How to Increase Movement Indoors During the Lock down?

How to Increase Movement Indoors During the Lockdown?

Are you cooped up and really feeling bored and sluggish? Of course, even though you are indoors during the coronavirus, there are various things you can start doing to secure your health and wellbeing.

In unsettling times especially during the coronavirus outbreak, you would feel certain things are out of control. It begins with the normal day-to-day routines being thrown into disarray. According to health experts, this is far from certain.

However, you do not need to worry as there are many things you can do besides following social distancing and washing your hands with soap. The major aspect is to protect your wellbeing and health. However, during this time of confinement, stress, boredom, and anxiety are bound to consume us.

Occupying Your Mind

The greatest option right at this time is to make your mind occupied with activities that can keep you mentally as well as physically active. This would consist of doing yoga as well as mediation. In today’s current scenario, with the advent of the internet, you have access to various infinite content of many types. In a single click, you can easily access various video lesions, finish various diverse courses provided by many universities, etc. Hence, the possibilities are endless and even free.

Of course, too much detail will lead to anxiety and can even make us feel lost. In such situations, yoga and exercise will bring about certain calmness and relaxation.

Do Good Amount of Exercise

Do you know that exercising releases chemicals into your body? These not only make you feel good but help in providing better sleep, reduces anxiety and stress, and most importantly improves your memory, cognition, and body movements.

Currently, various fitness instructors, personal trainers, yoga and Pilates trainers, dance teachers, etc. are providing online classes due to the outbreak. The only thing you would require is a towel or mat and a good internet connection.

Even though the area that you roam outside can be limited just because it is a lockdown, still you can go outdoors for a brief time. Sometimes a brief outdoor walk just inside your house or community will help or make a good improvement of your mind. Try to go for short walks at least once a day. Research suggests that two hours of walk each week will bring in better wellbeing and health.

However, you do not need to avoid doing any kind of exercise if you are having flu-like symptoms and even if you are feeling exhausted.

Boosting Your Energy and Body Movement During the Lockdown

Frankly, boosting your energy is all about continuing the momentum you have. Here you should never slide yourself into inactivity. Basically, it means you would have to move your body. Also, the best way to break away from the cycles of tiredness is by pushing through it. Irrespective of whether you are feeling knackered, just get the time to move your body every day.

This would be the best method for feeling energized and even improve the whole mood. Now the best thing you can really try to do is provide yourself with a good boost of energy. For that, you would have to increase the levels of serotonin and that is possible through daily physical activities.

So, you cannot go outside for a walk. That must not stop you from being active as there are plenty of exercises you can do indoors. Right from yoga that provides plenty of oxygen to your lungs through breathing, to HIIT interval workouts, this will easily help in pumping blood and increasing the energy levels.

Physicians suggest that you stand up while working from home. You do not require a fancy standing desk for that to happen. If you are working using the laptop, just prop it upright on your work surface and be standing while you are working.

You would easily feel less sluggish and tired. Rather than watching programs on the TV and sitting idle on the couch, try to do activities that stimulate your brain like crossword, board games, read a book or talk to your friend, etc.

Of course, these are not just exercise-related activities, however, they would need a good amount of concentration that can easily kick your feeling of being tired and getting lethargy. In addition, even a good diet plays a great role in having a good energy level in terms of health. During the lockdown, you must make sure that you are consuming nutrition-filled food items.

No doubt, it can be easy to end up snacking while sitting at home. Therefore, you would have to make sure that there are various amounts of fruits as well as vegetables for you to consume. Plus, make sure to increase your daily dosage of water consumption to be hydrated. Not many people know that hydration has a major role in the functioning of the brain as well as energy. So, when you are right out of your normal routine, it might be easy for you to forget doing little things like getting up for a glass of water.

How to Move Your Body?

Spend More Time in Doing Small Activities

The first thing you could do is try to do small activities like tidying up and cooking. Here a normal day would consist of doing small activities like moving to and from the workstation, walking up and down of the stairs, playing with your kids, etc.

Such kind of activities will do a lot of good things for our health compared to what most of us are aware of. These activities will help in activating the cardiovascular system. Strong cardiovascular health can be beneficial for our body and this even includes our joints, muscles as well as mental health.

Hence, try to make sure that you are spending about one hour more than usual in doing such activities during this lockdown. For example, washing clothes, cooking, tidying up, and other small chores are great for body movements. Here doing such activities will make up for the activity loss that you can experience during these days.

