We’re now officially a month into quarantine thanks to the Coronavirus epidemic. Everyone is stuck at home, and gyms around the world are closed. Gym bros and fitness girls are weeping and losing their mind as we speak.
During this time, it’s easy to be letting your healthy habits slip. With us being stuck in our homes, we’re left to our own devices. If you don’t have a set ritual or schedule anymore, then the chances of you picking up bad habits are pretty high. Some bad habits could be sitting on the couch, scrolling on your phone, binge watching everything on Netflix, or snacking away endlessly.
The last thing we want happening to you during this period is to end up in worse shape once this is all over. This is why you have be proactive in taking care of your health, maintaining your fitness, and continue eating a healthy diet.
Although right now we don’t know all of the details regarding the virus, what we do know is that you are more prone to catching it if you’ve got underlying health issues, are overweight/obese, and also have bad habits such as smoking.
For the time being, take all of the necessary precautions: wear your mask around people, wash your hands, disinfect surfaces which many come into contact with, and practice good hygiene.
Along with that, this is now the time to be working out, eating right, and taking the proper supplements to protect your body.
Let’s go over what exactly you’ll need to do while we’re in quarantine.
Workouts
Now all of us have been completely thrown off of our routine. It’s hard to stay active without having some sort of structure and plan. The best way to get have structure is to block off times in our calendar for our training and to create a small space for with your workout equipment.
This gives us an official place to train and to maintain our habits and routine.
If you don’t have any equipment at home, now is the time to be ordering some. While you can get a lot done with just your bodyweight, it helps to have some gear to allow you to increase resistance, and train other muscles that aren’t covered by calisthenic exercises.
Here’s what I recommend purchasing:
All of this gear is what you’ll need in order to have a great well-rounded workout and the best thing about it is that it doesn’t take up much space at all.
The best place to set up your workout gear is either in your garage, or some space outside of your home. If you don’t have either options available, then carve out a small area in your living room or room for you to get in your workouts.
What Workouts Can You Do?
If you currently don’t have any gear and just your bodyweight, then keep it real simple and stick with bodyweight circuits. This is a sample:
A1. Pushups x10-20 reps
A2. Bodyweight Squat x20 reps
A3. Bodyweight Table Rows x10-20 reps
A4. Reverse Lunges x10 reps each leg
A5. Side Plank x30 seconds each side
A6. Glute Bridge x15 reps
Perform A1-A6 back to back with no rest. Aim for 3-6 sets. If you need to based on your current level of fitness, you can do them one exercise at a time.
If you have a pair of dumbbells, this could be a workout you can do:
A1. Dumbbell Squat – 3x15 reps
A2. One Arm Dumbbell Row – 3x12 reps each arm
B1. Dumbbell Split Squat – 3x12 reps each leg
B2. Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3x10 reps
C1. DB Rear Delt Flyes – 3x15-20 reps
C2. Dumbbell Curls – 3x12 reps
As for conditioning and cardio, the best thing you can do is go outside for a 30 minute walk or long jog. If you're not able to go outside for a jog, here are options you can do to get in some indoor cardio:
Shadowboxing
Running stairs
Jumping Rope
Can’t do any of these activities? Then here’s another bodyweight circuit:
A1. Bodyweight Squat x20
A2. Jumping Jacks x20
A3. Burpees x10
A4. Cross Body Mountain Climbers x20 each leg
A5. Walking Lunges x15 each leg
Perform A1-A5 back to back. Repeat for 5-8 rounds total.
Nutrition
For your nutrition, the same principles apply whether or not we’re in a pandemic. Fortunately, our supply chain is running just fine and we have no food shortages.
This means most produce and regular foods we’re used to getting is still available. Yes, you should stock up enough dry goods to last us for at least a month just in case. But in the meantime, continue loading up on the basics.
Go ahead and buy protein powder, eggs, Greek yogurt, poultry, lean red meat, and seafood. Also have plenty of vegetables and fruit. With each of your meals, make sure you have one serving size of protein and veggies and drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Also, avoid eating foods that are high in processed oils and refined sugar. We want to keep inflammation down and also blood sugar stable so that you can maintain your health. If you buy any packaged foods, be sure that they have good ingredients in them.
Supplements
While I’m not a big supplement guy, but during this time we need to load up on certain vitamins and minerals to ensure optimal health and to keep our immune system healthy. Here’s what I recommend:
Zinc - An essential mineral needed for immune system and testosterone product that many of us are deficient in. A zinc deficiency can also lead to low testosterone, which is what we want to avoid. Aim for 30-50mg each day.
Chaga Mushroom - Chaga is a mushroom that has strong antioxidant and antiviral properties. It helps reduce inflammation, has anti-aging properties and regulates your immune system.
Liposomal Vitamin C – Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant which helps reduce cytokines, which is an inflammatory response to the flu. Make sure your cells are saturated with it to stay healthy.
Vitamin D – Because we’re outside less and now with the spring rainy season, we’re not getting as much sun exposure and therefore our vitamin D levels are lower. Given that most of us are deficient anyway, we need to get at least 5000 IU per day.
Staying COVID-Fit
During this period, there’s a lot of uncertainty. We have no idea how things are playing out and when we’ll go back to normal, if that even is going to exist anymore.
But what can be certain of is your health and how you’ll take care of yourself. Focus on maintaining your fitness and diet, and keep calm while all of this is going on.
Avoid the media’s fear mongering, stay positive, and continue lifting the spirits of your loved ones. This will pass, and you will come out of this pandemic still healthy and fit.