.png)
Who thought that the world would come to such a standstill and all this for a deadly virus? People are still getting a knack for the new normal and the social distancing norms that are being followed very well in few places only. During this lockdown cruise, more attention has been turned to the idea of keeping our jobs secure and staying healthy and sanitized most of the time. Everyone has now got a huge break from their daily activities of exercises, waking up early, interacting more with our colleagues, etc. which has had a huge impact on our physical and mental well-being. Studies have shown that even simple indoor exercises can reduce the risks for your immune system.
As the government has eased many restrictions, how can everyone get back to their normal schedule and get as active as they were before is still a question? Even after the grand yet tough opening of many main public places like gyms and fitness centers, many are concerned about the safety of the virus than they are about their physical fitness. Let us take a look at how bad of a hit it is for everyone during this quarantine and how much can we be involved in improvising the situation. One study done by a top organization found that about 15℅ people are reported to be less sick than the lazybones audience.
How important is it to be active in your exercise routine?
There have always been increasing hazards to our health and well-being when there is a major lack of physical activities. Experts have proved a long way that inadequate exercises can lead to weight gain, disturbances in patterns of good sleep, loss or gain in appetite, and much more. If we take into account the many rich benefits behind staying fit and healthy and the efforts taken towards that surreal goal, some of them are:
Improvement in balance, flexibility, and strength
Balanced growth of mind, body, and soul
Teaches discipline
Reduces the risk of diseases
Increases one’s mood and brings you out of depression, as in it keeps you going for the day.
Improves the risk of heart disease or any kind of genetic disease.
Stress levels go down drastically and you feel very energetic and are up to any kind of challenge.
The Impact of the lockdown on your exercise schedule
When there was an announcement of the partial opening of limited gyms, there was a lot of excitement among the community and almost 40% of people turned up at their respective training centers in just three weeks of the easing of the quarantine. But in just a week, almost 0.5% of people of the gym members had reported having contracted the coronavirus and they had been quarantined. Though this has been one of the primary causes for no show in fitness areas, other major reasons are lack of financial funds either in gyms or by their members or are in short of motivation to start from where they left.
So the fitness centers have gone to a huge loss as a result of which many had to shut down until they were back on their feet. With the stricter guidelines of social distancing, the place where they could operate 100 members at a time has been replaced by just 20% at one go. As a result, the trainers have to work overtime and had to b paid more than usual.
Surprisingly, there has been a big hike in fitness apps by 46% globally. So these apps are seeing a regular attendance of over 55 million users who exercise at their convenient times and are much comfortable in this way that many have canceled their gym memberships leading to a heavy loss for the fitness centers.
Due to the reduction in physical fitness, old aged people have induced loss of muscle mass and insulin metabolism according to surveys. Young adults, more importantly, who well aware of the consequences of the virus are scared to step out of their adobes to get some outdoor exercises.
How to get back into form again?
Reports have stated that even a single kind of exercise can stimulate the insulin level in our bodies and also the jeopardy of diabetes can be very much lowered among women when they go for a short walk after their meals. Make sure that all your brisk walks are as fun and effective as any other exercise to get as much benefit from these short-term exercises. If not for anything, go out and stand under the light sun rays to get some amount of Vitamin-D every day.
Start little by little and you can gradually increase the speed and time of your fitness routine depending on your ability and your work schedules. Dances your blues away either by taking up a virtual dance class or how about turning this activity into a fun time with your family? Make sure you do not go overboard with your exercises since you have ample time in your hands. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found by a study that 15-20 minutes of exercise can reduce about 25℅ of depression.
There is a lot more goodness filled when we get out of our homes and just a bit of stretch to keep ourselves awake. Now that many of us are stuck with our phones or desktops to communicate with everyone, we can follow these simple steps to relax our minds and to keep pushing forward:
Do simple planks and sit-ups from your desk at regular intervals
Too much screen time can cause eye irritation, so take strolls now and then.
Just standing and sitting can wake up the hormones and relieve the excess blood pressure that is overflowing, by the way.
Take out time to play with your two-legged and four-legged family members as any physical exercises that involve your loved ones can never be better.
Simple yoga asanas like chair pose are said to increase the blood circulation in your lower body positions, tree pose can improvise your breathing efficiency, cobra pose can take a hike in eliminating stress, re-pumping blood to all the organs in a more productive manner.
Safety Measures to undertake
If you are not allowed by your too caring parents to step out, then take the stairs! You would remember how sweaty you get if you had to take the stairs when life was under repair. So why not turn it into an active physical thing. But if you are as clumsy as no one, then take the help of the rail but only with gloved hands or sanitized hands.
Wearing masks is a must but the regular trainers claim that it tends to irritate the skin around your nose and gives away to a clouded humid form. Practice the six feet rule always and wash your hands and feet before and after your exercising schedule.
Find activities that can be done alone so you need to worry about the health risks of the virus. Engage in more activities like running, jumping rope, strolling, etc. as it does not include many members just like football, basketball.
As the coronavirus is continually damaging the lives of many by plenty of factors, we must strive back to return with much strength and should be able to put in our utmost efforts to be an inspiration to all around us. We must never forget about the important chapter of self-love and pamper ourselves without being too hard on ourselves. At last, it is about caring about others' well-being too as that is the right definition of humanity.
As Milind Soman says “Your first relationship is with your mind and body. The health of all other relationships depends on this.” Keep up with your exercise routines and stay healthy with a strong mind body and soul.