Coronavirus Quarantine exercise routine

Use this time to improve your health.

Coronavirus has affected us all

The global Coronavirus pandemic has affected us all in at least one way or another at this point. Schools have shut down and many are working from home if you are lucky enough to work at all.

It seems like almost overnight our entire society has nearly come to a screeching halt. Governments the world over are shutting down non-essential businesses like beauty salons and gyms. They ask the public to self-quarantine in an effort to limit the transmission of the virus.

With all this newfound free time on our hands, many of us are left to wonder what to do with ourselves. With no gyms to go to, do we simply succumb to the thought of binge-watching Netflix and feeding our worries and fears of the situation with comfort food?

Nobody expected things to turn out like this

For most of us, this situation is like nothing we have ever expected to deal with - especially so quickly. The health and economic ramifications are undoubtedly weighing heavy on everyone’s minds as thoughts of the future become rather bleak among economic crashes and overloaded hospitals.

Now more than ever I believe that it is important for us to do everything that we can to maintain our fitness goals. Not just for the obvious health benefits, but for our own mental and emotional health as well. The mental and emotional ramifications of this pandemic are just as important to keep in mind as the economic and health impacts.

Use exercise to keep your spirits (and immune system) up

Physical exercise has long been proven to be a natural antidepressant. Put together a simple home routine. It could be all that is needed to help make the dark days a little brighter. Many of us are simply not used to putting together these kinds of routines - or being this limited in workout choices - so I thought that I would put together a few tips and tricks to help you stay active and healthy while we are all stuck inside.

Coronavirus Quarantine exercise routine

1. Do 10 burpees.
2. Do 10 push-ups.
3. Do 10 sit-ups.
4. Do 10 squats.
5. Rest for 30 - 45 seconds and repeat 3-5 times.

1. Burpees

I love burpees… (Said no one ever)

I’ve been in and around the fitness world for a long time, and I have yet to find someone who actually enjoys adding burpees to their routine. The truth of the matter is that this exercise is undoubtedly one of the most effective at-home exercises that you can possibly do. 

It combines compound movements that activate a large majority of your major muscle groups. This annoyingly effective exercise should be on the top of everyone’s at home workout list. 

Now for some good news: You don’t have to do 100 of them to be effective. 

Start with a number that challenges you and then work up from there. 10 is always a good round number to start with, but this number could go up or down depending on your fitness level.

2. Push-ups

Being a veteran of the U.S. Army, I have spent my fair share of time on the ground pumping out push-up after push-up. This is an Army drill sergeants go to form of 'remedial discipline' for as long as anyone can remember.

This is good reason too: The entire idea behind military training is to build you into a hard, strong, determined soldier - and very few activities build your strength and endurance better than a simple push-up.

As with burpees, you don’t need to do crazy numbers of them. Simply start with a number that challenges you and build up from there.

3. Sit-ups

A strong core is central to overall strength. Whether you realize it or not, nearly every movement that you make engages and emanates from your core - whether it is from your abs or lower back.

A strong, healthy core is vital to overall health and the fitness of your entire body. Luckily you do not need special equipment of any kind to put together a solid core exercise list. Sit-ups and/or crunches are the most popular.

They are simple, effective, and you can do them nearly anywhere.

4. Air Squats

If burpees are king, air squats are queen in the at-home workout list.

They need no special equipment. Air squats are one of the best home-based exercises you can do to keep those extra pounds from piling up and get your heart rate going.

Your legs are the single biggest muscle group in your body, so they will require the most calories to fuel movement.

This simple fact makes air squats high on the list for most bang for your buck.

Put it all together

To get the most out of your home workouts, put your routine together in the most effective manner possible.

Circuit training is one extremely easy and effective way to put all of your at-home exercises together in a way that maximizes their efficiency.

Simply move from one exercise to the next without resting till you have done one set of each of them.

Take a short, 30-45 second break and then do it again. Repeat this 3 to 5 times in a row and you’ve got it.

This is a quick and effective home workout that you can do every day to help keep you in shape - as well as fight off those quarantine blues.

Conclusion

While things may seem bleak in the world right now, it is important not to let ourselves fall into a funk.

By simply taking 15 to 30 minutes a day to give our bodies some physical exercises we are doing a lot to not only maintain our physical bodies, but our minds and emotions as well.

However as I’ve said several times before in previous articles, exercise is only part of the battle.

With so much time on our hands it is even more important we keep a close eye on our diet - especially our portion control.

Boredom eating and comfort eating become a serious problem when you’re just sitting around trying to kill time.

After you’ve done your physical workout, try finding yourself a hobby that you can do from home that reduces your couch time and engages your mind.

Read a book or learn a skill. Take a short online class that helps you learn something that you can use to better yourself and your life after these hard times pass.

Keep your mind active and you will go a long way. Stay away from those constant snack foods. With time all of this will pass and life will go back to normal.

Until then it is on us to do anything that we can to keep ourselves healthy and sharp so that when life returns to normal we will be ready for everything that follows.

About the Author

J.P. Wells has spent the last 13 years of his life learning about and pursuing a healthy and active lifestyle. After sustaining a life-changing injury during his time serving in the United States Military, he dedicated his time to learning, and researching ways to heal and re-build his body to get back to the active lifestyle he grew up loving.

Meet the author.

On his blog J.P. Wells Fitness, J.P. Wells shares his knowledge, and passions he has come to learn from the fitness industry, and fitness culture.

He understands that health and fitness is not just a one-time choice, but a lifestyle. Success in your goals is not made up of large single decisions, but rather a series of small choices made well throughout every day.

Check him out on Facebook or Twitter.

Support our website and buy this awesome Sweatshirt.