10 ways to keep fit during Corona crisis

Organized sports has come to a standstill as a result of the Corona crisis. Social distancing and in some countries even a total lockdown, limit our possibilities to stay in shape. However, it remains extremely important to keep fit and maintain or improve our resistance levels. We come up with some creative and some less creative solutions. Some make use of innovation and some just go back to the good sobering old times.

Sports world coming to a standstill due to Corona crisis

Due to the Corona crisis the sports world has come to a standstill. Organized activities no longer are allowed in most countries in the world. However, many people are members of a sports, health or fitness club in order to keep fit. The closure of these clubs may hence result in fitness levels to come down very rapidly. Houston, we’ve got a problem! It is critical to remain fit during this crisis and maintain our resistance levels in order to beat this illness. Sports and movement are instrumental in this. Luckily there are many ways to realise this.

10 ideas to keep fit in and out of home

We all have to deal with the Corona virus and get creative where possible. Clearly, the situation is different for every person. Some may live in a country where there is a total lockdown and you have to remain at home. Some may live in countries where there is social distancing but where you still are permitted to go outside. Some may have a big house and a garden. Some may have sufficient money to buy online, others may not. And some may have kids at home, whist others are alone.

As most of you all have access to the interenet the magic word should be streaming!!!! There are plenty of opportunities to follow fitness lessons online which make it more fun to exercise at home. However, this is not the only solution. Below I have listed some innovative and less innovative ideas to remain fit during the crisis for different user groups. Some require technology and some are just plain traditional and oldfashioned. Take your pick.

Lots of fun possible with walking, running and cycling outside!

For those of you that are not locked in at home, these will be pretty straightforward suggestions. However, there is nothing wrong to go outside and exercise by yourself as long as you keep your distance to others and wash your hands when you are back home. Running, cycling and walking are activities which you can do all alone. It might seem boring, but fresh air will do you good and you will maintain your fitness level. Moreover, there are all kind of ways to make it more fun! Gamification comes to the rescue here!

What to think of Zombies, Run. It will make running fun instead of dull. It combines storytelling with exercise. The storyline is highly engaging and you will look even forward to running. Fit for battle is another example within this category (see video below).

If this is really not your thing you can always turn back to the more wellknown evergreens such as Strava, Nike Run club and Runkeeper (running and cycling), which not only have some great and motivating gamification elements but also connect you with a large community.

Just scroll the internet and find an app, which will make your activity more enjoyable. And if there is nothing that works for you, you can always go out for a good oldfashioned walk in nature. Nothing wrong with that! Put your wristband on and do that 10,000 steps!

Video fitness

You might not be able to go to your fitness center but your fitness center might be able to come to you! Many fitness centers are getting creative and offer lessons online now. You just can follow them at home. Do that HITT workout in your appartment! Does your fitness center does not offer this service yet? Just ask or suggest it! Who knows what will happen.

Augmented and Virtual Reality offering wide array of fitness games

Obviously this one is not for all of us. However, if you have a Virtual Reality headset such as the Oculus Rift or Windows Mixed Reality, you can gamify your fitness routine. It makes working out a hell of a lot more fun to do. I do not know whether packages are still delivered at your home, but you may buy one on one of the e-commerce platforms and of you go. A good example of a gamified workout is Box VR (see video below). It definitely keeps you busy and by doing it you will easily survive the current Corona crisis. Here you will find some further great examples.

Also interesting to read: 10 great ways AR will impact the world of sports

Practice yoga at home

Yoga is good for so many things. First of all it strengthens your immune system at the cellular level, according to research out of Norway . This alone is worth doing it! However, there is much more. Yoga reduces stress and anxiety levels, it leads to increased muscle strength and flexibility, it improves respiration and vitality, is maintaining your metabolism and benefits your cardio and circulatory health. Pretty healthy stuff if you would ask me! The good news is that you can practice it at home. There are loads of great streaming opportunities where you can follow yoga classes and programs for free! I have made it a daily routine.

A good example is Yoga with Adriene Adriene Mischler has got her own youtube channel and millions of followers who are doing daily yoga together with her. She really brings yoga to the masses in a light and humorous way. I can highly recommend it and if you are locked in at home during this Corona crisis, this might be the time to start!

Fitness Apps

Not everyone is so lucky to have fitness equipment at home. Ofcourse you can be creative and fill empty plastic bottles with sand in order to do some weight training. However, this is not always necessary. There are so many apps nowadays which can help you in getting fit at home. You don’t need anything else than your kit and your own body, that’s it!

