Fitness during lockdown - what are you doing, and how do you stay motivated?

I never worked out from home before, but now I have to. I use YouTube to try different things. I prefer doing a workout during my lunch break (I work from home). Some days I feel good and I try to do a harder version and on other days I lack energy and then I choose a yoga/stretching session or an easier workout, just to get myself moving. Greetings from the Netherlands, hang in there!

I'm on week number three working from home and I've never worked out at home before. I've always liked my exercise away from home; biking, running, going to the gym. Now it's definitely and effort. At first I was running during the warm part of the day (Spring here) but it became so crowded with other people (who would not give me any social distance) that I had to switch to early mornings. Since switching I'm hit and miss. I did look up some YouTube workouts today. Mostly standing and stretching type stuff. Also, Pinterest has some great workout clips.

My job only took me out of the house for 4hrs a day before I was layed off due to Covid 19. So I often did a mix of at home and gym workouts. I have just now added to what I can do because I have so much time, and to counter all the baking and cooking I am doing with my kids home more(oldest employed full time, middle home from school employed part time, youngest home full time). I have to schedule myself to stay on track or I would sit in a corner with a book all day. So around my farm chores/cleaning/baking/homeschooling schdule at 10am I do a weight routine with what I have at home 5days/week, it is still cold in manitiba so I wait until 2-5pm(warmest time of day currently), and go for a 2-4mile run 5days/week, and every day of the week I walk or ride bike 2-3miles in the late afternoon or evening either by myself or with family. I live on a gravel road in a rural area though so I have tons of opportunity to get out.

I would say making a schedule for myself is the biggest part of being successful. Not everyone works this way, but my brain likes it. If only my brain could moderate food a bit better I would be set....

I am a gym rat and I just cannot get motivated to workout at home. So I've basically been watching what I'm eating very carefully. Since I'm still trying to lose weight, I'm eating about 1200 calories or so right now, sometimes a little more. That's about all I'm doing and it seems to be working for the most part.

I agree with all the comments about scheduling. A routine makes it so much easier.

I started doing the C25K program the first week of March (when all this fun started and I got serious about getting my body back). I'm almost done with that (completed W7D1 yesterday), so not sure what I'll be doing in 2 weeks. I don't think I'm a C210K candidate!

I've also been doing some yoga videos and bodyweight exercises on the other days. I have a history of hurting my back so the yoga has been great, and the bodyweight stuff is enough for me right now.

I wake up about 6:00AM every morning (a little later on my days off, I'm still going to work 3-4 days a week), spend 30-60 minutes doing my thing, then get ready for work. When it's slow at work and the weather isn't awful I'll sometimes slip out for a 20-30 minute power walk if I can, too.

Having the extra time that the shutdown has provided is actually helping me with my progress. I have the time to devote to myself, my diet, and my exercise that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise. I can't go out to dinner or bars anymore, so that issue/temptation has been removed. It's kind of been a blessing in disguise for me.

What's a waist bead?

I had to look waist beads up.

SMH, first diving forward fold and those suckers would be spraying the ceiling like buckshot, I’m afraid.

I'm doing a lot of frequent walking, some running. It's mostly about keeping the habits. I've got some resistance bands coming via Amazon.

I've been working at home since 2011 and have been working out at home since 2016, so there was not a transition for me.

Thankfully, it is gardening season. I don't have quite enough to do in my yard, and do a little gardening at two of my neighbors and a lot at a third. If I run out of projects, I could do trail maintenance (my winter "gardening") in the trails behind my house or walk/hike/work in a nearby state park, which has no Visitor's Center, so has not been closed as far as I can tell from online - I never use the main entrance - too much dog poop on the trails there >.<

I've also lost about 70lbs in 2018/2019. I am about 15ish lbs from goal weight. The first month of quarenteen I gained 5lbs, and having pity parties for myself with my closed gym and cold weather. This last week I've gotten over it, I'm back to running 5k-10k 3 days a week, and do any body weight videos I can find on YouTube 3 days a week. I run outside no matter the weather and it's made me feel stronger mentally as well as get my physical and mental health back in check. We will all get through this!

Hello Kat, my heart goes out to you on points two and three. I can completely understand. I am in Colorado, my boyfriend is in Chicago. It's been since Feb 1 that we last saw each other. So, you have being stuck at home, being afraid to have to deal with the Cops, missing your connections, it all just adds up. I'm sorry you're having a hard time.

I'll tell you what has kept me going, and I hope it might help.
Both my boyfriend and I invested in Garmin watches a while back (you can get them used on eBay for pretty reasonable if you can't do a new one), and they've become a bit of a lifeline for us both. My BF and I have a weekly steps challenge against each other, and each day spend time either verbally urging the other on, or taunting the other for falling behind, haha, depending. It's been great. It makes me take extra steps in literally Everything that I do. Tonight before bed, because our weekly challenge was coming to an end, and I was 3,000 steps behind him, I found myself running in place and doing jumping jacks to bump me over him by 100 steps haha. I ended up logging 65,100 steps this week! Might be worth a try!

I've also been running the stairs in my building. I'll carry milk jugs I've filled with water and lift while I do stairs as well. It's a Great workout! Another is cleaning and dancing haha. Shake your tush while you scrub and wash and scour, and you will find yourself smiling, without a doubt. Especially if you put on good tunes to go with!
Another thing I've done is picked up a project. I've been taking furniture, sanding it down (old fashioned hand sanding) and restaining/ painting the pieces. The workout I've given my arms and shoulders has been fantastic! Plus, seeing old pieces come back to life, it's a positive thing. And any positive things help right now.
Lastly, cook something for a neighbor, especially if you don't know them. Leave a plate and a positive note outside their door. I left a coffee cake with a note outside my neighbors, the note telling them no Coronas were used in the making of the cake. It opened up a conversation, and we spoke at length for the first time after being neighbors for a year.
Everyone is in a different place and so many are out of their element. I hope you can find some light to get through this! Big hugs to you!

Hi there,

a couple of thoughts: can you phone the authorities to ask questions if you don't understand the rules? Berlin is such an international city that there's bound to be someone who speaks good English at the Gemeinde, city hall or police. Rather have a somewhat awkward conversation than not know what options you have.

I am allowed to go out, and even go hiking in my local area, thus that's an advantage. We're doing more of an intelligent lockdown here. as parking places are closed it's very quiet outside of town. People seem to like their cars more than I though

I also do videos online. At the moment I pick from the offerings of Zgym . It's currently available for free with a login code on facebook. Far from perfect, but it gives me something to do over lunch break. In the evening I might go on a run around my neighbourhood.

Definitely get outside if the weather is nice. I call it my "light therapy". I think sun and fresh air are important to good mental as well as physical health.

I finally decided to try a "two-a-day" workout schedule (with two rest days per week). Admittedly, I was too lazy to do it before. Furthermore, even now, they're hella short workouts but it's a start since it helps fills the time.