How can I make “Quaran-toning” work for me?

I started this list originally because I know that not everyone is as motivated as someone who is a fitness professional or regular gym goer ( prior to all of this ) to start implementing at-home workouts. Once I started writing, I realized I wanted to hear more from you about what exactly is holding you back. I put the question out there on social media and decided to offer some insight/solutions to your personal at-home-fitness roadblocks! The truth of the matter is this: we have to modify. Like many areas of our lives right now, we have to be flexible in order to stay sane and functioning. It is what it is. So what are you going to do about it? Hopefully the answer isn’t “nothing” because we have a long road ahead of us even if we like to pretend we don’t.

At the bottom of this list there are some bullet points that cover mental wellness if that is something you’re looking for a little bit of guidance on during this difficult time.

How important is motivation?

Perhaps that’s a loaded question. Prior to COVID-19, the word “motivation” was regularly being tackled by fitness professionals everywhere. Other than time, motivation is probably the biggest excuse any person will have when it comes to exercising or living a healthier lifestyle. One thing that hasn’t changed is this fact: You will not be motivated all of the time. You’re human. You just won’t be. That’s when dedication comes into play. You do coursework because if you don’t you’ll fail the class. You answer calls and emails because if you don’t you’ll get fired. So here’s the thing, we’re all now stuck at home (as we should be) so you’re probably moving even less now than you were before. If there’s ever a time to be more dedicated to prioritizing your overall wellness, it’s now. If you truly can’t get beyond the motivation aspect of exercising, you simply do not understand where it is your motivation stems from. I will cover some of that below! (Links to accessible fitness programs and workouts are also below, so keep reading!)

Succeed in Training at Home

Make your workout space your private oasis. This is non-negotiable. I encourage my clients to practice this no matter what state the world is in around us. You have to establish your workout area like you would any other area of the house. For moms, a bathroom with a locked door is a heaven-sent. Same goes for this! Once you decide where you’re going to train, make sure it’s a clean space, away from chaos and distractions. (Before you go rattling off excuses as to why this first step is already not going to work for you, take a moment and stop. Why? Ok. Now ask yourself why again. There are ways to make it work, you just have to be honest with yourself.) When you’re trapped at home, it’s important that you establish some personal boundaries as well as identifying your private workout space as a sanctuary not to be tarnished. Do not concede when it comes to this step! (Can’t afford to keep a space set up all of the time? Read the next tip!)

You DON’T need a lot of space! A lot of people’s will swear to the ends of the earth that they can’t work out at home because they don’t have an area dedicated to an official home gym. Bah! You can do an entire, muscle cramping, sweat inducing, ridiculous workout without moving your feet from where they’re planted right now. Are you able to stand in your home? Are you able to walk from room to room? If you answered yes, then you have enough room to work out. You have to ask yourself if you’re willing to rot away on the couch because you can’t do your Crossfit WOD in your kitchen for the next X amount of months. Perhaps this isn’t your ideal method of training, but again, we have to modify! If you’ve got room for an exercise/yoga mat, make that your “oasis” no-touch zone, and guess what!? This is a “space” you can clean, pack up, and store away until it’s time to meet again. *If you use a physical item as your “oasis” remember to treat it with respect. The more you place value on this item, the more those around you will be willing to accept that it’s a non-negotiable for you. If you’re feeling lackluster about working out in a tight space, you’re not doing the right exercises. There’s more to a tight space than a bodyweight squat. Have room for a push-up? Then you have room for Turkish Getups. And they KILL.

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule. Before too long, we’re all going to be waking up in our homes screaming and jumping around like Robin Williams in Jumanji and ask…

Everyone’s favorite excuse of “I have no time” is slowly slipping away with more and more people working from home right now. This is not to say you aren’t busy, because we get it, you still have a life, kids to wrangle, and video conferences to hold. However, being stuck at home has its benefits, one of them being that you have to find new ways to occupy your spare time, and odds are, you’re probably finding more of it right about now. (I see the memes you post on Facebook during the day, I know you have at least SOME time!) Maybe it just feels like you have more time because all of it is spent in one location, from sunrise until wayyyy past sunset. So now your goal is to create your new home schedule. Defining your new normal will help you make this time more productive, both physically and mentally. It may take a couple of days to figure out how your home life needs to adjust, but take notes, pay attention, and schedule time for you on your personal calendar EVERY DAY. Guess what? Another non-negotiable. There’s little we have control over in life, coronavirus or not, but there is one thing that is always ours: our time. Before you get too comfortable working from your couch all day, Netflix playing mindlessly in the background, taking long, leisurely walks to the fridge when looking for stimulation, put a 30 minute workout on your schedule right now. If you’re reading this, you have a minute to open your calendar app on your phone and plug it in. Unless someone needs to be rushed to the emergency room (or potty, I get it) say NO to everything else during this time. If you don’t give it a top shelf, priority label, it means nothing to you and to anyone else around you. Pandemic or not, you should be moving moderately for at least 30 minutes each day of the week.

Do not invite people over to work out with you. Instead, host video calls with your friends using free services like Zoom or even Facebook/IG live if you want a community to join. If you are insistent on working out with a buddy, keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times and sanitize shared equipment. If you’ve got backyard space, use it! Spring has sprung for much of the country, and if the weather is nice, use it to your advantage. (Just for the love of all things don’t go out to public places in groups…)

Household Gym Equipment. Not a household that has any equipment? Besides your body being your #1 tool, here are some household items that you can use effectively for your workout.

