The best gym-free exercises for you and your family.
The ongoing pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus, has brought along many changes to our daily lives. The lockdown has forced many of us to stay inside our homes over the recent months. With gyms and pools closed, some have found it hard to stay fit and healthy during the pandemic.
King’s College London and polling company Ipsos MORI surveyed 2,254 London residents to see whether or not they gained weight during the lockdown. Over 48% of the respondents said that they had put on weight. While we don’t have any data, we have seen a lot of people on social media that they have gained weight due to the sedentary lifestyle that Covid-19 has brought about.
Managing to stay fit and healthy at home is not an easy task. Your home is where you normally feel comfortable and relaxed, not normally the time to exercise. Especially for those with children, it can also be a place with many distractions. It is difficult to juggle work and childcare while staying fit, all at the same time.
However, there are some easy and fun gym-free exercises in which you can practice with your family members at home. They also require very little equipment, so you don’t need to break the bank to keep fit.
Jumping Jacks
To perform a jumping jack, jump into the air with your hands spread out wide while putting your hands overhead in the air. 10 minutes of jumping jacks can help to burn up to 100 calories. The exercise might seem straightforward, but you should always pay attention to your body – if you feel pain, stop immediately and take a break. Children can take it less seriously and can do it alongside their parents, jumping for fun.
Photo: Verywell / Ben Goldstein
Trampoline
Trampolining is arguably the activity that kids, and even some adults, love the most. While it may look like more of a leisure exercise, trampolining can help you to stay fit, while providing enormous health benefits. A medium-sized trampoline can improve your general health and be a fun activity to do with your children. Trampolining can increase lymphatic flow, promote detoxification, improve your immune system function, strengthen the cardiovascular system and increase oxygen circulation.
Air Kickboxing
Air kickboxing requires nothing but a good pair of shoes and comfortable clothes, especially pants. The exercise can burn 100 calories in the first 10 minutes if you kick hard enough. Doing a combination of air kicks and punches is recommended because kicking alone can put pressure on your joints. It’s advised that you watch some instruction videos first before exercising. Air kickboxing can help reduce stress, improve coordination, boost energy and improve posture. For adults who want to increase the intensity of the exercise, a sandbag can act as a target.
Staircase Exercise
We all have a staircase at home, so we better start making good use of it! You can do a lot of exercises with your staircase, more than you probably imagine. Possible exercises include stair push-ups, stair lunge, step-ups, side-steps, crab walks and stair hops. However, you should pay attention when doing any staircase-based exercises, because there can be risks involved with the incline. Staircase exercise can help strengthen leg muscles and help circulate blood flow.
Jogging in Place
Jogging in place is as it sounds, it’s an exercise that you perform by mimicking actual jogging, but remaining in one spot. This exercise allows you to chit-chat with your children while helping to stay fit at the same time. All you need for this exercise is comfortable clothes, shoes and a small space to jog. The exercise can help strengthen your upper body and core strength, improve your balance and improve blood sugar levels.
