How I’m Getting Fit at Home During Lockdown

How I’m Getting Fit at Home During Lockdown

With our movements restricted and time outdoors limited, I’ve set myself a task. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been focused on getting fit at home. I’m severely overweight which means I find exercising rather difficult. However, I’ve been using some different forms of exercise to achieve my goal.

Zumba

I regularly did Zumba workouts many moons ago when the craze first hit the UK around 10 years (or more) ago. I started out with the DVDs. I recently found these when clearing out one of my storage cupboards. The first obstacle was we no longer have a DVD player! We tend to stream everything we watch through the T.V. However my daughters X-Box also serves as a DVD player.

Nowadays, Zumba classes are relatively easy to get hold of on YouTube. There are literally thousands of different Zumba instructors who stream their own Zumba classes which are often free to access. Obviously doing the same 4 Zumba workouts from the original DVDs becomes tiresome after a while. It’s been great to mix up my Zumba workouts with some of the many routines found on YouTube.

I’ve rekindled my love for these old dance moves and I can really feel the benefits of a good workout after the 20-60 minute sessions.

Walking

My husband is in an extremely high-risk category, so outdoor exercise isn’t really an option for us at the moment. However, I do love to walk! I have a relatively small garden but I do have a patio area that I’ve been able to utilise for my daily walks! Walking up and down the patio area, I can clock up a couple of miles in a 40 minute period.

To mix things up a bit, I do some squats and some lunges in the middle of my routine. To burn some extra calories, I sometimes carry dumbbells whilst I walk. I’ve used the dumbbells to do hammer curls and shoulder presses whilst I walk. Using my Fitbit to track my exercise, I try to walk faster than the previous day.

After the workout has finished, I really feel as though I’ve been on the treadmill!

There are also plenty of walking workouts on YouTube. For these you need very little space and can complete these in the comfort of your own lounge!

Les Mills Body Combat

When I go to the gym, I attend weekly Body Combat sessions, and I absolutely love them! Les Mills has developed a whole range of different workouts, including body combat and body pump to help scorch those calories. I always find these workouts really help to trim my figure and burn a huge amount of calories.

In the midst of lockdown, I discovered that Pure Gym (the gym I hold a membership for) is streaming live videos via Facebook of a variety of workouts, including Body Combat.

Body Combat is incredibly intense and not for the faint of heart. If you do try these workouts, be prepared to sweat … a lot and to be utterly exhausted after the workout. I am currently extremely overweight, however, thanks to the modifications offered in these workouts which allow you to go at your own pace, I can always complete the workout. Every muscle throughout my whole body aches for days after the workout.

Just Dance

If you’re also with your children 24-7 as I am with mine, it can be difficult to find time to devote to a workout. When we experience days like those, I break out the old Nintendo Wii and I get my 6 year old to join me in a game of Just Dance. Back in the day (around 12 years ago) I would host “Just Dance” party nights with my friends. I’d ask them all to bring a bottle, I’d supply some snacks and we would fall about in hysterics watching each other try and copy the moves.

I hadn’t ever really considered these games as a form of exercise before. But now I am totally out of shape, these games have really helped me to regain my fitness. Fortunately, we have a variety of Just Dance games so we can always switch things up a bit.

Dancing

If you don’t have any “Just Dance” games, why not try a spot of dancing? Aurelia and I enjoy the occasional random dance in the kitchen. Since we’ve been spending so much time together indoors, listening to music, our dance sessions are now more frequent. You don’t need much, just a little bit of space and some music. Dancing really burns those calories and works some muscles you may have forgotten you had! I cannot recommend enough dancing as a means of getting fit at home!

Dumbbells

Clearing out the pantry a few weeks ago, I found a set of dumbbells hidden away. When I was extremely fit, I would use these dumbbells in a variety of different exercises. Lifting weights burn more calories than cardiovascular activity so I’ve been keen to brush the dust off my little dumbbells and do some weight training exercise.

There are some excellent YouTube videos which take you through weight lifting classes.

If you don’t have dumbbells, cans of soup or bottles of water work just as well!

Gardening

We’re incredibly lucky to have some garden space. Although it isn’t a huge garden, it does require some maintenance. I’ve been spending time in the garden to ensure I get enough fresh air and have been “pottering” as I like to call it. Pulling out weeds, planting seeds, this all burns calories. Spending an hour or so weeding in the garden can feel as though I’ve done a proper workout!

There are so many ideas for getting fit at home. Here are some other ideas I’m yet to try:

  • Yoga
  • Pilates
  • Using a skipping rope
  • Jumping on the kid’s trampoline

I’m using “lockdown” as an opportunity to really consider my health and to try and make some drastic changes to my life.

If you have any other ideas for getting fit at home, please share them in the comments below.

For other fitness posts, see my health category.

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8 Comments

  1. Jaya Avendel
    April 20, 2020 / 8:49 pm

    I tried Zumba but never found the right beginner routine that was slow enough for me to follow.
    I love walking and dancing and gardening, but dancing is my favorite. Something about swinging to a good tune is very uplifting! 🙂

  2. Deb's Decorative Life
    April 21, 2020 / 7:01 pm

    It is almost time to start gardening here. I can’t wait to spend my time outside. I also have a stationary bike which I make it a point to use it every day especially now with stay home.

  3. April 23, 2020 / 11:46 pm

    It’s nice you are finding some things that work for you! I ave to be careful with my knee injury but I have been out walking with the kids every now and then – it’s good for us to get out the house, even if I have to rest my knee for a few days afterwards! 🙂

    Hope that you are having a good week 🙂

  4. April 26, 2020 / 1:38 am

    These are all great ideas. I really need to do more working out instead of sitting. I’ll be checking out the Zumba videos on YouTube!

  5. Kim
    May 2, 2020 / 11:19 pm

    These are some great ideas. I used to love going to Zumba and dance fit classes, but never thought to try one at home.

  6. Margarida Vasconcelos (@daisyandthyme)
    June 7, 2020 / 9:09 am

    Great post and tips 🙂 thank you so much for sharing.

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