  • Towels: If you don’t have access to bands (apparently the whole world has caught on to Amazon fitness equipment and it harder to find than TP these days) a towel can replace them in some capacity. You can use a towel as a tangible cue to keep tension, even if you aren’t able to bend and pull it. You can also use hand towels in place of sliders for your floor work! This means any type of sliding lunge/step work, ab work, push-up clock exercises, can all be done with towels. For this type of work you can also use…
  • Broom Stick or Yard Stick: No, I’m definitely NOT saying you should do a pull-up on this. I know we’re all going a little crazy, but that’s not going to work, so don’t bother. When we’re at home, we probably don’t have access to a floor length mirror like at our fitness clubs. This is where our handy broom can come in to check our form! Hold the broom behind your back as in the photo shown. The stick should touch the back of your head, between your shoulder blades, and right around your tailbone at all points during a squat. This encourages a proper hinge during the squat, as well as an upright chest position. Who says we can’t work on form at home!? By the time you’re able to hit the gym again, you’ll be rocking those squats.
  • Basketball/Soccer Ball/etc. can be used in place of medicine balls. They don’t need to be heavy to be effective! Isometric holds, such as in a glute bridge, are still very demanding on the body! Pop a ball between your knees and 1 minute will feel like forever.
  • Frisbees or Paper Plates: If you don’t have a smooth surface to slide on, this type of item will glide over your carpets.
  • Backpacks: Stuff those suckers up with your textbooks and squat or row until your heart is content.
  • Textbooks can be used in place of Yoga Blocks.
  • Sturdy Chairs can be used as steps, benches, etc.

If all else fails, you can borrow my dog. He’s 87 pounds and loves to be picked up.

Web-Based Fitness Classes. A lot of people have a competitive nature that allows them to thrive in sports, group classes, or gym environments where you either knowingly or subconsciously work to be better than those around you. If you’re at home and you’re missing this, the internet is the solution! Finding it difficult to be motivated enough to put together a workout every day? The fitness industry in working incredibly hard to help people stay active during this time. Many boutique gyms want to keep trainers on payroll during this time, so they’re hosting their usual workouts online! You can stream them live, sometimes for free depending on the gym, and you’ll have to keep up! It doesn’t have to be a local gym either. I’m on the east coast and just this past weekend I did a class that was streaming from Seattle! Start browsing! Here are some free workout sources at the moment, some of which are actual programs so you don’t have to plan anything ahead of time for weeks:

All of the links provided will take you directly to the item in question!

  • All Down Dog apps are currently FREE (Until when? Dates differ, click the link to find out more.)
  • Yoga With Adriene (always FREE but I love her so you get this one anyway, you’re welcome) If you’re a Yogi, Adriene sends out a calendar every month where you can see ahead of time which of her videos you’ll be doing every day. She also has some 30 day “Yoga Journeys” that are specially designed just for that challenge.
  • At Home Workouts from Les Mills are temporarily FREE.
  • Movement Fix is offering a FREE At Home Movement and Strength Program.
  • Peloton has updated their 30 day free trial to 90 days (If you’re like me, you do ALLLL the free trials and then just cancel anyway, so make use of it! If you’re too afraid of putting your card information in for trials and then cancelling a day before they charge you, you are seriously missing out all of the time.) They’ve got “yoga, meditation, strength, cycling, running and more” available with their service, not just the fancy-schmancy bike stuff.
  • Orange Theory is posting a workout every single day on Instagram until their chain is able to open back up again.
  • Champion Physical Therapy and Performance has made their online home workout program, a 4 week program for beginners called Champion Foundations, FREE
  • Make sure to check out the mobile companion app if you’re a Blink Fitness member!
  • and of course…endless, endless YouTube. Create a calendar on Google Docs/Sheets, spend a few minutes searching YouTube, copy & past your favorites, and BAM! You’ve got a daily planned routine at your fingertips. All you have to do is from there is work out!

This list is continuing to GROW. I get new emails every day from organizations & clubs offering services like the above. Just keeps your eyes open and 1000% use social media to follow and track your favorite fitness organizations. You never know what you might find, or what might find you! It can sometimes be annoying that Google knows our every thought, but some of the items above found me through ads! Don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Mental Wellness Resources

Isolation is difficult for many people, whether or not a mental illness is involved. Sleeping enough, eating well, and exercising can all help to keep things moving forward. Sometimes that isn’t enough and that’s ok. Below are just a few resources/reads.

Headspace App
If you’re just looking for some soothing meditation practices, try out this app. You can choose to do a free trial and then pay to subscribe, or you can use the free portion of the app (much more limited but lots of free sessions – this is actually how I use this app!)

Aura: Sleep & Mindfulness App
Short, personalized mindfulness practices based on your mood. At first glance, it looks like this app has many more features than Headspace, but it comes at a price. Your first week is free, then you’ll have to subscribe. Check out Aura for yourself here, it could be worth it to you!

CDC, Mental Health, & COVID-19
Click here to hear what the CDC has to say about stress and coping through this outbreak.

Living With Mental Illness During COVID-19 Outbreak– Preparing For Your Wellness
Click this link for information and wellness tips for individuals living with mental health conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak. For more from Mental Health America, click here.

Talkspace
Talkspace is an affordable online therapy resource. Click here to learn about how they’re adjusting resources for COVID-19 concerns.

Stay Home. Stay Moving. Stay Positive.

You’ve got this, and we’ve got you.

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