Corona Workout

What everyone needs, in my humble opinion, during the quarantine period, is not to have entirely sedentary lifestyle. Meaning, implementing some form of exercise is a very good idea considering all the movement restrictions that come with the Coronavirus crisis.

Having said that, everyone should try and do some form of workout, whatever they find suitable for them or possible, because normally not all of us have the same physical and mental starting point. But, what we all have in common is that all of us are isolated inside our homes.

Therefore, I am suggesting you organize your time and try to do the following exercises, up to 3 times a week. They are for toning and strength, cover all the major muscle groups, and I have divided them in six sections:

1.    Exercises for legs

2.    Exercises for arms

3.    Butt exercises

4.    Exercises for your back

5.    Abdominals

6.    Core strength

You must start your training with some form of warm-up, just to get the muscles going. It can be a light jog in place to increase the heart rate and stretching to prevent muscle cramps and injury. Only once this is finished you can start with the exercises.

  Exercises for your legs

Try to do all the number of sets and repetitions as written under the pictures, but of course if you feel that it is too much for you, just do as many as you can. Only pay attention to do equal number of repetitions with both legs. 

Lunges, Donkey kicks and Leg lifts are more than enough for toning your legs, because they work your quadriceps, hamstrings and inner thighs. What you can add to these exercises is maybe calf raises which is basically just repeatedly lifting the heels of your feet off the ground while standing on your toes. This exercise is for the muscles in your lower legs.

Exercises for arms

Diamond triceps push-ups basically got their name from the diamond form that you make with your palms by touching the thumbs and index fingers of your hands. Having your hands on the ground in this position works your triceps when pushing your body up. Modified knee push up is just a normal push-up with legs in modified position – bent in your knees to make it easier, some call this a female push-up and I call that sexist.

Jumping jacks I would say are more of a cardio exercise, however I cannot deny that they do tone your arms, but also your shoulders, thighs, buttocks and calves. I included them here for two reasons, firstly because it is very difficult to find copyright free illustrations of exercises and these were going in a set (reminder to start filming my own exercise videos) and secondly because it is necessary to include a cardiovascular element in your workout routine. So, there you go, your cardio for the session done.

Butt exercises

These exercises are pretty straight forward and I believe everyone who has exercised at some point in their life has done them, so I am not going to go into detailed explanations. Just note that knee raises should be done with both legs (you raise the left for example for 15 reps, then the right one for 15 reps, then repeat it all).

I also want to point another important thing out here and that is for you to try and pay attention not to spend more than 5 minutes on each group of exercises. For example, the butt exercises (and yes I timed them) take up around 4 minutes in total. So, you still have time to drink some water before you continue with the next group of exercises.

Exercises for your back

With the Inchworm you bend slowly (bend your knees a little bit if you have to) to reach the floor, then slowly walk forward with your arms until your knees and back are straight and then walk back to bended position. Repeat this for five times, straighten up and then do another set. You can do 3 sets of 5 reps from this exercise.

The superman exercise you do lying down on your stomach, arms straight in front of you, legs closed together, then lift your arms and legs at the same time and hold in that position for ten seconds. Repeat five times. It is always good after doing this exercise to just stretch in child’s pose (as you are on your stomach just lift on your arms and move your butt on the heels of your feet with arms stretched forward and forehead on the ground).

Abdominal exercises

For the crunches is very important to lift your upper back from the ground and not to bend the neck or just nod the head, but only lift the upper back, crunches are not sit-ups. They work your upper abdominals.

Heel touchers work your obliques and you also do them with upper back lifted from the ground. As the name points out, with alternating arms you reach for the heels of your feet.

And for the flutter kicks, which work your lower abdominals, you lie on your back, hands under you butt, lift both legs off the ground and do a scissor-like movements. These are considered the most difficult of the three, as are any other lower abdominal exercises actually. But, I believe in you, so you can do it Duffy Moon.

Core strength

What a better way to strengthen your core than doing a plank. You lift your body on your forearms and your toes, keep your back straight and your butt in line with your back and just hold. Tighten all your core muscles and try to breathe evenly. Time yourself how long you can stay in this position. If you feel shaky it is not a problem, but if your breathing becomes uneven you stop, rest for 20-30 seconds and then repeat again.

So, that is about it. Maybe do another light stretch of your muscles. I am a firm believer of stretching after exercising. And after that, maybe lie down on your back for a little bit, close your eyes and just relax. Breathe in and out deeply for few minutes thinking happy thoughts. Go to your happy place. Reality is scary at the moment, you deserve this 20-30 minutes for yourself. It sure is good for your well-being.

Till we meet again.