Besides, you can try to do various fun projects like tidying up or dusting the bookcase. Sometimes it can be a certain bread or pasta recipe that you really want to try out.

Never or Avoid Resting for A Long Time on Soft Furniture

This might be a piece of bad news for most of us as we like to spend a lot of time sitting on the soft couch. Unluckily, this is not good for your body, but there are various ways to ease the strain. The best method is to take some breaks right along the way. In your break time, you can go to the kitchen and make yourself a cup of tea.

Also, when you sit down again, you can try various other positions and if you are up for it, then try to find a chair that you can sit on. Keep in mind that you must pay extra attention to this tip, especially if you are really struggling with neck or back pain.

Go Outdoors Like for A Walk or Run. Even A Bike Ride Can Be Great

Frankly, in most countries, people can still go outdoors if they are able to avoid any kind of close contact with other individuals. Riding the bike, going for a long or short run, taking walks, etc are some of the best things you can do, as these activities help in activating your cardiovascular systems.

Also, these can help in nurturing the joints and muscles. Plus, it can help in reducing anxiety, stress, and even depression. If you are living in a country that has established a state of emergency especially where people are not allowed to leave their homes, then it is a good idea to opt for home-exercising.

Go for Rehabilitation – Where You End Up Doing the Right Exercises

Do you know that the best thing you can do for treating the pain in your joints and muscles is by doing exercise? Through the right exercise, you can easily build the required mobility and strength especially in the areas of the body where you are feeling the pain.

Furthermore, exercise leads to faster and even the best healing process. Never do exercise immediately. Also, avoid waiting for the initial pain to pass on. Make sure that you are exercising at least three times a week or even more.

Using various exercising machines and even apps, you can safely as well as effective exercise right from your home. There are various online apps developed by medical experts and doctors that easily help you with the right exercise to do even if you are injured or suffering from body pain.

Try to Go for The Best Ways to Burn Calories

Now when it is related to getting fitter and bursting the calories, every move that you do is important. You might be focused on being in shape, in that case just watch out what you are eating and make sure to move around as much as you can. Also, just avoid taking the 21-day coronavirus lockdown period as the excuse.

Of course, there are various home workout videos at your disposal as well as online guides. It can be a bit tricky in navigating through them especially if you are just a beginner.

Received A Call. Move Around

Having a smartphone in your hand, you really need to utilize the best ways to your benefit. Naturally, during the lockdown days, our phones are the only possible way of keeping up with your family, friends, and even colleagues.

Well, you can try a fun activity. Whenever you are receiving a call, simply get up and move around. Here the more you can walk, the more amount of physical activity you can do and that too all around the day.

Having Kids at Home. Play with Them

Taking care of kids can be exhausting but this will really keep you active. Just ask any parent. Now if you have little ones, try to play around with them around the house. Spend some time with them. Frankly, it can be a great fun activity for you. You must make sure that you follow the required guidelines and try to maintain a good distance around them.

Do Your Home Chores

Now you might feel that physical activity is all about spending huge hours just outside the home. Well, think again. Frankly, in a various smart manner, you can make your everyday work or household activities more fat-busting activities.

Yes, just doing the simple household activities or tasks will easily double the calories as these are the best calorie busting moves you can do. Besides that, they can easily help in losing weight. Various studies show that doing such kind of hardcore activities like cleaning or mopping the house, rearranging the furniture, etc is somewhat equivalent to doing 15-30 minutes of running on the treadmill.

Doing Yoga and Meditation

One of the best methods of practicing self-care or meditation or spending time is doing yoga. Not only it is the best one but is the cheapest way of detoxing your body.

Doing regular yoga will easily help in strengthening the immune system and it can centre the mind as well as energize your body. Furthermore, meditation will assist you in focusing better and even remove the negative energies and anxiety that is necessary in such times.

Wrapping Up

Increasing your movement during the lockdown while being in your home is easy and not that much difficult. All you need is the list of the things that you can do. Also, it is better that you do a good amount of research just before you start doing any indoor activity.

Most people might feel lazy to do any kind of exercise while being at home. You do have to remember that it is really about your health and moving your body at such times is necessary.

Author

Saravavan Nadarajan (Vanan)

Vanan, fitness expert and leader at EzFit Singapore, specializes in holistic training—home-based, boot camps, and corporate fitness—with over a decade of industry experience.

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