Creative inside exercise ideas
With gyms now closed and a restriction placed on outdoor activity, it might be all too tempting to sack in your normal exercise routine, wrap yourself in a blanket and binge watch Netflix instead.
However, instead of microwaving that popcorn and dipping into your dwindling beer supplies, try out these Shake and Speare endorsed creative inside exercise ideas.
Remember that converting into a sloth for these next three weeks is unlikely to do your mental health – in addition your physical health – much good.
Creative exercise ideas for you to try your hand at:
- Use whatever you have on hand in place of free weights
- Participate in drag queen aerobics
- Join in with your kid’s P.E. lesson
- Clean the house (whilst lunging!)
- Try out online fitness bingo
No dumbells? No problem.
Do you have a dog lying around? A very-happy-that-you’re-home-all-day-albeit-slightly-confused-about-this-change dog?
Fortunately your furry friend isn’t just an agreeable lockdown companion – he doubles as excellent weight training equipment. Pick him up carefully and remember to use proper form, moving through the full range of motion in your joints.
If you’re unable to maintain proper form for very long, your dog is too heavy. That’s fine – you just need to buy yourself a second, lighter dog.
Post work out Frank, he’s all about the gains at home #gymdog #newfie pic.twitter.com/pVidiWNrko
— Nicola Dobbie (@Nicola_Dobbie) March 25, 2020
If your dog looks like this however, it’s more likely he’ll be able to do bicep curls with you, rather than vice versa. Probably best not to attempt.
If you don’t have a dog, enhance your workout with your small child instead
The joy of being on lockdown is that you’re constantly around other people. At home, personal space has become a thing of the past. If that’s the direction you’ve found your household heading in, embrace it. If your toddler wants to help with your work out, find a creative way to factor them in.
If you’re feeling super creative, we’d also like to add that we’ve seen utilising both your small child and your dog at once in your workout really improves its effectiveness.
Technology is amazing; you can now participate in online, drag queen lead aerobics
Dolly Trolley is a drag queen who wants to help you keep up your fitness during lockdown. Streaming live drag aerobics on her Instagram and Facebook every Wednesday from 19:30-20:30, if you need some whimsical motivation to get up and get moving, try tuning in (and if you enjoy this, remember it’s important to thank your creative artists by tipping them)!
Participate in an online P.E lesson
If you’re homeschooling at the minute, try joining in with one of your kid’s P.E lessons. Joe (The Body Coach TV) streams a 30 minute long P.E lesson live on weekdays at 9am.
If you need some encouragement, or thrive on group motivation, this could be the way to go. And if the kids are already doing it as homework, you might as well join in (although, fair warning: parents on Twitter have noted his workouts have enlightened them to the fact that they’re not as fit as they thought they were…).
Clean the house and tone up
Do you enjoy multitasking? If you do, try working out whilst you clean the house. Yes, you may look ridiculous. Yes, you may feel silly. And yes, your housemates will probably laugh at you. But realistically, this could be a very efficient use of your time. Here’s how many calories those tasks burn
Try out quarantine fitness bingo
Here’s an example that CrossFit WindRose created for their members. Have a look online and see what your local gym is doing in lieu of being open, or create something similar for yourself. Remember that the goal of creative inside exercise ideas is to have fun!
