Home fitness is the new normal in men’s health. With quarantine restrictions and the threat of novel coronavirus infection still out there, there is no better way than to maintain fitness right inside your own home. There is no excuse for being unhealthy, unfit, and unmotivated. In the middle of a pandemic, there is no better motivation for staying healthy but the threat of disease itself.
For starters, there is no need for additional explanation on why people need to follow quarantine rules such as maintaining physical distance, using face masks and shields, frequent hand washing. The use of personal protection equipment or PPE is, of course, highly necessary for those who work in high-risk areas like hospitals, quarantine centers, and other frontline facilities.
By eating healthy meals and taking time to exercise, one can still enjoy good health. However, some make the complaint and excuse of saying that the pandemic prevents them from going to the gym or the fitness club. Others would claim that they are avid runners but have been sidelined by the lockdown. Well, the simple answer to these statements is that one need not leave the house to remain healthy. All it takes is creativity, commitment, and the desire to be the best that one can be.
These are simple but effective ideas on how to remain in tip-top shape even inside the home.
Build a Home Gym for Resistance Training
For those with sufficient resources or a budget for resistance training equipment, converting the garage into a home gym is definitely the way to go. By going online, one can find hundreds of suppliers of quality gym essentials like a barbell, a pair of dumb bells, and a few kettle bells of various weight, as well as the corresponding weight rack and bench press set-up.
Building a home gym is the first idea since most men and not a few women love going to the gym to pump iron. The mere sight of lifting those metal bars and rings evoke power and strength, and that is why people love to do it.
A home gym would fit perfectly in an open garage so that there is good air circulation and plenty of room for the iron equipment. But a quick reminder: make sure that the flooring is clear and free from oil spills, fluid droplets, and other substances from your car that might cause you to slip or fall. If needed, do some tile repair and grout maintenance to ensure that your home gym is clean and sanitized.
Body Weight Training Anywhere in the House
Another alternative fitness method is called Body Weight Training. Simply put, it is a form of exercise that does not need any equipment. It only entails doing exercises using the weight of one’s own body to add resistance. One method of bodyweight training is known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Go on YouTube and search for videos to follow. Each HIIT routine includes 4 to 10 different exercises done at 60 seconds per set which about 30 seconds of rest in between. This method is also very time-efficient since it does not take more than 10 minutes to finish an entire workout.
Calisthenics on Doorways
Whether at your local sports shop or online, one can buy a retractable, DIY pull-up bar. The pull-up bar is an excellent calisthenics tool that will help build one’s back muscles, lats, chest, forearms, and biceps. It is also a form of bodyweight training using static equipment to pull one’s body above the floor and over the horizontal bar. At least 5 to 10 repetitions is more than enough to give anybody a good muscle-building workout.
Yoga in the Living Room
This ancient Indian system of exercise is also called a form of “moving meditation”. Combining various movements and postures with deliberate, slow breathing techniques, Yoga helps stretch the body and rejuvenate the lungs and blood circulation. It is one of the most popular form of exercise in the world. While it has many variant systems, there are many easy-to-follow yoga routines on Youtube that one can choose and follow. The best part is that it does not need any equipment but only a wide enough space and perhaps a good exercise mat to cushion the body during the routine.
Jujitsu at Home
For those that love to combine exercise with the practice of self-defense techniques, Jiujitsu is a good choice. Originally developed in Japan centuries ago, it took on various evolutions until a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu variant began to rise in popularity in the US in the early 1980s. Today, it is one of the fastest-growing sports and is practiced by people of all ages. It has also proven to be an effective weight loss routine. Even during the lockdown, one can enrol in an online class where an instructor can provide guidance in this martial art and exercise style whether you train solo or with a group.
With all these exercise options, there is definitely no excuse for not being in the best shape of your life, even at home. All it takes is just a few minutes of one’s time, the commitment to level up one’s fitness goals, and a few, easy to install equipment. Better still, using one’s own body weight and simple movements, everybody can be in the best shape of their lives without leaving the house. Home is not just where the heart is….it is also where you can make your body fit and strong.
