The pandemic exercise

Many people have been scared of stepping out for their regular exercise activity because of the coronavirus disease and all the lockdowns, restrictions in movements it brought along. Also the fear of contracting the infection when exercising is a major put off factor.

As the saying was, the virus does not move by itself, it is people who move it around. The stay at home campaign which helped curb the spread of the virus also had its toll on people’s ability to exercise. Gyms were also closed down making it impossible for regular patrons to frequent them for their routine work outs.

This resulted in a gross lack of exercise among many people for months getting to a year now. This time around, we see more obese patients – a result of lack of exercise and over eating during lockdowns, quarantines and stay home periods. We see blood sugar out of range for many people; same reason, no exercise and a lot more caloric intakes. Blood cholesterol values have deteriorated due to same reasons.

I believe you, the one reading this article are also a victim of these circumstances. This however does not have to be so. The Word Health Organization recommends that eating a healthy diet is very important during the COVID-19 pandemic. What we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections, they say. Also exercise determines our fitness level, thus doing so gives us the ability to prevent and stand infections. Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand. They are complementary life savers.

It therefore becomes problematic if people can rather no longer exercise due to the pandemic.

The fact is, those who contract the virus are able to exercise because it helps them recover and prevent serious illness. They walk in the early morning sun for plenty vitamin D. Is it not better for us to find innovative and safe ways to hit the road while we are free from the virus? Doing so is far better than waiting to fall prey to the virus before giving exercise a chance.

So while you are at home, you have a golden opportunity to exercise. Plan your day, set aside a few minutes, say 30 minutes for exercise each day. You can walk at home by yourself, here you do not need to be in a mask. Walk on the compound, hallway, corridor, staircase or any little space you may have at your disposal. Some people have large compounds and gardens; that is a good opportunity to walk around and for once enjoy the beauty of the space at your disposal.

With your masks on, nothing stops you from taking a walk on your favourite route. You just should not walk for so long. The magic number is 30. Walk 15 minutes in and 15 minutes out; making it 30 minutes per session. It will make you feel great.

Skipping experts, this is a great opportunity to challenge yourselves to a thousand skips. This you can do safely even in the comfort of your room.

You can also download in-door exercises from the internet, YouTube etc. There are thousands of videos to choose from. These videos range from simple walks to aerobic activities that will give you all the benefits you could have obtained from big workouts. Your commitment is key in getting to do these exercises. So get to work.

As always is the case, walking few minutes on a daily basis presents more health benefits than walking so long only on few days once a while. And exercise is like a pudding; the sweetness is in eating it. Once you start, the benefits you enjoy will be the reason why you keep doing the exercises.

Get to work my dear friend. 

Eat well, stay healthy.

Stay blessed!!!