Don’t let the closure of your go-to fitness center spoil a healthy exercise routine. Here are a few creative tips to help you design an indoor workout while you practice social distancing.
Indoor aerobic activities
Aerobic exercise helps your heart and lungs and offers proven stress-reduction benefits. Do moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes every week — 30 minutes a day, five times a week is an easy goal to remember. Here are some ways to do aerobic activity inside:
- Follow along with an exercise DVD or online video.
- Dance to upbeat music.
- Go up and down the stairs.
- Speed up your vacuuming, bathroom cleaning and kitchen cleaning.
Strengthen your routine
Strength training helps your bones and muscles. Do strength-training exercises at least two days per week. You can bring strength training indoors, too:
- Begin with soup cans or light dumbbells, lifting eight to 12 times in a row (when you can do more than 12 reps, move up to a slightly heavier weight).
- Do pushups or pull-ups.
- Try pulling on resistance bands.
Don’t forget to stretch
Stretching keeps your muscles flexible and helps prevent injuries. Stretch after you do your regularly scheduled strength and aerobic activities. Here’s how to do it inside:
- Learn yoga or tai chi from a video, book or class.
- Lift your arms toward the ceiling and stretch (you can find other stretches online).
- Hold the stretch for 10 to 30 seconds, and repeat every stretch three to five times.
Never miss a chance to incorporate your indoor workout routine. For example, you can lift hand weights, march in place, dance or stretch while watching TV. But don’t work the same muscles two days in a row so they have ample time to recover.
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Workouts from Sanford POWER
If you’re looking for additional workout routine ideas you can do from the comfort of your home, Sanford POWER coaches have put together a series of YouTube videos to inspire you.
- Sanford POWER coach Sam Herauf has a 15-minute workout you can do at home.
- POWER certified strength and conditioning coaches Brad Rilling and Charley Smook walk through a power-based workout you can do at home.
- Sanford POWER coach Chris Rivinius put together an at-home workout focused on how athletes can maintain maximal speed and maximal power.
- Sanford POWER strength and conditioning specialist Sam Thielen shows you how to incorporate common household items into a great workout.
- Staying active at home with a great stair workout is easy with this video by Sanford POWER strength and conditioning specialist Dylan Masloski.
- If you’re wanting to do a fast-paced ladder workout, Sanford POWER strength and conditioning specialists Randy Martin and Sam Thielen show you how.
- Two high-energy POWER coaches lead you through a live workout here.
- Coaches Rony Sieperda and Brady Bonte walk you through some split-squat holds followed by mobility work.
For additional workouts, coping skills, nutrition habits and sport-specific drills, visit Sanford POWER’s COVID-19 support page.
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Posted In COVID-19, Healthy Living, Sanford Sports, Wellness
