As you stay inside your home while the world deals with the spread of the coronavirus, there are many things that you can do to stay active. Photo Credit: Stock image / Freepik.
The Czech Republic is in a state of emergency. Restaurants and bars are closed for more than a week. School has been suspended. Non-essential international travel is forbidden.
The effort against the spread of the coronavirus has truly been unprecedented.
The next couple weeks are to be spent inside in order to avoid contracting — or spreading — the virus. Most people will be working from home or, worse, not working, and wondering where their future paychecks will come from.
In any case, know that there are many ways to stay active so that you stay fit and don’t get cabin fever. Here are some ideas for moving around your home.
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Staying Fit at Home
There are many things that you can do in your home to maintain a basic level of fitness:
• Find a good YouTube exercise video. Use the internet for work and getting the latest information from reputable news sources. Also use the internet to find a good exercise video. Search YouTube.com for “10-minute workout” and you will see many different options. Press “Play” and follow along.
• Find a good YouTube yoga video. I have never done yoga, so I would search YouTube.com for the phrase “Yoga for complete beginners”. There are many additional options for more experienced people. Or tweak the search phrase accordingly.
• Do old-school calisthenics. You probably don’t have weights and cardio machines at home. Guess what? Your grandparents never did, either. Do some old-school exercises for a while: push-ups, sit-ups, squats, stretches. Gravity and your body weight can be exhausting.
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Starting a Diet
If you are in need of a weight-loss phase, you can use this time of crisis as an impetus to concentrate on your diet. Don’t weaken yourself and your immunity by foregoing food, but, if you can, this feels like a good time eat intelligently.
• Stock up on healthy foods. The supermarkets are still open and the supply chains are supposed to remain intact. Don’t get frozen pizza, get low-salt soups. Don’t get ready-made canned meals, make a big pot of chili that you can eat for multiple meals, freeze and then eat for additional multiple meals later. Use pasta and rice to stretch meals out.
• Lay off the booze. With the bars closed, this is a perfect time to sober up. How many of us have said that we need to slow down on the alcohol? Here is our chance.
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Dealing with Kids
If you have children, then you need a strategy for when they start to bounce off the walls with their seemingly inexhaustible youthful energy. I have toddlers who are constantly moving. These are some suggestions for their cohort. (As for older kids, I figure they would be more into the ideas listed above if, that is, you can get away from the internet.)
• Create activities for your toddlers. In my family, the replacement for our Monday afternoon exercise class will be speed-building Duplo houses that will involve running across the room, and perhaps a broad jump competition. The replacement for our Thursday afternoon ballet class will be a recital; I’ve already got the Nutcracker soundtrack saved and ready to go.
• Create a big project. I recently purchased several bookshelves that came wrapped in large cardboard boxes. During Christmas the cardboard was made into a multi-room castle, which lasted for a couple of months and eventually became a parking garage for toy cars and got partially eaten by a toy velociraptor. The castle is now gone, but I still have a lot of cardboard. I figure an entire afternoon can be spent on building another structure.
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Keep Your Mind Active
Most importantly, keep your brain working. Binge-watch movies and television series, sure, but read a book or five. It’s good for you.
Don’t be afraid to create something. Paint. Draw. Assemble a puzzle.
Or write something creative. Shameless plug: the fourth annual Brno Short Story Writing contest has started. Entries must be in English, no more than 2,500 words and address the theme “Brno” in some way. The deadline is Sunday, May 17, 2020. Go to the website for more information: brnowriters.wordpress.com.
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I’m sure there are many other ideas out there. Please share.
And, most importantly, stay safe.
