At Home Workout Ideas: Coronavirus

Our world is in crisis. The Coronavirus began a few months ago in China, and by now most of us are being asked to self quarantine ourselves. The request to do so is for the safety of our community, especially those with compromised immune systems. It is the best way to slow the spread as much as possible so we don't continue to overwhelm the hospitals and care centers.

Over the past couple months (or days in our case here in the USA) our worlds have been turned upside down. Our schools have been closed, kids are online learning, and the places most of us seek out for fitness have also been closed.

So how do we navigate this? How do we stay sane for the next 8 weeks, or longer?

One of the best things we can do is stay active! At home workouts are the new black.

It doesn't have to be complicated, body weight movements are some of the best things you can do, and you don't need any equipment to do so.

Squats, Sit-ups, Push-ups, Pull-ups, etc. are all amazing at keeping our bodies strong. For the past seven years I have been doing the CrossFit warmup, which consists of 3 rounds of 10 each (pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, good mornings, overhead squats, and the Samson stretch). It is how I got started training again after my Lipedema diagnosis. I regained my mobility and strength, it truly saved my life.

If you have some dumbbells at home, great! Or look around your recycle bin for some old clothes soap containers. Did you know each of those 2.95 liter bottles weighs about 7lbs. when full of water? You can fill them with sand, too. You might say 7lbs. big deal, but try doing a farmer's walk up and down your hall a few times with them and see what a good workout it can be. Here's a great link to how to do a proper Farmer's Walk.

CrossFit also has an At Home series that is geared towards the elderly, with the tagline of... "The needs of our Olympic athletes and grandparents differ by degree, not kind." It is all about functional movements, and that is pretty personal to each of us. But the videos show great workouts you can do from the comfort of your own home, and they are free, always have been. They also have some recipes to help keep us healthy, too.

Some equipment you might already have at home, or it would be easy to pickup online, a Kettle Bell, or a Medicine ball... both are great to amp up the workouts we can do at home, and they don't take up a lot of space. 

My top 3 med ball movements are:

1. Wall Ball
2. Slam Ball
3. Wall Ball Sit-ups

For now, even though we are under self quarantine, we can still go outside, so get some fresh air and grab your med ball for some outdoor options - let me tell you, slam ball gets out so much built up emotions!

We'll save my favorite med ball movement (Hoover Ball) for the summer, when we can hopefully get back in touch with our friends and training mates and have a great time passing the ball.

Did you know Hoover Ball was invented by the personal trainer of President Hoover? The President was in South America and watched some Navy guys playing a game called Bull-in-the-Ring on the battleship Utah.

Taking a walk might not come to mind, but yesterday we took a drive to the lake, just to get out of the house, and there was not a soul around; so my daughter and I popped out for a quick walk and some much needed fresh air.

It felt amazing, we laughed and forgot about the Coronavirus for a few minutes. Get outside if you can, even just opening a window can help. Remember, the goal is to limit contact with others, but seeking out open space, or popping into the backyard for a bit is good emotionally and also for that much needed vitamin D the sun provides.

One of the wonderful things that I've been noticing are the kind businesses offering free online at home workout options for us, here is a list of some of the ones I've seen pop up, a huge thank you to them all...

Big Fit Girl - Louise Green has been a long time favorite, free month of online classes.
CrossFit - has ALWAYS been free, they post the daily workouts, and people comment with how they did.
CrossFit At Home - as mentioned above.
Down Dog apps - includes apps for Yoga, HIIT, and more.
Headspace - is a meditation app and is free till the end of the year for all healthcare professionals.
Planet Fitness - free to everyone, check out their facebook page for live workouts.
Peloton - offering a free 90 day trial, and it doesn't require you own any Peloton equipment.
YMCA - offering the Stay Health-Y Challenge.

If you know of others, let me know and I'll get them added.

I start my day, like I have for the past seven years, on my vibration machine. Here is a link to an old post I wrote all about it.  I've taken to using the height of my vibration machine for step ups, which you can also do on the first step if you have some stairs at home (and use the railing if you need to).

Then I put on my Juzo Dynamic 30-40 grade compression knee highs (compression lets me stay active and helps my lymph system function better) and add in some rebounding, which can be done on a mini trampoline, or even on a yoga ball, like Dr. Melissa Gallagher enlightened me to. AND, rebounding is a lot of fun!

I highly recommend checking out Dr. Gallagher's youtube channel, Natural Health Resources, she has loads of videos about Lipedema, Lymphedema, nutrition, and lots more!

For Valentines Day, my husband (who is my wonderful coach as well) got me a TRX Go for home! I'm so happy he did. I can do pull-ups and push-ups and so many other options, including this plank move I tried out recently after seeing it posted on their Instagram page, using the TRX Pro at the Dojo where we usually train this time of year - and now I can do all from the comfort of my own home.


I post all my workouts on the public Lipedema Fitness Facebook page, and the public Lipedema Fitness Instagram page, and a lot of workouts you can modify to do from home.