Tips to Achieve Your Fitness Goals Without The Gym

Adapting to tough situations is the key to success

I’m sure you have heard of the virus going around…Covid-19 is affecting everyone in every part of the world; so firstly stay safe and be healthy…

I never thought I’d be sitting here writing about this. The gym is a huge part of my life and without it I honestly don’t know what I would do… I say that because what do other people do if they don’t workout? Most people just watch hours on end of tv? Or go out for drinks and dinner a couple times a week? The gym keeps me sane and it helps me stay busy instead of plopping down on the couch right after work. I guess I’m kind of like my father in that sense; always wanting to keep myself productive, and busy. I do enjoy rest days, but if it’s more than 3 days I’m going crazy! Ya, it’s definitely brutal especially when I get sick; having to refrain from the gym is very difficult for me. Call me obsessed, but it’s all in a good healthy way! So hearing about this virus that’s now become a pandemic and not being able to go to the gym, since everything is closed (we announced a state of emergency this week) I thought I’d write some tips on how to keep yourself busy and stay healthy!

Go For A Walk Or A Jog

Since the weather here in Toronto is slowly getting warmer, it’s perfect to get yourself out of the house and walk! I love morning walks or late evenings. It’s just so peaceful! Take your cardio outside!

Workout Youtube Videos

These days Youtube has EVERYTHING at your fingertips. Trust me, Jamie watched a video on how to fix a small thing on our car. There are a ton of workout videos that you can do right from your home. You can even be specific with what you search. ” Banded Workouts” etc. Great thing about YT is that you’re able to save the videos too! I did this when we travelled. I had a little section for all the at home workouts, so it was easier than always typing it and finding one that you enjoyed!

I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of at home workouts. It’s hard to get motivated from home, however using my bands that I do have, does get the job done.

Weights And Bands Go A long Way

Some gym equipment can be really expensive, however if you just buy 2 sets of 2 different weights they can give you a really good workout! I bought 25LB and 15LB and the 25s are still heavy for certain workouts! Or if the weight isn’t as heavy I just do more reps to burn out my muscles! You don’t always have to go as heavy as you think, going with lighter will help you have better form, good muscle-mind connection, and going slow and controlled, which helps you feel the exercise better. Bands are pretty cheap online and again you don’t need to buy 7 different things. I’ve been loving my bands lately, I feel like my glute workouts are much better at home because I’m focusing more on the movement and burning out my glutes!

Download Fitness Apps

Like with Youtube videos there are a lot of different apps out there related to fitness. I’m honestly a person who doesn’t have a lot of apps, I like my phone clean and not too busy lol, so I don’t know any good fitness apps to download, but browse around, and read the descriptions to see if it sounds like a good fitness app.

Workout At A Park

Not only are there kids playground that you can use for a simple quick workout, but here in the city there are a couple of parks that are made for working out. Bars for pull ups, benches for one legged squats etc. Use your imagination! This may vary depending where you live. Here in Toronto, they did close every park due to the virus.

Remember Your Goals

Just because the gyms are currently closed does not mean throw your good eating habits out the window. The grocery stores are still open, so there are no excuses! The last thing you want to do is eat a bunch of junk food and not being able to workout properly. Try not to get your body bloated. Feeling sluggish and not being able to go to a gym is the worst!

Eating clean is not expensive, I have an article here “Eating Healthy On A Budget.” You should check it out. I have spilled my tips and tricks on how to save money while shopping, but also broken down certain grocery items to show you how many portions you get out of certain things like ground beef. Taking the cost and doing the math to help you understand!

Don’t forget to keep that water intake high!

Learn To Rest

We can’t control when the gyms close, so what’s the point in being upset? Don’t get me wrong, this whole situation is really unfortunate and annoying. I love having a routine and these next couple of weeks will be completely off. Learn to rest your body and take advantage of not being crazy busy. Resting will not make your gains disappear, trust me I used to be there and hated resting. Resting is crucial, whether you work hard at your job, gym, or at home with family, this is good to learn to take a break every once in awhile.

Stretch it Out

Since the gym is out of the question, take more time to stretch out your body! Stretching is very important, especially if you do have tighter areas, which can cause bad form during a workout. I love using my foam roller (Benefits Of A Foam Roller) and lacrosse ball. I also just set a 30 sec- 1 min timer to do some simple stretches but hold it until the timer is up.

Catch Up On Things

• This is also a good opportunity to organize or do some deep cleaning! I know a lot of stuff gets on the back burner for Jamie and I because we are such a busy family!
  
• Self-care time. I know at this time, since everything is closed it’s hard to just go out and get some simple you time, however there are other ways to feel relaxed. Yoga, meditate, light some candles, bubble baths, masks, etc.
  
• Catch up on tv shows! I find there are WAY better TV shows than movies these days. Some shows that I’ve loved.
  (This Is Us, The Outsider, The Stranger, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, Stranger Things, The Sinner, Breaking Bad, Broadchurch, Dark, Dexter, The Haunting of Hill House, Killing Eve).
  
• Cook dinner together with your loved one
  
• Spend time with family
  
• Play games
  
• Reflect on your goals. Having some time to yourself in a non-busy environment will allow you to reflect on your long-term goals. I’m always making and accomplishing goals. It’s such a great feeling off checking things off your list.
  
• STOCK UP ON CHAMPAGNE <3

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