By Derek Edison
(The Hollywood Times) 8/25/20 – COVID-19 has made life exceedingly difficult, and it’s showing no signs of stopping. The World Health Organization (WHO) postulates that the coronavirus disease may be around for some time.
Therefore, quarantine and lockdowns may become part and parcel of our lives moving forward. While quarantine is an effective containment measure against the spread of the virus, spending your entire day in the same spot might take a toll on your physical and mental health.
Thankfully, there are loads of relaxing activities you can take part in to keep yourself physically fit and mentally stimulated during the COVID-19 quarantine and lockdown. The following are some of those activities.
COVID019 virology concept
Source: Pixabay.com
1. Go for a Walk
Walking is one of the easiest physical activities to undertake. It’s pleasurable too. Not only does walking stretch your muscles, but it also rejuvenates your mind. According to a 2016 study, walking can elevate your mood, boost your creativity, eliminate boredom, and relieve fear and anxiety.
The best part is that you don’t necessarily need to venture outside your home. Walking within your compound or even indoors is just as therapeutic as going on a brisk walk outdoors.
2. Engage In Quick Home-Based Physical Exercises
There are plenty of home-based workouts that you can engage in during the quarantine. Here are some of these exercises, along with how to perform them;
- Back Extensions
Areas targeted: Your back muscles
How to perform;
- Touch your ears using your fingertips then raise your upper body while keeping your legs firmly planted on the ground
- Lower your upper body to its original position and perform the exercise 10 – 15 times, then take a 30 to 60-second break
- Repeat the exercise 5 times per day or more as required
- Bridge
Areas targeted: Your glutes
How to perform;
- Firmly plant your feet onto the ground and position your knees over your heels
- Lift your hips as high as you comfortably can then lower them to the original position
- Perform the exercise between 10 and 15 times and rest for 30 – 60 seconds
- Repeat the exercise up to 5 times a day
- Chair Dips
Areas targeted: Your triceps
How to perform;
- Firmly grasp the seat of your chair while placing your feet approximately half a meter from the chair
- Bend your arms and gently lower your hips, then straighten your arms
- Perform the exercise for 10 – 15 times and take a 30-60 seconds break
- Repeat the exercise up to 5 times a day or more as required
- Knee to Elbow
Areas targeted: Your heart and breathing rates
How to perform;
- Touch one of your knees with the opposite elbow and keep alternating sides
- Establish your ideal pace and perform the exercise for between 1 and 2 minutes then take a 30 – 60 seconds break
- Repeat the exercise up to 5 times a day
- Plank
Areas targeted: Your arms, legs, and belly
How to perform;
- Hold your forearms firmly on the ground, carefully positioning your elbows under your shoulders
- Lower your head to the level of your hips
- Hold the position for between 20 and 30 seconds and take a 30 – 60 seconds break
- Repeat the exercise up to 5 times
- Squats
Areas targeted: Your legs and glutes
How to perform;
- Place your feet at hip-distance, ensuring that your toes point outwards slightly
- With your heels on the ground and your knees over your feet, bend your knees as much as you feel comfortable
- Bend and stretch your legs
- Repeat this between 10 and 15 times, then follow with a 30 – 60 seconds break
- Superman
Areas targeted: Your glutes, belly, and back muscles.
How to perform;
- Place your hands underneath your shoulders and position your knees below your hips
- Carefully lift one of your arms forward and draw the opposite leg back
- Repeat the exercise 10 to 15 minutes while alternating sides
- Take a 30 – 60 seconds rest and repeat the exercise up to five times a day or more if required
There are plenty of other quick home-based exercises you can do at home during the quarantine. For optimized performance, you can consider incorporating performance-enhancement substances like buy anabolic steroid.
3. Meditate
Meditation is not only a relaxing physical exercise, it’s also mentally and spiritually therapeutic. Meditation enables you to reconnect with your higher power and appreciate the harmony that exists between the different dimensions.
As you get into a higher state of mental awareness, you can train your mind to banish negative thoughts and embrace positive ones.
