I know so many people, myself included, liked to go to the gym at our respective colleges whether it be to reach a specific fitness goal or just to keep up an active lifestyle. We were all thrown through a loop when we were sent home. It's a fact of life that you are less likely to keep up an active lifestyle if you hate the activity you're doing. If the only way to stay active was to run, I would literally never move my body. It's all about finding a way to stay active that pushes you, but more importantly that you enjoy and feel good about. It's all about finding what works for you.
1. Hiking
Hiking, especially up and down hills, works out so many different muscle groups. Personally, it also clears my head to just pop in some music or a podcast and enjoy time in nature. I also feel like reaching the top of an incline comes with a feeling of accomplishment — like a runner's high, but you don't have to run.
2. Swimming
Swimming is such effective cardio and way easier on the joints than something on land. If you have access to a pool (I sadly, do not) then swimming is a great way to stay moving (and get a tan in the process).
3. Dancing
This is great because you don't have to live in a specific area or have anything other than a little bit of time and some music to get your blood pumping. You can just go to your room or living room and make it a goal to dance for a certain number of songs. If you really put in the effort, you'll be out of breath at the end, have had a great workout, and got to listen to some bops.
Bonus: You can try to learn some TikTok dances.
4. Walking
Just plain old walking (at a brisk pace) can be a great cardio sesh. For it to be a workout, you should walk at a brisk pace and you'll have to walk farther/for more time than you would to expend the same energy as a run. If you have a friend or a podcast to listen to, walking can be a great activity to spend with someone (including yourself).
5. Yoga
You can easily search up yoga videos on YouTube and you'll get results ranging from beginner to advanced. You can even click on videos that you know fit in your schedule — for example, a 25-minute video instead of an hour-long one. Yoga can be great for lighter days if you just want to move your body a bit but don't need anything too intense.
6. Jump rope
Honestly, I've never really tried this myself but I've heard that it's pretty intense. Sounds easy enough, but within a couple of minutes into your workout, I bet your heart rate will be elevated and you'll be breaking a sweat.
Bonus: To make it even more intense, you can add weights/weighted jump ropes.
7. Chloe Ting videos (or any other challenge)
Personally, I do better with accountability, so following plans like these work well. You have some specific videos to do every day depending on what your goals are. Watching her do the exercises "with me" and having a timer in the corner helps me push through and not stop when I feel my body start to get tired — she's still going and we are in this together.
Regardless of if you want a specific plan, you can still watch any of these videos. Most of them are between 10-20 minutes which is perfect, even for the busiest people!
These also don't require any equipment, so you literally just need yourself and a few feet of space.
Remember in times of quarantine (and always) it is a 100 percent better mindset to be active and push yourself because it's good for you, it's healthy, and your body can do it instead of because you hate something about yourself. You're much more likely to be happier and to keep being active as a lifestyle rather than for specific goals related to a beauty standard that is constantly changing. Exercise is self-care.
