In the times of working from home, gyms and fitness studios being closed and your steps being limited to walking from one room to another, it’s easy to get out of shape.

Staying active is crucial for your physical and mental health, which is why we put together a list of few simple things you can do to stay fit in the lockdown.


6 TIPS ON HOW TO STAY FIT IN THE LOCKDOWN

1. Benefit From Housework

Working from home and do your housework – how can cleaning help you stay fit?

One of the simplest way to get in more activity is doing housework!

Gardening, hoovering, mopping the floor or even making the bed are effective ways to burn more calories. And it’s the best way to get double benefits from one activity. After cleaning your home you’ll have your workout done for the day and will be able to rest in a tidy and clean space.

Additionally, keeping your surroundings clean has been linked to increased productivity and keeps you safe from bacterias, germs and harmful microorganisms that thrive in dirty environments. Tidying has also a positive influence on your mental health. Clean house equals clear mind!

Washing dishes – burns 88kcal/h
Mopping the floor – burns 136kcal/h
Hoovering – burns 170kcal/h
Gardening – burns 270kcal/h
Making the bed – burns 68kcal/h

Data provided by cleaneatingwithkids.com. See a full list of calorie burning house chores here.

hoovering
Hoovering can help you burn calories on a daily basis

2. Cook Healthy Meals

It’s widely known that a substantial part of staying fit consists of healthy eating habits. A healthy diet includes a variety of colourful vegetable and fruits, whole grains, starches, lean proteins and good fats. It also means avoiding processed foods, sugars and foods with high content of salt.


HEALTHY DIET = VEGETABLES | FRUITS | WHOLE GRAINS | STARCHES | LEAN PROTEIN | GOOD FATS


Spending all this time at home leaves us with no excuse for microwaved pre-packed lunches or fast-food deliveries.

Now is the time to get in the kitchen and develop our chef skills. And the best part is that actually cooking vegetables and wholemeal foods is incredibly easy. And if you’re a beginner and need some extra support there’s many recipes out there that will guide you step by step.

A common diet issue, especially when spending all days at home is snacking. It’s easy to loose track of the snacks and make them a majority of the diet. It’s important to limit the snacking to the minimum as our digestion works more efficiently when we give our body a break between meals.

However, when you do decide to get a snack make sure to go for healthier choices such as fruits, nuts, vegetable sticks with hummus or homemade sweets. There’s plenty of recipes for healthy alternatives of cakes and cookies including delicious peanut butter brownies.

healthy cooking, vegetables
Healthy diet is essential for your fitness

3. Keep Hydrated

And of course – hydration! It’s essential for our energy levels. As Chris McEvoy said “Water in your gut keeps you off your butt!”.

But seriously, 70% of our bodies is water and staying fit is all about taking care of our bodies. The popular water intake recommendation is the 8×8 rule which stands for drinking 8 x 8 oz cups of water per day.

Proper hydration is essential to staying fit as it boosts your blood flow, helps your muscles and joints work better and it cleanses your body from toxins.

Water is also a solvent for all nutrients in the body and our bodies need it to regulate body temperature effectively.

DID YOU KNOW? Our brains can’t tell the difference between hunger and thirst? That means that if you ate your lunch an hour ago and already start feeling hungry you are most probably just thirsty. Water prevents snacking by creating a feeling of fullness and surpressing appetite. And that’s how hydration will help you stay fit in the lockdown.


Now is the perfect time to grab a glass of water!


hydration
Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated

4. Use Fitness Apps

Nowadays we have an app for everything. Really – everything. So it won’t come as a surprise that there are many fitness apps that can help you stay motivated during lockdown. And there’s a wide variety of them so you’ll find one for you no matter what equipment you have or what your fitness goals are.

kinomap app logo

One of our favourites – Kinomap – turns your exercise bike, treadmill, cross trainer or rowing machine into an interactive fitness game. You simply choose a video which displays geotagged map in the real-time speed of your workout device. It’s compatible with a lot of brands including Cardiostrong, Taurus, Kettler, B’TWIN, Concept2, Skandika, and any Bluetooth/ANT+ sensors. What makes it special is the geolocation technology in combination with real-time footage making it a performance-based platform instead of virtual reality. Find out more about subscription plans here.

zwift app logo

If you’re a cyclist with an indoor exercise bike you may have heard of Zwift. It’s an interactive workout platform and an online cycling game that lets the users compete against each other in a virtual world. Originally, the app was for cycling only, but it has been extended and now also includes features for runners. Currently there’re eight different worlds on Zwift and each of them has a variety of preset courses you can ride on.

runsocial app logo

If you own or are planning to buy a treadmill – Runsocial will be the one to try. Runsocial displays views of a chosen route in the real-time speed and let’s you compete with other runners on the same route. You can either connect your treadmill to the app (check if your treadmill is compatible first) or run the app manually and adjust the speed in the app as you go.

 


5. Establish a Healthy Sleep Routine

One of the trickiest parts of working from home is establishing a routine. Usually that’s done for us by the 9-5 working hours but since we are at home 24/7 it’s much harder to follow a rhythm. Arguably, one of the most important routine aspects that has enormous influence on your wellbeing (and staying fit in the lockdown) is sleep.

