FITNESS FRIDAY 4/24/20- (8 CREATIVE WAYS TO MOVE WHEN STUCK AT HOME)

HEY EVERYONE!

WELCOME TO FITNESS FRIDAY!

The latest coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to be a major source of concern. Sports teams have cancelled seasons, companies are urging employees to work from home and social distancing is in full swing — all of which has anxiety at an all-time high. One way to help calm your nerves: exercise.

It's time to put on your favorite playlist and dance around your house.

**It can help reduce tension and elevate mood by releasing endorphins, as well as norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine...."It can also work to stabilize mood and regulate sleep......Plus, it's a proven strategy to help improve, strengthen and maintain a good immune system . Something we can all benefit from right now.

**But with gyms and studios clearing out and more folks finding themselves quarantined — either as a precautionary measure or by doctor's orders — you may feel it's inevitable that your workouts will fall by the wayside. To make things more complicated, you may now be working from home full-time while also taking care of your kids.

**Fortunately, staying active at home doesn't have to be complicated or take a long time. Here's a couple of creative ways to get moving without risking your health — or the health of those around you.

1. Dance It Out

Put together a playlist of your favorite songs — ones that get your heart pumping by just listening and that zap you into your own mental music video...and dance like no one's watching.

It improves cardiovascular health and your balance and stability (which can lower the risk of falling or injury, it's also just plain fun! Music is a universal language

2. Take a Squat Break

Who says you need to be at the gym to Drop it like a squat?! You can do them pretty much anywhere. Plus a March 2020 study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that squatting, which is a natural and functional movement pattern, not only offers higher levels of muscle activity than sitting but may also help reduce some of the associated health risks (think cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, etc.)

In other words, a squat break may be just what the doctor ordered. Try while brushing your teeth. Considering the American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day, that's a nice chunk of time to target every muscle in your lower body, including your quads, hamstrings and glutes, while you practice good oral hygiene.

3. Strike a Pose

Whether you're a yogi or not, when anxiety is high, yoga should be a go-to. Here's why: It's a proven stress and anxiety buster. All you need is a mat or towel.

Try the following two poses while you're on lockdown. They get your whole body involved and engaged your entire kinetic chain from head to toes, which if you've spent multiple hours horizontal, is likely needed.

Move 1: Warrior I

Why? Strengthens the legs, opens the hips and chest, and stretches the arms and legs

Move 2:Crow Pose

Why? Strengthens the core, arms, back, wrists and inner thighs.

4. Combine Cooking and Calisthenics

Since you'll likely be spending more time in the kitchen, use that time to do some leg lifts while you're whipping up a healthy meal for yourself and your family.

By lifting your leg either to the side or behind you in an arabesque while you're cooking, you can tone your glutes and outer thighs in a fun way.

Looking for more of a challenge? Add mini resistance bands around your thighs or ankles to intensify the exercise so you really feel the burn.

5. Walk This Way

Whether you're taking conference calls while working from home or FaceTime-ing with your friends, make the decision to simultaneously moving your feet. Walk the length of your home, around the kitchen table or even up and down the stairs if you have them.

Research shows it can boost your mood, energy and immune system. And all you need is 20 minutes.. That's two 10-minute calls or four five-minute calls, which is totally doable.

6. Get Creative With Furniture

Your house is full of non-traditional workout equipment just waiting to be used. Doing V-sits. When you do this exercise on the couch, which is cushy and therefore unstable, you get an extra burn.

Move 1: V-Sits

Lie on your back on the couch with legs and arms extended.

Simultaneously lift your torso and legs, bringing your hands and feet to touch. Hold.

Slowly lower back down to the start and repeat.

Aim for 3 sets of 10 to 15.

Another go-to: barstool (or chair) push-ups and dips. Upper-body work using a place where you usually rest your lower body never felt so good.

7. Crush Calories With Chores

Being confined to your home gives you the opportunity to turn mundane tasks into exercise opportunities. Try mountain climbers, driving your knees up, while holding a plank position with dust rags under the balls of your feet or split lunges while you vacuum

Move 1: Mountain Climbers

Press up into a high plank position like you're about to do a push-up, with hands beneath the shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to heels.

Bring your right knee into your chest, engaging your abs at the same time.

Return your right knee to starting position.

Bring your left knee into your chest, then shoot it back, switching legs at your desired pace.

Or if you're tired of watching those dirty clothes pile up and need to do a load of laundry or two, consider a round of biceps curls with the laundry detergent. Try different angles.

Move 2: Biceps Curls

Stand and hold weights in each hand, palms facing up and about shoulder-width apart.

Keeping your elbows glued to your sides and your chest upright, raise the weights up toward your shoulders. At the top of the motion, focus on flexing your biceps.

Slowly lower the weights until your elbows extend fully at the bottom without locking.

Move 3: Russian Twists

Sit down on the floor with your knees bent.

Keep your abs contracted and twist your torso to the right, bringing your arms out to the right as well.

Rotate back through center, then twist to the left.

8. Take a TV Break

There's likely to be a lot of television watching over the next few weeks. Each time a commercial comes on pick a few exercises — sit-ups, planks, push-ups, lunges, etc. — and doing 20 seconds on and 20 seconds off until your show starts up again.

More of a Netflix-and-chill type? Either work out during the show or tell yourself you'll do a dumbbell complex in between episodes. That involves performing a series of movements that complement each other back-to-back in a circuit without putting the weight down.

**WHAT CREATIVE WAYS HAVE YOU BEEN FINDING TO MOVE WHILE STUCK AT HOME?!