The chances of hitting the gym or venturing to a martial arts class are pretty slim at the moment. The pandemic has hit the world suddenly, causing us to change our lifestyles immeasurably. Many people have struggled to adapt, especially when it comes to fitness and health. Being cooped up indoors can be challenging, especially if you are a gym bunny, love the great outdoors, and miss socializing. You can no longer pop out for a meal on a whim or hit the shops on the high street without queuing up and wearing a face covering. Keeping fit has become difficult as you can’t just rock up to your gym, head onto the treadmill or take a Zumba class. However, you can still keep fit. Read on to find out how.

Outdoors

As the lockdown begins to ease, our freedoms are being reinstated. We no longer have to restrict our time outdoors. If the weather is sunny and you have a decent pair of walking boots, whip them on and get hiking. Getting back to nature is great for our mental health as well as our physical well being. If you have a niggling knee or chronic back pain, make sure your exercise is gentle on the joints by taking some walking sticks for hiking with you on your travels. Your hiking adventure could be the ideal way of spending quality time with your brood. Venture into the countryside, head to the coast, or simply take a stroll to the park. Immersing yourself on a hike means you won’t have to be in close proximity to anyone else and you can maintain social distancing with ease.

Use Your Garden

If you are blessed with some outside space, think about putting up a heavyweight punch bag. Get yourself some boxing gloves and some hand wraps, and enjoy some cardio in your garden. Work up a sweat, stay hydrated, and enjoy the endorphin rush that keeping fit can give you. You could also set up some circuits in your garden. Use what you have and be imaginative with your equipment. Use your bench to complete some elevated plank postures, your little darling’s skipping rope can contribute to your HIIT workout, and your tree branches to do some chin-ups. What Covid-19 has taught us is that we have to adapt and think outside the box in all aspects of life.

Indoors

If you belong to a gym, you might be keen to see what guidance they are providing during lockdown. Many trainers that work at gyms are providing free YouTube and live stream workouts to members. With a WiFi connection and some space, you can partake in a gym session from the comfort of your own home. You might even fancy going old school and putting a 1990s aerobics DVD on to enjoy some throwback fitness.

The pandemic era has seen a massive shift in the world. While exercise may be more challenging during a pandemic, you can keep fit and preserve your mental and physical well being.