We are living in an interesting time. We've been encouraged to spend more time at home and away from friends and family. Many people look to their exercise routines as an outlet for stress and a way to interact with friends and family. Although we've all been forced to change our habits and schedules, there are positive benefits to these changes.
Changing our exercise routine has forced many of us to look for alternatives. Change is good for our bodies and specifically for our muscles. I've been impressed with how so many have become creative to find other ways to stay healthy and active.
Personally, I feel life has slowed done for me and many others. This can be good and give us all time to reflect, reprioritize, and cherish our time with immediate family. In my own home, I have been able to substitute my daughter's usual classes and sports with daddy/daughter play time. We've dusted off our old Nintendo Wii, we’re doing exercise videos, using resistance bands, doing calisthenics, practicing yoga and just simply running around the house playing tag. These are things I've certainly always wanted to do, but just didn't feel either of us had time for until now.
My advice for others missing their favorite exercise routines is to stay active around the home. Perhaps that means starting to spring clean, moving furniture, organizing or checking off your house to-do list. Staying active with these tasks is a great way to fight the urge to sit in front of a screen. Many of us are going to become concerned about the amount of screen time we are experiencing. I spend a significant amount of time on my laptop for charting, creating lectures, publishing articles/books, etc. I've set a laptop stand that will rest on my stationary bike so I can continue to stay active while working on the computer. Twice in the past 2 weeks, I've even led medical education webinars while riding my stationary bike for part of them. One lecture was on exercise recommendations, so I wanted to demonstrate to other medical providers that I practice my own advice.
Stay healthy, enjoy this time with your family and be sure to share your creative solutions with friends.
