As the COVID-19 lockdown continues to keep many of us at home, and fall to keep our healthy routine schedule including overeating, junk -food binges, night time snacking, emotional eating, grabbing soda, chips, candy, donuts or coffee all day. The detrimental psychological and physical effects of lockdown are well documented.
During these difficult times, your mental and physical health need a bit of support. So, we’ve gathered together some ideas on how to stay healthy during lockdown. Hopefully, these exercises can give you some inspiration as the lockdown continues.
Free weights
The term ‘free weights’ refers to any weights that aren’t machines. So, usually a pair of dumbbells, as these are one of the most versatile types of free weight.
But they’re basically anything where your movement isn’t guided. This can make them more difficult to use – especially compared to the resistance machines at the gym. However, you can get much more out of them in the long run.
FREE WEIGHTS VS MACHINES
There are lots of benefits to using free weights:
- Full extension – free weights don’t restrict your movements so each exercise can be performed with full muscle extension. This helps to optimise your workouts and improve the quality of your exercises.
- Natural movements – we’re all built differently and the way we move is also different. Machines inevitably influence the way we move. However, free weights allow you to move naturally, which is best for building muscle and avoiding injury.
- Avoid imbalances – free weights not only help you move each side of your body independently, but they also help to highlight any weaknesses. So, as you train, you can be much more focused and avoid asymmetries.
- Work your stabilising muscles – free weights are more demanding, giving you the opportunity to work your stabilising muscles at the same time.
- Versatile – free weights and dumbbells are really versatile. You can use them to target specific areas or several areas the same time. This makes for much more efficient workout.
- Train at home – you don’t need much room to get a solid workout in at home. Get an adjustable weight bench and a set of hex dumbbells and you’re all set.
- Perfect for upper body workouts – free weights are especially good for upper body exercises as you can use them to target your shoulders, arms, back and chest. You can also vary the weight load more easily, depending on the exercise.
Decrease Imbalances- Using weight machines or barbells can lead to strength differences in each side of our body. When using these methods, it’s common for one side of the body to become more dominant and take on more of the work in an exercise. Free weight exercises allow us to load each side of our body equally, which prevents muscle strength imbalances. Often times, we don’t realize that strength imbalances are there until we incorporate free weights.
Strength Gains- Using free weights to decrease imbalances will allow our weaker side to get stronger. Beyond that, free weight exercises require more control and balance. This means that more muscles are working hard to stabilize the weight which ultimately leads to more gains.
Injury Prevention- Free weight exercises are great at strengthening the body’s stabilizing muscles. These muscles play an important role in keeping your joints in place as well as supporting your body, so keeping them strong is a great way to prevent injuries.
Plank
Work up to holding for one minute. If you’ve never done it before, google for plank daily challenge” and follow that – in days you need to move from 15 seconds to 60, and possibly more than that.
Check online videos for correct form but also always remember my own personal plank rule 1: while planking you must spend the time thinking about the fact that the world record for a plank is 8 hours and 15 minutes. The purpose of plank is to make strong core that helps basically the whole body, from your pelvic girdle to your shoulder girdle as well as your legs. The plank strengthens your spine, your rhomboids and trapezius, and your abdominal muscles, which naturally result in a strong posture as they grow in.
Planks are also able to improve your posture , which is incredibly important for a number of things.
- Good posture prevents your body from developing injuries by improper weight distribution, which can affect everything from major exercise routines to small movements like bending over.
- Proper posture displays confidence and self-assurance, which can be very attractive for people hoping to appeal to the opposite (or same) gender
Step-ups
There are so many things you can use for step-ups : a low bench, a toddler’s chair – anything that won’t move and can comfortably take your weight. Stand in front, step up with one foot, bring the other up stand up on the step. Step backwards using the same leg. Repeat on the other side. So basically it’s a constant up-and-down but each time you are alternating your ‘lead’ foot. Try to keep your back in good posture and straight. Do as many reps as you can until you feel like your form is starting to go a bit. Maybe keep a count of how many that is, and aim for a few more next time
Skipping
Skipping with rope is the one of the cheapest fat burning and fun exercise anybody can do it.
1. The effort it takes to jump rope for 10 minutes is the equivalent of running a mile in eight minutes.
2. Skipping for weight loss is a common reason people take up the activity, so you’ll be pleased to know one hour of rope skipping will burn up to 1,600 calories (and you “don’t need to be a professional rope skipper” in order to burn that many, either, says the British Rope Skipping Association).
3. Skipping is a full body workout which uses your abdominals to stabilise the body, legs for jumping, shoulders and arms for turning the rope.
4. Skipping “improves coordination, stamina and focus,” says Virgin ActiveMaster trainer, Dorota Maslewska. And that’s good for all aspects of life.5.
5. Skipping is less jolting on your jointsthan running.
6. Once you’ve bought your rope, skipping is a zero-cost workout.