With Coronavirus continuing to infect more and more people across the country, state and city leaders have chosen to extend or reinstate shutdowns and quarantines to try and curb the spread. For example, the Arizona Governor recently put out an order to temporarily shut down certain businesses, such as gyms.
For many people across the country, like those in Arizona, this means that they can no longer rely on their local gym to stay fit. Luckily, there are a number of at-home exercises that you can do to ensure that your physical and mental health are in a good place.
Benefits of Exercise
When it comes to your physical health, consistent exercise is key to staying in good shape. Getting your body moving, whether it is aerobic exercises, weightlifting, flexibility exercises, or something else, is a great way to improve physical health and burn fat.
Participating in any of these exercises can help to improve things like your cardiovascular health, strength, and balance helping to reduce risk of problems such as heart attack, falls, and more.
While many of us may already know and understand the benefits of exercise, some may be lost now that many gyms have shut down due to Covid-19. Luckily, there are numerous at-home and outdoor exercises you can take advantage of to ensure that you are living a healthy lifestyle.
Exercises For Quarantine
It may seem like you don’t have the tools you need to stay healthy in your home, and while you may not have the machines that you would normally have you can still stay fit at home.
One of the simplest things you can do to stay active and keep the body moving during quarantine is to just go for a walk. Even a short walk around the neighborhood will help get the blood flowing while continuing to social distance.
Along with simple things like walking or going for a jog, there are a number of actual exercises that you can do at home. Some exercises include:
- Planks
- Chair Dips
- Weightless Squats
- Hip Raises
- Jumping Jacks and more
These exercises are all things that you can do at home with little to no equipment that can all improve physical strength, flexibility, and more.
If you are still not convinced that you can do this yourself, there are tons of video exercises classes that are available for free online, just one Google search away.
Exercise for Your Mental Health
Along with the physical benefits of exercise, it can also have a huge impact on a person’s mental well being. Not only can exercise improve mood by releasing endorphins, it can also improve self-confidence and even lead to major changes for people dealing with mental health problems.
Mental health is a prominent issue across the nation. In fact, 7.7 million Americans dealt with some sort of mental health problem in 2016. Depression and anxiety are commonly cited problems for people dealing with mental health issues. Luckily, exercise can be a great tool for helping improve these issues.
According to one study, aerobic exercises including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, and more, all were proven to help reduce anxiety and depression. These things can help by improving sleep, reducing stress, and increasing endurance.
Mental health is vitally important to overall health. If left untreated, problems like depression can cause a domino effect, leading to other issues such as drug abuse and alcoholism problems as a negative coping mechanism. Mental health and substance abuse are two things that often run in parallel and is called a co-occurring diagnosis (or dual diagnosis). People with a dual diagnosis often need more tailored treatment that confront their substance abuse as well as their mental health diagnoses.
As the pandemic continues, remember that there are options available to you to stay in shape this summer.