How to start exercising at home
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 3-9, 2020 13
A healthy diet and an active lifestyle are great
ways to achieve a healthy weight and good overall
health. Many people no doubt associate exercise
with fi tness centers and gym memberships.
While gyms certainly are effective places to break
a sweat, exercising at home can be an effective way
to get fi t as well.
Working out at home may require some creativity,
as even homeowners with gyms in their basements
may not have as much equipment at their disposal
as they would at a local fi tness center.
Body weight exercises
Body weight exercises include push-ups, planks,
squats, and lunges. Alternating incline and positioning
of the body when performing some of these exercises
is a great way to work various muscle groups.
Body weight exercises do not necessarily require
equipment, and that may disappoint some people.
That’s because, with no added weight — and only
one’s own body weight to provide resistance — it’s
diffi cult for a person to challenge himself or herself
effectively and gradually build up progress.
Get outdoors for cardio
A mix of cardiovascular activity, which puts a
strain on the heart and lungs to build up stamina,
can help shave off the pounds when paired with
strength training exercises. Take to the great outdoors
near home to get in a good cardio workout.
Rally Health, a digital, data-based health advisory
company, says that walking can constitute a
cardio workout if one goes at a brisk pace of around
three miles per hour. Walking on an incline also
can constitute vigorous exercise that’s on par with
running or biking, particularly when it’s a steep
hill.
Home-based cardio workouts also can include
cycling, swimming in a backyard pool or playing a
pickup sports game with the kids.
Set up a home gym
With a few barbells, dumbells and a weight
bench, it’s easy to create a home gym in a basement
or garage. Extra equipment, such as TRX resistance
training equipment or an elliptical machine, can be
added to make the gym more complete.
A home gym also can be a place to do strength
and stretching exercises like yoga or pilates.
Many people fi nd that they can effectively workout
at home with little to no equipment necessary.
With such convenience, individuals may fi nd they
make more time for exercise, which is an important
component of a healthy lifestyle.
Health
s updates about the
rapid spread of the new
coronavirus dominate
the news and social media
feeds and efforts to contain it
disrupt our daily routines, it’s
natural to feel unsettled and
have anxiety about coronavirus.
So how do you stay calm
during an outbreak?
Telling someone not to
worry never works, and the
same goes for yourself. Instead,
acknowledge the situation
and how you feel about it.
Remember, you have the right
to be anxious — but you also
have the ability to cope with it
in a more constructive way.
An extreme example of a
possibility is thinking that
you might die from COVID-19.
Like any number of situations,
it’s a possibility, but you
can’t live your life focused on
all the possibilities; you make
choices based on probability.
For the general American
public, the probability of dying
from the novel coronavirus
remains low, so shift your
mindset, and focus on the
most probable outcome.
Googling “Cases of coronavirus”
every few hours will
quickly become mentally taxing
and ramp up coronavirus
anxiety. Instead, try compartmentalizing.
Limit your
intake of the news to about
15 minutes a day so you can
stay informed about developments.
(Also important: Make
sure your news comes from
credible sources.) But then focus
on more productive tasks,
like taking care of your family,
finishing your work, or
finding time to relax.
Set aside 15 to 20 minutes
in the afternoon and make
an appointment with your
worry. If you have persistent
worries about COVID-19 during
the day, write them down
and tell yourself, “I’ll get to
this around 3 p.m.” When it’s
time to worry, ask yourself if
your negative thought is productive
or unproductive.
The goal is not to get rid of
worry but to put it in perspective.
Find the balance between
following proper health guidelines
and reducing the intensity
and frequency of your worry.
Don’t be overly positive or foolish
and disregard the prudent
guidelines, but ask yourself if
your thoughts are productive
or unproductive. You can’t control
certain things, but you can
control where you put your attention,
and you can take care
of yourself by exercising, eating
right, and spending time
with your family.
If you feel that your thoughts
are becoming overwhelming,
please call 718.499.2273 to speak
with a NewYork-Presbyterian
Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
mental health professional.
To read more about how
to stay healthy amid the outbreak,
please visit: NewYork-
Presbyterian’s Health Matters
blog at https://healthmatters.
nyp.org
/healthmatters
/healthmatters
/nyp.org