Keeping Active During Social Isolation

Regular exercise is critical for weight loss prevention, immune function support, mood enhancement, and general physical and mental health maintenance.

Unfortunately, individuals all around the world are constrained in their lifestyles and frequently confined to leaving the house just for the bare necessities. As of this writing, more than 90% of Americans are required to stay at home. Across the country, gyms and parks have been shuttered. Access to trailheads, as well as state and national parks, has been restricted.

Meanwhile, the internet is replete with footage showing suburbanites doing group exercise sessions at the foot of their driveways or in cul-de-sacs, as well as city residents exercising on their balconies under the direction of an exercise expert positioned on a neighboring rooftop. While such films are encouraging and motivating, they are unlikely to provide a long-term daily exercise solution for the majority of individuals who will remain housebound for the foreseeable future.

Therefore, how can you Keeping Active During Social Isolation when the majority of outdoor activity is prohibited and fitness facilities are closed? When it comes to workout programming, this is a time for innovation and adaptation.

Outdoor exercise—sometimes referred to as green exercise—produces a variety of positive effects in addition to those produced by exercise alone, such as increased vitamin D levels, improved cognitive function, and stress reduction (Calogiuri et al., 2015; Grazuleviciene et al., 2015; Barton & Pretty, 2010). Encourage your customers to do whatever outdoor activity they can without traveling somewhere, even if it’s only walking the dog a few times a day. This is also an excellent opportunity to engage the rest of the family or spend quality time alone with your significant other or child. Simply remember to keep an acceptable social distance from friends and neighbors and to follow all applicable local, state, and federal regulations and standards as they change.

If it is not feasible to get outside, remind your customers that they can still receive a balanced workout at home – and that you can coach them through those sessions if necessary. Encourage them to set aside a clutter- and distraction-free zone for weight training, yoga, Pilates, or meditation, if feasible.

That is fantastic if they have exercise equipment such as dumbbells, kettlebells, or resistance bands. If they are unable to do so, they may still undertake a body-weight training program that will engage the entire body and assist them in developing or maintaining physical strength and endurance. Over 100 activities are available in the ACE Exercise Library that do not require equipment. Without equipment, squats, push-ups, planks, and lunges are possible, while single-arm rows, dumbbell curls, and overhead presses may be performed using household objects such as milk cartons or laundry detergent. This is the point at which inventiveness is required.

Encourage customers to acquire enough cardiorespiratory exercise in any way feasible and to minimize their inactive time. They should avoid extended stretches on the couch, regardless of how enticing binge viewing may be, and get up as frequently as possible to conduct home duties or simply walkabout. Even rising up during a commercial break to conduct a set of squats or stretches on occasion might give a welcome respite from sedentary time. According to ACE-sponsored research, breaks from sitting should occur every 60 to 120 minutes and that breaks in sedentary time, which should consist of light-intensity activities such as routine household or occupational tasks, should last an average of 5 to 10 minutes, were associated with a reduction in metabolic risk.

Remind clients to collect 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or a mix of the two each week. Additionally, they should engage in two weekly full-body muscular strengthening exercises. These guidelines, which are based on the American Physical Activity Guidelines, may be met even at home and without the need for specific equipment.

The World Health Organization suggests five straightforward suggestions for remaining active, reducing sedentary behavior, and relieving stress when self-quarantining at home:

• Take short active breaks during the day
• Follow an online exercise class [or exercise with a health coach or exercise professional through virtual training]
• Walk
• Stand up
• Relax

In addition to Keeping Active During Social Isolation, clients must remember to eat healthily and stay hydrated.

Remind them that, while circumstances have certainly changed, their physical- and mental health needs have not. Now, more than ever, we all must be sure to take care of ourselves.