If you’re new to meditation, we suggest starting out with a background audio track, and there are plenty of YouTube audio and audiovisual tracks that you can meditate to.
4. Yoga
Yoga and meditation are nearly inseparable – both come with immense mental and spiritual benefits. However, yoga does you one better. According to research, yoga has a positive effect on serotonin and other stress-suppressing chemicals. That means it can elevate your mood and lower your stress and anxiety levels while improving your self-esteem.
The good news is that there are several online yoga tutorials and classes that you can enroll for. These classes are particularly invaluable for beginners, as they’ll help you establish the best yoga poses (asanas) for you, depending on your body posture and size.
If there was ever a better time to awaken your chakras, it got to be during the COVID-19 quarantine.
A woman practicing yoga
Source: Pixabay.com
5. Clean the House
The COVID-19 quarantine has made cleaning the house no longer a chore but a relaxing activity. Why? Because you have plenty of time to do it.
If you live in a sizable house, plan your cleaning task carefully and spread the project over a couple of days. Start with the most urgent areas, such as the living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. You can then take care of areas like the attic, basement, and garage. Lastly, wind up the entire cleaning project by mowing your lawn, cleaning your gutters and piping fixtures, and doing your driveway.
But the goal isn’t just to make your house clean, you also want to ensure you regularly sanitize frequently-touched surfaces to avoid the spread of the virus. As you’re now working from home, you must make sure your new office is clean and tidy. That will help you to focus on your work better, thereby boosting your productivity. Remember, a cluttered workplace equals a cluttered mind, and a tidy workplace equals an organized mind.
6. Try a New Recipe
If you’re like most people trapped in the 9 to 5 rat race, the chances are that you either eat out regularly or order pre-cooked foods most of the time. You shouldn’t be condemned for doing that, as it’s probably what fits within your busy schedules.
But here’s a situation where you’re spending virtually your entire time at home. With nearly all the restaurants closed, your only option is to purchase fresh foods and prepare them at home. Why not leverage the COVID-19 quarantine to prepare a recipe you’ve never tried before? All you need to do is go online and download a recipe, then get down to work.
Perhaps when the quarantine is over, you can use your newly-acquired culinary skills to wow your partner on your next at-home date night. If you already have a family, this is an excellent opportunity to treat them to something they’ve never had before.
7. Start a Journal
Journaling is one of the most effective productivity-monitoring habits out there, and it also happens to be one of the relaxing activities you can pursue during the coronavirus lockdown.
A journal is a treasure trove of information on how you spent your past moments. Looking back to this time years later, you’ll be mesmerized by how creatively you kept yourself engaged amidst the COVID-19 fear and anxiety.
Journaling has also been shown to boost mood, banish anxiety, and improve creativity. Additionally, it helps you to prioritize your tasks, plan ahead, and track your day-to-day habits.
Most importantly, through journaling, you can visualize problems from a more objective perspective. You’ll stop viewing COVID-19 as a killer monster, but as a dangerous virus whose containment requires the active participation of all humans alive.
8. Sleep
Technically, sleeping is not an activity but an involuntary physiological process. Nonetheless, sleep comes with a cocktail of benefits during the COVID-19 quarantine.
First off, sleep helps you to forget your fears and anxieties. After spending a long day consuming content on the status of COVID-19, you may find the information a bit overwhelming. That’s especially considering that most of it is spread by people who are out to peddle fear and rumors.
However, a nap is all it takes to free your mind of all the anxieties and negativity associated with the virus. Sleep also helps your body recover, which is particularly beneficial if you follow a daily workout routine during the quarantine period.
Interestingly, studies suggest that people who are sleep-deprived are prone to contracting viral infections. Well, now you know, so don’t resist the urge to doze off; be it on the bed, sofa, or study table.
Man and child having a nap
Source: Pixabay.com
COVID-19 has surely introduced new normals, one of which is lockdown and quarantine. Without a proper way to while your time, you may find yourself bored, fatigued, and anxious. Thankfully, you can engage in the above activities to stay physically and mentally stimulated.