Co-owners of Body Balance Kristi Reed and John Perez, keeping the wellness vibe strong.
It’s been tough to keep a wellness schedule and maintain fitness for many of us during the pandemic. Just about one year ago, people all over the world started experiencing some form of schedule disruption and lockdown.
This interrupted gym routines, wellness appointments, healthy eating plans, and our regularly scheduled workout classes and group activities. Anxiety is high, and moods have dipped low. The challenge is real and it’s been prolonged.
We are here to help get you establish wellness habits that will benefit you during quarantine and beyond. You’ll feel better and be able to get back into those gym and movement routines more quickly without overdoing it once the world starts to open up again.
Move that Body!
Many of us have fallen into a more sedentary life during lockdown. We go from our bedroom to our home office to our living room. And maybe that’s it. Oof, that step counter isn’t adding up much.
Even those of us who’ve maintained an exercise routine are still not getting that everyday movement we’re used to of picking up the kids from school, running errands, meeting a friend for dinner.
So let’s ramp it up by introducing some regular movement activities into your lockdown life.
Make a “No More than 20 Minutes” Policy
Set a timer (every phone has one) and get up to stretch, swing your arms around, do some jumping jacks—whatever feels good to get the blood flowing. This will do you all sorts of good. Movement helps make you more alert. It feels good! Getting up and moving around reduces the stiffness, aches, and pains you’ll experience from prolonged periods of sitting. Try it, you’ll like it.
Get Those Lungs Pumping
I bet you thought I was going to tell you to get your heartrate up. Not yet! This is just to remind you to breathe, like really breathe!
This pandemic has been stressful and when we’re stressed we just don’t breathe well. Breaths tend to get shallow and that can kick off hormone responses in our body that only add to our feelings of anxiety. So take a few deep, slow breaths. Like even right now: breathe deep into your belly, and let it out slow.
This not only helps get oxygen deep into your lungs, it gets some movement going in your lower back and sends signals to your central nervous systems to chill out. When you get up to move around (at least every 20 minutes), add in three to five deep breaths, too.
Cue Up Some Online Workouts
You can still work out! Even if you don’t have any equipment at home, there are plenty of options available.
Body Balance offers live personalized one-on-one workouts through your preferred online streaming service. We’ll work with you to accommodate whatever your set-up is in your home workout environment. We’ve been doing this successfully for almost a year now! It’s been a great way to stay connected and provide personalized wellness attention. One awesome convenience is that you can do this literally from wherever you are in the world!
Of course, there are also many online workouts you can find through YouTube. A simple search will turn up loads of options.
Get Outside
This is where I’m going to encourage you to ramp up your heartrate (safely, of course). It’s still OK to get outside in areas that aren’t heavily populated. Find a local trail or walking path. Take a spin around the block. Go explore a new area of your town or neighborhood. This is a great time to get to know what’s on offer locally.
A brisk walk, jog, or bike ride are excellent ways to get some fresh air and improve your wellness. Or, find a park and kick a ball around. Toss a frisbee with your kids. Make it fun. Get out and enjoy some playfulness. Taking a break from the interior of your home will also provide a nice mental refresher: there’s still a great big world out there and you can still get out in it.
Check Your Nutrition Habits
We’ve been holed up and emotionally taxed and that is prime time to dive headlong into unhealthy eating and drinking habits. Take stock. If you’ve taken a detour into the snack food aisle a few too many times or that wine fridge is being refilled at a higher rate, today is always a great day to start making some different choices.
Small changes make a big difference. Choose water over soda. Stick with whole foods over processed food. Grab an apple instead of chips. Make beer or wine nights special occasions. And when you do get up to go to the kitchen, throw in some stretches, a few burpees, some body-weight squats, or a few deep breaths. These little shifts add up over time, and your future self will thank you past self when you’re feeling great in the weeks and months ahead.
Focus On What You Can Improve
So much of the challenge that we’re all facing is that our lives have been altered in ways we don’t like and can’t control. But, there is so much that we still do have power to change and improve. What can you do this week, today, right now to stay well or improve your wellness, even just a little bit?
We humans are a really resilient bunch; we can handle a lot. But it takes some doing, and we’ve all been put to the test. At Body Balance, we’re here for you. We want to make sure you are able to bounce back and maintain vibrant wellness as we move through this wild journey.
