Ways to Stay Active

How do you stay fit when you’re self-isolating? Now that we’ve had a few weeks of staying at home, many of us have settled into some semblance of a routine. Here are few ideas to make sure you add exercise to your day.

Staying at home gives us far less opportunity for exercise and much more opportunity to be sedentary. It’s all too easy to sit on the sofa and look at your phone or start working from the comfort of your bed. It’s important to remember that not only is exercise essential for your body (we all know that, right?) it’s also vital if you want to keep your brain happy and healthy too.

How much activity?

The current guidelines recommend you try to do some physical activity everyday and at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise a week, plus two strength-based activities.

Some ideas for adding exercise in to your daily routine

Sit Down Less

Rather than sit all day (tempting, I know), walk around the garden or house for five minutes every now and then. It’ll soon add up. If you have stairs then going up and down a few times will soon raise your heart rate.

Many of us are now working from home and so sat for a long period of time without the exercise we get from commuting or walking about whilst at work. One great way to help with this is a standing desk. There are a range of desks available online you can use to adapt a current sitting desk.

Use Your Body Weight for Strength Exercises

Use your body to do a weight training activity. There are some great exercises you can do including There are a range of different exercises you can do, including planking, bicycle crunches, burpees and more. Make sure you get your form right so you don’t do more harm than good!
5 exercises with Jessica Ennis-Hill

Dance

Raise your heart rate and have fun at the same time with a dance lesson. Join an online dance class, watch a video lesson or just have a boogie in the kitchen whilst making dinner – it all counts!
Watch the NHS dance exercise video

HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training are shorter, but more intense workouts. Ideally your heart rate should be 80% of your maximum for you to really benefit. The great thing about HIIT is that you can do many workouts at home and they don’t take up a lot of time. There are currently a range of great workouts available for free.
Free Les Mills HIIT workouts 

Hobbies That Keep You Active

Gardening is a great for getting you outside and active. Plus, you’ll have a lovely outdoor space to appreciate when the weather gets warmer. Or how about a bit of photography or painting? If you’re not sitting, then it all counts.
Shop gardening supplies

Clean the House

Not one I have personally tried yet but cleaning the house will definitely get you moving. You’ll burn around 170 calories per hour doing a light clean and 190 with a more robust scrub. Time to get the vacuum cleaner out!

Shop sport and fitness equipment at
Decathlon

Shop sport and fitness equipment at
Argos

Shop sport and fitness equipment at
Decathlon