Here are top 5 healthy sleep habits:

  • Establish a sleep routine and be consistent with it, go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day including weekends
  • Get around 7-9 hours of sleep
  • Don’t consume caffeinated drinks in the afternoon and the evening
  • Avoid screens and bright light 1h before going to sleep
  • Include physical activity in your daily routine

A healthy sleeping routine will give you numerous health benefits including strengthening our immune system, improving our mood and energy levels, increasing our productivity and boosting our exercise performance.


If you’re not convinced yet check out what happens if you don’t get enough sleep.

Sleep

6. Get Fitness Accessories and Equipment

An ideal way to stay fit and get the gym benefits at home would be to build a gym at home. Which of course is possible, and if you’d like to look into it, our customer service and sales staff are always on hand to help.

Fitness accessories and folding / space-saving equipment is highly recommended by many of our customers. There’s a wide variety of fitness accessories and equipment out there, you will find equipment that suits your needs regardless of your space or budget.

PULL UP BAR

BodyMax Pull-Up Bar
Pull-up bars give multiple exercise options

An ergonomic solution for even the smallest of flats. Adjustable pull-up bars can turn any door frame into a workout station.

They incorporate non-slip foam grips for extra comfort and can add a variety to your training routine. Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups are effective body weight exercises that target your back, shoulders, arms and core muscles. The bar is suitable for any doorframe with a width between 62-92cm and can hold up to 100kg.


SUSPENSION TRAINER

BodyMax Suspension Trainer
Help increase flexibility and endurance

A lightweight, portable and budget friendly full body training system. You can use it to perform a variety of exercises using your own weight as a resistance that will help you stay fit in the lockdown.

It’s an effective way to strengthen the whole body whilst building muscle and developing your core strength. The suspension trainer will help you increase your flexibility and endurance and the anti-slip handles and padded foot-straps will ensure that you’re training in as much comfort as possible.

You can mount the trainer to your doors which is why it’s suitable for almost all flats and the length can be adjusted between 100 – 200cm. It can take up to 150kg of maximum user weight.


RESISTANCE BANDS

Bodymax Power Bands Resistance Bands
Improve your strength and muscle endurance

Resistance bands can be considered a lightweight and budget friednly alternative of heavy weights, dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells. Power bands provide external resistance that your muscles have to work against.

They come in different colours and each colour represents a different strength (amount of resistance). The bands can also be used as a support for exercises such as pull-ups or dips for users who can’t yet lift their own body weight. Adding resistance bands to your trainings will help you improve your strength and muscle endurance and stay fit in the lockdown.


WALKING PAD

Compact and foldable

BodyMax WP60 Treadmill Walking Pad lets you take the Lockdown II one step at a time. The innovative desk design makes it a space-saving treadmill alternative for smaller spaces. It gets even easier to store when you fold it in half! When not in use you can keep it under your bed or in the wardrobe.

It comes with a remote that lets you control the speed manually or you can use it’s intelligent control technology via built-in pressure sensors. In essence, if you walk towards the front of the treadmill, the speed increases.

If you walk towards the rear of the treadmill, the speed will decrease. The walking pad goes up to 6km/h and can hold 100kg of maximum weight. You can also buy a detachable handrail for extra safety. WP60 is a fantastic solution to get your 10k steps in a day from the comfort of your home.

BodyMax WP60 Treadmill Walking Pad
Perfect for using with your desk

FOLDING EXERCISE BIKE

A lightweight and foldable bike is perfect for saving space

If you’re looking to include more cardio in your routine but you don’t have enough space for a full size indoor bike? Worry not, BodyMax FXB10 Upright Folding Exercise Bike was designed just for you!

Lightweight, portable, space-saving but most importantly effective. The innovative folding system makes the bike stable and sturdy during cycling sessions and compact when stored away. The comfortable oversized seat offers superb comfort while the 8 level adjustable resistance provides a smooth workout solution.


ADJUSTABLE DUMBBELLS

Bodymax Sellectabell Dumbbels

The BodyMax 22.5kg Selectabells 5-in-1 Dumbbells give you the flexibility of multiple dumbbell sizes in a pair of easily adjustable dumbbells. Meaning you get workout benefits of 5 different dummbbels in one compact pair of sellectabells.

The ingeniously simple selection mechanism allows you to cycle through from 4.5kg to 22.5kg in seconds. You can adjust then by moving the lever which attaches the weight discs accordingly.

The BodyMax Selectabells are a fantastic addition to your home workouts and give further challenges to help you maximise your progress and stay fit in the lockdown. They’re also available in 25kg sellectabells (15-in1).


SUMMARY

Staying fit during lockdown may be tricky but it’s definitely doable and there’re a lot of resources out there that can support you and motivate you during this time. Make sure to get as much activity as possible from daily tasks such as cleaning the house, playing with children and gardening.

You’re at home A LOT so use this opportunity to improve your cooking skills and improve your diet. Don’t forget how important having a routine and a consistent bed time is. And have a look for some fitness accessories and eqipment that will give you an additional boost of motivation to be the healthiest you, you can be.

And as we are approaching Christmas make sure to check out our Christmas Gift Ideas for 2020.

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