Tips For Working Out In Quarantine

Tips For Staying Active During Quarantine (When You Don't Want To)

Hey #Quaranteam !

I know you're being bombarded by a slew of at-home workouts on social media each and every day of quarantine.

And you might not need another one.

So what am I going to do? That's right.

Give you another one.

You're oh-so-very-welcome.

It didn't take long for 85% of the population to go absolutely bonkers and resort to posting in excess. We can't even be surprised—we're ALL used to doing so much in life. (Too much, if you ask my pickier personality, Sassy Maddie).

But I'm going to give you so much more than a workout. If you're anything like me you've been hella inspired by all of the at-home workouts and exercise tips and motivational posts that have been circulating during quarantine.

Which is why I have this little clip of some apartment-friendly exercises for you to try.

But the other purpose of this post is to give you some bite-sized tips for staying active during quarantine.

Because let's be honest. Yes, we're all a little stir-crazy and bored. But we're also frequently facing a huge lack of motivation stimulated by all of the chaos that is going on. And that's okay. Process things as you must.

But your body wants you to move, okay? Treat it goooood. So here are some tips to make it happen.

1. Shift Your Perspective

Do you feel like things are kinda out of your control right now? You're not alone on that one!

And when it feels like we have zero control of things, we start acting a little weird. Maybe you latch onto something random to control and go overboard on that.

Or maybe you just give up on it all.

One way to feel back in control of what's going on and find the motivation to workout during quarantine is to shift your perspective from:

I can't do all these things right now and that's not good for progress.

to something like:

I can do all these things right now and that's going to make me better.

Ask yourself what you can do to come out of the other side of quarantine better. Maybe you can't work on your power clean max like you wanted to this year because gyms are closed.

But how about getting your core stronger? Working on balance? Shift your fitness goals to what you can do right now—bonus points if it's something you've kind of pushed off when you were "busy" and never felt motivated to make time for.

Now you have the time!

2. Make Up Some Circuits

This is one of the many tricks I use to get through cross-training days.

Cross-training workouts are a must because the body needs a break from the high impact of running and this way you can build up volume/endurance without actually running.

But man are they boring.

I usually hate it, to be honest.

So what I did was turn my bike workouts into intervals separated by exercises to break up the monotony of the cross-training workout. And *bonus*...it adds in a little strength and mobility work.

(This is what I'm doing in the video by the way).

Pick some apartment-friendly exercises and create a circuit.

Once it becomes second nature, you'll be able to do it all the time at home!

3. Have Fun With Your Workouts

There's never been a better time than now to make fitness fun.

This one goes out especially to elite athletes or those who compete a lot. Fitness becomes so serious for us—it's how we're making our living and we place a lot on our results—so moving "just for fun" doesn't really happen much.

Instead of focusing on end goals and results, just have fun! Do partner workouts with your roomates or pick up dance routine workouts. (There's so many great ones on YouTube.)

4. Cut Yourself A Break

We often think that motivation is all about go go go! But in reality, taking some of the pressure away from yourself can actually be super motivational.

Acknoweldge that we're going through a patch that's not so great and that it's okay to not feel motivated to workout all the time.

That ease might end up reinvigorating you to workout more!

4. Get Outside

Sure we're supposed to be quarantining. But you still need to go outside!

The sun and the fresh air will make you way more interested in getting the blood flowing, I promise.

Hot girl walks are a thing for a reason, y'all.

5. Get A Fitness Tracker/Planner

There are so many reasons to track your fitness, and staying motivated is a big one. If consistency with working out is your biggest problem, you might want to start jotting down your exercises or your goals in a planner.

Seeing your progress, having pre-written routines to follow, and keeping track of habits is so motivational and can help knock you out of the workout slump.

6. Work With What You Have

An entire lifting rack might be ideal, but have you ever done a strength circuit with a jug of milk?

A gallon of milk weights 8.6 pounds! One in each hand and you can get a little strength circuit going. I've even seen people use canned goods to add a little extra weight to whatever exercise they have.

You might not have access to an entire gym, but you can get creative!

My dog weighs 60 pounds—and trust me front squatting her isn't easy.

7. Take Breaks Throughout The Day

If you're not someone who regulary hits the gym, working from home or staying at home a lot during quarantine might not make you feel like your exercise routine changed much.

But that's not necessarily true. Did you walk to work everyday? Or at least to the car/train? Or around an office?

No matter what your job was, there's a good chance you were moving around a lot more than you do in your own house. Especially if you have a smaller apartment.

Taking small breaks throughout the day can help with at home productivity, but it can also keep you moving the way you used to. You might not realize it right away, but moving around less can actually have an effect on you in the long run!

Stay active by scheduling breaks in the day to maybe,

• walk around your room

• stretch a little in another room

• go outside for a walk

just so you don't sit around way more than you used to and cause negative effects on your body!

Staying Active When You're Stuck In The House

Whether you've been itching to move around since Day 1, or you've enjoyed the break but are starting to feel a little stale, these tips for getting motivated to stay active can help get you going again.

What do you do to stay active at home and how do you stay motivated to make it happen? Leave a comment below so we can all add your tip to our arsenal next time we can't convince ourselves to move a little.