As we come to terms with our current circumstances, it is essential to try and maintain a regular, healthy lifestyle. One of the most important aspects, and also most difficult to maintain given the situation, is maintaining our levels of physical activity.

As we have socially distanced ourselves, it has become a challenge to keep active when we’re staying indoors almost all the time. Add in the closure of commercial gyms and suddenly we have very limited exercise options. But is it important to be keeping active during this time?

The answer is clear – YES!

Regular exercise has a host of great benefits that are going to impact you in more ways than one while we isolate.

1. Maintaining a positive attitude

It’s challenging to keep a positive attitude, but exercise is a great natural way to boost your mood and energy levels and keep you feeling better overall. Exercise results in the release of endorphins, which are mood-enhancing hormones. By exercising regularly, we can keep our spirits high!

2. Conquering boredom

Sitting inside watching TV and lounging around all day might seem great at first, but after a while it loses its attraction. Try and break the repetition by complete some exercises during ad breaks, or go for a quick walk around the house.

You can even try and set challenges for yourself to up the ante by aiming for more repetitions, or quicker laps!

3. Maintaining a high quality of life

The less active we are, the less likely we are going to be able to complete those household tasks that might take an extra ounce of strength or fitness. For example, vacuuming the house or doing the gardening.

Without maintaining our strength, these tasks will become much more challenging. The less we move, the more likely we are to see our strength and muscle mass decrease over time. Therefore, it’s essential that we keep as active as possible so we can keep doing the things we need or love, and maintain a high quality of life overall.

4. Improving strength and fitness

Similar to maintaining our quality of life, our general strength and fitness is incredibly important. Whether or not you’ve exercised before, now is a great opportunity to make the most of the free time that we may not have had before.

Not only is exercise an effective mood-booster, but it’s great at improving joint, muscle and bone strength, as well as improving heart health.

Get started

Below you will find two basic exercises that you can complete at home with no equipment necessary:

By Jonathon Fermanis, Accredited Exercise Physiologist