At home fitness is often a difficult task to pursue. Without proper guidance and the lack of equipment a traditional gym provides, many people will often opt not to exercise. However, Dr. Cory Harow, an emergency medicine specialist, outlines that amidst a global pandemic remaining vigilant and exercising is a key to the overall health of humanity. As the height of allergy, cold and flu, and the novel coronavirus pandemic begin to overlap one way to increase the immune system at home is exercise. Doctors suggest that a variety of strength training, low intensity steady state cardio, and high intensity interval training along with a healthy diet offers improved body functionality that cascades to increased immune system support.
Strength training is often associated with moving weights around in a gym, but there are plenty of movements that in combination with a challenging range of repetitions can serve to accomplish the same goal. While these movements should vary with skill level they offer a basis that individuals may choose to expand upon.
– air squats (in a repetition range of 25-50) three times
– incline push ups (performed by placing your feet on an elevated surface in the repetition range of 10-25) three times
– backpack curls (performed by filling a standard backpack with heavy items such as books and holding onto the straps in a repetition range of 10-25) repeated three times
– tricep dips (performed by placing both hands on an elevated surface and moving each foot away from where the hands are placed in a repetition range of 15-30) repeated three times
While these are fairly simple exercises, they are effective and can be performed without equipment. By adding equipment such as resistance bands or weights this strength training regimen can be expanded upon.
Low intensity steady state cardio is far more complicated than it sounds, but is simply activities such as walking, hiking, or biking for extended periods of time without over exertion. This form of exercise is often ignored as an effective way to reduce subcutaneous fat, but doctors like Cory Harow often recommend these movements for their high efficiency and low impact. Furthermore, this technique is often used in the bodybuilding industry as the secret to maintaining muscle mass while reducing fat.
High intensity interval training is terminology that is commonly used in the fitness industry, but simply what it means is to do a movement with maximum effort then rest. A simple example of this would be sprint training. However, a great at home interval training is as follows:
Set a timer for ten minutes then proceed to repeat these movements for that allotted time as many times as possible.
– twenty lunge jumps (in a forward lunge position with one foot forward and the other back jump into another lunge with the back foot now forward and repeat)
-twenty squat floor touches (from a neutral standing position drop into a squat position while touching the floor with your hand and repeat)
-20 leg raises (while lying on your back bring your feet into the air)