What to think of for example FitOn. It’s one of the best workout apps around at the moment and it’s free. Just fill in your details and make it aroutine. It gives you a good workout and most videos baely exceed the 30 minutes mark. Just give it a try!

Another one that is free is the famous 7 minute workout. This is short and sweet and designed to be done without any equipment. If you make it a habit, you don’t have any excuse to skip it once the Corona crisis is finished as it only takes 7 minutes of your time.

Do you want to work out wit your own personal trainer? Fill in your details and start working out. Freeletics‘ algoritm determines a made to measure plan for you with nice challenges! Some of them are highly intensive and some are not. It’s fun!

Ok, these were just a few examples but there are many many more apps and opportunities on the net. Just search and find the most suitable one for you!

Also interesting to read: 10 important future trends in the world of fitness

Meditation

There is more than just physical fitness. In these difficult times, mental and emotional fitness is at least as important. With many people experiencing anxiety to some extent, meditation might be an answer. Meditation is an ancient technique aimed at calming your mind and thoughts. You can’t imagine what it can do to your health and mental and physical wellbeing. Just a few advantages of a much longer list are: it improves your immune system, your bloodpressure, it improves breathing and reduces pain, it improves focus and concentration levels, it reduces stress and increases positivity levels, it builds your self confidence and improves your creativity etc etc.

Now might be the time to take it up and begin. There are loads of apps and video courses both for beginners and the well advanced (if they need it). These can help you in making a start. Some of the wellknown apps you can try to keep mentally fit during this Corona crisis could be: InsightTimer, WakingUp and Headspace, but there are many more. Just pick the one you feel attracted to!

Join an online global gamification platform

Although a lot of borders are being closed at the moment in the current Corona crisis, technology does not have any physical boundaries nor time limits. Basically you can play a game everywhere at any time. Just pick a competitor and start your on-line game. A very good example is the Zwift cycling platform. It merges indoor fitness with multi-player online gaming! It allows cyclists to cycle in their homes and simultaneously compete online with other cyclists. It can’t get any better than that! Watch the video below and you will see that it is a barrel of fun. The big advantage is ofcourse that the weather is always nice, although you do not experience the fresh air.

Climb your bike! It is pretty real! It is not the only example! What to think of for example the golfplayers amongst us. Full Swing Golf has an Online Tournament platform that allows golfers in different locations to compete against each other in real time. Now this is a bit expensive ofcourse, but fun to do and you can brush up and polish your golfing game. And what to think of the SIM racing games. It is more tiring than you would expect. Even Formula 1 drivers participate in these leagues now that they can’t race for real. Just buy yourself a simulator (if you can afford it) and hit the road!

Organise Olympic games at home for your kids

It is very much the question wheter the Olympic Games will take place this year. Much will depend on how quickly we will weather the Corona storm. With your kids at home, it may be an idea to organize your own Olympic Games. This might give them the necessary exercise and at the same time you keep them busy for a while. Be creative and think of a few games which you can do inside your house or in the garden if you have one. This example night get you starting. Have fun!

Start your own fitness challenge

Organize a challenge and share it with everyone. Maybe it will get viral and you will contribute to health and fitness levels of many others. The good news of this Corona crisis is that people get incredibly creative and show there are always solutions in any circumstances. Sportsclubs ar eorganizing challenges which their members can do at home or in their garden. Videos can be posted online or send back to the coach. This way clubs and teams remain connected. Watch this video below, bonus point for this guy!

Wytze doet zelfs een dubbele bottle-flip om de bonuschallenge te voltooien! pic.twitter.com/JUEkE2DBJT

— ONSSneekJeugd (@JeugdONS) March 15, 2020

Clearly there are many more examples. How about this one? Famous soccer stars urge their fans to take part in the #StayAtHomeChallenge. Here’s how it works: You shoot a selfie video of you washing your hands (for 20 seconds, of course), then juggle a soccer ball, then post the video to social media. Below is an example!

Get creative and take part or organize your own challenge!

Exercise on your balcony with your neighbors

In times of crisis the good news is that so many people want to contribute and are getting creative. Look at this guy, who is giving fitness instruction to his community. Everybody can join on his or her balcony. It creates a sense of community and togetherness. Think about it ! Get the juices flowing! What can you do for your local community, ofcourse not only where fitness is concerned.

These were just a few examples on what you can do to stay fit these days. Ofcourse it might not be applicable to everybody, but possibly there are a few suggestions you could use. If you have any other creative solutions, just share. In the mean time Keep Fit!