How to Get Fit at Home During Lockdown

When it comes to your health and fitness, the overarching trajectory of lockdown life has been a rather negative one. We all started out with high hopes and admirable goals – few of which have come to fruition. Online challenges, be it for yoga or kickboxing, often fail at the task of keeping us motivated as progress seems intangible.

This is largely due to the fact that at-home workouts can fall short when it comes to intensity. In order to notice a difference in your fitness levels, you need to preform exercises that will raise your heartrate for a prolonged period of time. There are a few such practices which are highly effective as they require little space, are simple to execute, and produce rapid results.

Skipping

The only thing you need to perform this high-intensity exercise is a skipping rope – you could even use a rope that you have lying around in the garage and tie knots on the end to function as handles. Jump rope is arguably the best exercise for improving heart health due to its vigorous nature. It is excellent for toning your calves, shoulders, and arms.

Skipping is known to strengthen your bones, minimise stomach fat, and significantly improve mental health. Furthermore, this exercise enhances your concentration as a basic level of co-ordination is required. WebMD recommends skipping as a highly effective means of burning calories, as jumping rope for 15-20 minutes burns off the equivalent of an 8-mile run.

Burpees

This exercise is simultaneously loved and hated by athletes around the world as it is an intense full-body workout that targets both endurance and muscle-strength.  It is the perfect example of the ‘what you put in is what you get out’ model. The muscles that are primarily targeted when doing a burpee are those in your legs, abdomen, hips, buttocks, chest, shoulders and arms.

When preforming this exercise, precision should be valued over speed. Doing it in a slow and controlled manner will yield favourable results whereas a hasty execution will likely end in injury. If you are unfamiliar with how to do a burpee, Healthline offers a step-by-step guide. When you stick with this exercise, you will see results within a couple of weeks.

Cycling on a Stationary Bike

If you do happen to own a bike and find yourself unable to currently use it, it is worth investing in a bike training stand. You are able to adjust the resistance and thus, control the difficulty, speed and intensity of your cycle which allows you to mimic the fluctuations in gradient that you would find when cycling on the road.

The great pleasure of a stationary bicycle is the fact that you are able to position yourself in front of your television and can therefore cycle for longer as you are distracted by your favourite series. You might even decide to watch something motivational like Tour de France. Either way, you will reach your fitness goals in record time.