You may have been working from home for the past week, and with the gyms forced closed on Friday 20th March amid Coronavirus lockdown many are left to find alternative ways to keep fit. Many of us are now restricted on movement outside of our home, one of the new restrictions put in place is going outside the house for one active exercise a day.
Hundreds of thousands of people are missing their daily routine of going to work then the gym or vice versa, and working from home can be a struggle to get motivated to do exercise or get out of the house. Especially if your morning commute is from the bed to your couch/kitchen table.
Whether you go to the gym to stay healthy, train for a triathlon, your holiday body, or a competitor athlete, there is something that everyone can do at home to help us stay fit and healthy. Optimise your day by enabling you to get more than one exercise activity in a day. By doing a home workout in your living room or garden you can utilise going out for a walk or bike ride early/later on that day. Enabling you to gain fresh air, and some good old sunshine boosting your vitamin D.
Here are the top free workout apps and opportunities happening on a daily basis.
Free Workout Apps
Freeletics - App.
If you are dedicated to keeping fit and healthy and motivated to get your workout wherever and whenever, APP Freeletics could be for you. Freeletics is a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout based app, which you can do in any space the size of your body.
Gymshark - App.
Gymshark, britain’s fastest growing fashion brand, known for incredibly popular workout clothing has a fitness app too with amazing workouts available.
Normally the app is subscription based but due to the situation and no one having access to gyms at the moment, they have decided to open up all the home workout plans to everyone for free.
Asana Rebel app
The app has a huge number of home Yoga routines which can be done in the comfort of the living room or out in the garden. The classes range from beginners to advanced and range from seven mins to fourteen mins. If you have never done Yoga before this is a great app to try your hand at it and understand why Yoga is such a popular exercise class. The app also has some great extra benefits such as meditation activities.
Social Media workouts.
It would take you less than two minute to find home workout routines by the thousands of fitness enthusiasts who are sharing their own home workouts whilst in the lockdown time frame.
Joe Wicks: P.E. for lessons.
The fitness influencer Joe Wicks, famous for his lean in 15 workouts and meal plans, is going live on youtube to run p.e classes for children in first and secondary school. This is a great opportunity whilst all kids are at home whilst schools are shut.
This is a great opportunity to socialise with your children and have some fun joining in with the workouts and encouraging your children/family to be more active.
Healthy eating tips whilst working from home.
Eating is 80% of being in shape and it's very difficult to out-train a bad diet. When you are working from home there is a lot easier access and less steps to access food from the fridge. It is a great idea to try to have meals prepared where you can. This can help you keep on track if you are dieting, the last thing you want to do is waste food - especially in the current situation in the super markets.
Whilst working from home you will be moving less in general, you don’t have as many steps going from meeting to meeting or going and making a coffee from the work kitchen or canteen. With this in mind it is an idea to lower your food amounts by 10-15% this will help you not gain excess weight whilst your daily energy output will be lower. An idea could be to lower carbohydrates, why carbs? Carbohydrates are the basis of our favourite snacks: sandwiches, crisps, chocolate bars and sweets along with many more of our go-to snack foods. This food group is super easy to over consume and will make you feel sluggish and sleepy, not what you want when working from home when the sofa or bed is only steps away for a tactical nap. A great way to track your food on the go is by using the MyFitnessPal app.
Healthy foods to increase mental focus.
Blueberries.
blueberries boost “concentration and memory” for up to five hours because “the antioxidants in blueberries stimulate the flow of blood and oxygen to [your] brain – and keep the mind fresh”.
Green tea.
Green tea helps you focus for two reasons: one, it contains caffeine, and two, it contains l’theanine. L’theanine is an ingredient that’s been shown to increase alpha-wave activity, which increases tranquility and releases caffeine more slowly, instead of all at once, which can lead to you crashing.
Avocados.
Every organ in the body depends on blood flow, especially the heart and brain, and avocados [enhance] blood flow, offering a simple, tasty way to fire up brain cells
Leafy green vegetables.
Leafy green vegetables are full of antioxidants and carotenoids, which boost your brain power, and help protect your brain. Leafy green vegetables are also full of B-vitamins, which are “proven to help your memory, focus, and overall brain health and power”
Fatty fish.
Fatty/oily fish contains omega-3 fatty acids which aid memory, mental performance and behavioral function. People who are deficient in omega-3’s are more likely to have poor memory, mood swings, depression and fatigue.
Water.
If you want to improve your focus, you need to drink enough water. Water gives the brain the electrical energy for all brain functions, including thought and memory processes, and it has been proven to help you think faster, be more focused, and experience greater clarity and creativity.
Dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate (dark chocolate, not the sugary, milky kind) can help you focus for a number of reasons. First, it contains a small amount of caffeine, which has been proven to heighten mental alertness. Dark chocolate contains magnesium, which helps you de-stress, and it also stimulates the release of endorphins and serotonin, which make you feel good and heighten your mood.
Who knows how long we will be in lockdown for but staying active is key to not only health, fitness but also mental health. Be as active as you can within your home and make sure you take up on the opportunity from the government to go outside and exercise once a day. It will do you the world of good.
Find out more about working from home to help you get through these hard times. Working from home hub.
