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How To Safely Stay In Shape At Home

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the cold, dark winter months make this a great time to start or reboot your home exercise routine.

Thanks to social media and technology, you can enjoy an unparalleled home fitness experience. We talked with sports medicine physician Aloiya Kremer, MD, to learn how you can take advantage of all the options.

“There is so much variety — from videos, or devices like a Peloton, or online classes,” Dr. Kremer says. “You get a sense of connectedness and feel like you have a live instructor there” with you.

There are hundreds of ways to stay active at home during the pandemic. You don’t need expensive equipment to build an effective and engaging home workout routine, Dr. Kremer says. A quick search on YouTube can link you to cardio or yoga workouts and stretching routines.

Link Up For Accountability, Connectedness

One key to sticking to a workout routine is to make it consistent.

“Structure is so important, and that’s a challenge of the pandemic,” Dr. Kremer says. “For so many folks, their lifestyle has been upended.”

When you click a link or open an exercise app for an online workout, you get an instructor who shows you how to do the exercises and access to a community of other people like you. That connectedness can help you stay motived to keep working out at home, just like President Joe Biden.

“When we’re not accountable to a fitness group in person, these devices are a wonderful way to find accountability and support,” says Dr. Kremer.

You can make exercise a regular part of your pandemic routine by:

• Adding a workout to your daily calendar
• Involving your kids or other family members in your workouts
• Setting an alarm for an exercise break
• Telling a friend or family member about your exercise plans

“Any time you move your body, you feel so great afterward,” says Dr. Kremer

Tips For Safe Home Workouts

Whether you’ve been working out at home since March or are beginning a new routine, make sure you take steps to be safe and avoid injury.

Dr. Kremer offers these tips:

• Create a safe space. Make sure you have enough room to exercise without furniture or other objects getting in the way.
• Use proper form. One way to avoid injury is to check your movements in a full-length mirror. This lets you watch yourself and make adjustments so that your movements are safer.

If you need a place to start, check out these videos from Premier Health:

• Home exercises
• Work out with household items
• Home workout challenges

Sources: Aloiya Kremer, MD, Premier Orthopedics; New York Times; USA Today