Gyms have closed across the country and left people concerned on how to stay active during a self-quarantine. Yes, we can walk or run outside, but with fitness classes and typical weight rooms unavailable, what can we do to keep our strength? Here is an innovative how-to-work- out-from-home guide:

Make-Shift Weights

Do you typically plan your workout around the free weight section of the gym? Many college students do not have access to a proper set of weights at home. Instead, find some alternative objects that hold weight instead like a gallon of paint or laundry detergent. Even empty ones can be filled with water and reused. Use this as a weight for a dumbbell row, man makers, bicep or hammer curls. For lighter pilates work, different ounce soup cans can be used as weights.

Chair or Bench Alternative

Use your dining room or living room chair to do tricep dips, incline push-ups or even stagnant lunges. Typically, your gym would have a bunch of benches that can be used for these movements, but basic household furniture will do the job! An extra bonus in your workout is a bench, if you have one. It can be used just as it would be in the gym for arms, legs and core!

Get a Hard Core with a Soft Pillow

Do you love a good core-blasting workout? Oftentimes, a core movement called Russian twists is done with a single dumbbell or medicine ball. Due to not having access to typical gym gear, an effective alternative would be to use a throw pillow. While a pillow does not hold much weight, having something in your hands as you twist helps strengthen your core balance. An alternative to a throw pillow is a pillow case or hand towel; hold the fabric stretched and tight as you move from side to side.

Find Online Guided Workouts

Many gyms, yoga studios and fitness apps are offering free workout videos for anyone, not just their current members. This is a new time for all gym junkies who have no clue where to begin in regards to breaking a sweat  at home. The fashionable wrist weight brand Bala has pilates and yoga workouts that require little to no equipment, Gold’s Gym is streaming workouts on their app Gold’s AMP and CorePower Yoga has released a series of pre-recorded classes to follow along on their website. If you had a gym membership at Lifetime Fitness, SnapFitness or Planet Fitness prior to self-quarantine, check your emails for information regarding Facebook page groups where free live-streamed workouts take place. 

Schedule It Out

One tough issue with the stay-at-home order is there is not technically a schedule to keep up with at home, meaning sometimes people work way past the typical end of the day. Despite being stuck at home for weeks on end, it is easy to forget about self-care, and one of the most important types of self-care is moving your body. Whether that be doing an online workout or taking a walk around the neighborhood, moving your body is important both physically and mentally. Just as you would in a typical work or school week, scheduling movement should be a priority, just as you schedule out classes and meetings. Writing down a specific time you will set aside to move can make all the difference in your mindset during a time where the world feels on pause.

Check out the vinyasa class Ella Schuellerman followed along to this week to get started on working out from home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmrBEy6Q24