How to Stay Active While Social Distancing

The COVID-19 crisis has presented people with a lot of different issues. We’re obviously worried about getting sick, and of course, no one feels as safe as they once did when it comes to employment. 

But there’s a difference between being conscious of the issues regarding the COVID-19 crisis, and letting it control your life. While those facing lockdowns are certainly more obstructed in terms of their daily routines, a lot of people can still do many of the same things that they did before, but with certain modifications. 

It’s important to remember that in a lot of ways, the COVID-19 crisis is our “new normal”. You should treat it as such, and make sure that you don’t let your physical and mental health suffer from the new conditions we’re all under. You can maintain something like your normal routine, without endangering other people or yourself.

A major key to fighting the COVID-19 crisis is social distancing. Social distancing is the practice of staying at home as much as possible, save for essential activities, which do of course include exercising. It also refers to the practice of staying at least six feet away from other people at all times. This may seem difficult to balance with an active and healthy lifestyle, but it’s a lot easier than many think. 

Remember that if you aren’t under lockdown, you can still leave your home as long as you stay at least six feet away from everyone. There is still a lot you can do to keep up with your normal fitness routine, and if you’re now working remotely you probably have even more time to dedicate to your exercise regime than usual. Let’s look into how you can stay active and healthy while social distancing.

1. Stay Active Every Hour

Lots of people are working at home right now. Even if you aren’t working from home, chances are that your favorite restaurants, bars, and clubs are closed for now. This means that you’ll inevitably end up spending more time in a chair or on the couch, even if you don’t mean to. 

It’s easy for your focus on fitness to ease away as you get used to social distancing. However, you can avoid losing that focus by getting up and about every hour. 

There are a lot of ways that you can make that happen. Take a walk around your neighborhood for 15 minutes or so. Consider doing lunges for that period of time, even if you’re watching TV while doing so. You may even want to consider using weights and workout apps to help incorporate working out into your normal work routine. 

You can certainly exercise while on the phone at home! Youtube workout videos are also excellent points of reference. Right now, it’s projected that the traffic from wireless and mobile devices will make up 63% of IP traffic in 2021. If we end up having to work out more indoors, you can be sure that some of that will come from people looking out workout videos online!

2. Incorporate Your Pets Into Your Fitness Routine

Most Americans have pets, and those pets require a good deal of attention, virus or no virus. Now, depending on the type of pet that you have, you can probably incorporate your pet into your efforts to stay active. A dog will need multiple daily walks. If you did not walk your dog before the virus, instead of letting them out into your backyard, perhaps you should walk them now. 

If you own a larger animal, like a horse, you should definitely go riding in order to keep up with your fitness routine! Remember that animals can’t catch the virus. Even if you’re trying to isolate yourself from humans, you don’t have to isolate yourself from them.

3. Try Your Local Hiking Trails

You may not love hiking now. But you should certainly consider getting into it. Most hiking trails are fairly isolated, and very rarely will you find them packed. 

Therefore, they’re a great place to visit if you want to get in shape without being too close to anyone. For that matter, the different terrains you’ll encounter while you’re hiking will give you the opportunity to work out even harder. 

Of course, due to the fact that resources are currently under strain right now,  you’ll want to make sure that you bring everything that you need with you. Take advantage of all the space your car provides. The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, for example, had its bed widened by seven inches. This gives you more space to pack the extra items you need. Storage space should definitely be taken into consideration whenever you leave your home. The last thing anyone wants is to be stuck on a hiking trail without the supplies they need.

4. Start Your Mornings Right

Again, you probably won’t be rushing off to the office the way you were before the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, you should take advantage of the opportunity to start your days with a stretching session. Stretching is important for a couple of reasons. It gets your muscles warmed up, and starts you off on the right track. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, you should partake in about 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day, at least five days a week. This will strengthen your cardiovascular health, and kickstart your metabolism in a way that will motivate you for the rest of the day.

It’s going to be a challenge to get through the COVID-19 crisis with your routine intact, no matter what. But with some small and reasonable modifications, you’ll be able to get everything that you need to get done, without losing track of your fitness goals. It might be easy to get discouraged and lose confidence. But don’t let the COVID-19 crisis get you down!