body, this simple 15-minute workout helps me burn about 150 calories every time I do it. That’s not bad at all. On top of that, this type of aerobic exercise helps me burn fat immediately, as well as improve my cardiovascular health.

Bear crawling

Bear crawling is perhaps the first type of movement that babies do, even before walking. In fact, this exercise helps babies strengthen their body, in order for them to be able to stand on their feet and walk later. As it is generally accepted by fitness experts, this is one of the most effective bodyweight exercises to build extreme functional strength and flexibility.

Due to a limited exercise area, I can only do side-to-side bear crawls. Even so, this is an extremely effective exercise that can really help you blast fat fast. Actually, bear crawling is a mini total body workout in its own right, since it activates every single muscle of your body. Although it may seem easy to do, because of its simple movement that even a baby can do, I can do it for only a couple of minutes before I am out of breath. It’s a great exercise to tone your body overall, and it can be more effective in helping you burn fat than aerobic exercises. Another advantage is that no equipment is required to perform it, and it takes only a few minutes to get astonishing fitness results.

Yoga: Downward facing dog to plank pose

Although there are many yoga poses that you can choose from, and yoga experts can definitely give you good advice on that, I prefer doing simple poses that I know I can do well and are effective in helping me keep fit.

Doing the movement from the downward facing dog pose to the high plank pose is a smooth but extremely effective way to slowly build up overall body strength and flexibility, as well as improve cardiovascular endurance, not to mention the mental benefits, in terms of improving your mood and confidence. I believe that the latter is important, when it comes to surviving and staying sane during a lockdown.

All three types of exercise can work equally well in keeping you fit, when you have to stay at home because of the COVID-19 restriction measures. However, there’s nothing stopping you from doing them even after the pandemic finally and hopefully passes. You can choose to do only one of them, or you can do them alternately.

Further reading:

Here’s how you stay fit during the coronavirus pandemic

Best ways to stay fit at home during coronavirus outbreak

AUM kinesiology professor offers tips on keeping fit during coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic

7 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do at Home

fitness
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About the Creator

thepavsalford

Hi,

I have written articles for various websites, such as Helium, Hubpages, Medium, and many more.

Currently, I work as a translator. I have studied Tourism Management at college.

See you around on Vocal Media!

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