COVID-19 and rising temperatures may be keeping us at home, but there is no reason to stop exercising. In fact, not only will a regular workout help improve overall health, a daily dose of cardio will help boost your mood and leave you feeling energized. During Ramadan, while you may need to adapt your regular at-home workouts a little to accommodate fasting, there is no reason for them to stop.
Good for the body – and your immunity
Experts say that just 30 minutes exercise a day is all that’s needed to increase your health and fitness levels. But it can also help boost immunity too. How? Well, when we feel anxious, levels of stress hormones increase, which can interfere with the immune response and as a result make you more susceptible to infection. Exercise reduces these stress levels and as a result reduces burden on the immune system.
Increased stress and anxiety may also prevent us from sleeping well, but if we are moving and exercising during the day, we are much more likely to sleep better at night. Exercise will also cause the release of endorphins, the body’s natural mood enhancers and painkillers.
Online resources
COVID-19 may have led to the closure of gyms and parks, but the internet is full of alternatives. Look for a local gym or studio online and you will find many are offering tutorials or live classes you can participate in. Whether you are into gentle yoga or high intensity training, speak to you usual instructor and they should be able to recommend an app that will appeal to you. Fitness instructors are also offering their services virtually, and you can even schedule one-on-one personal training sessions, without being anywhere near one another!
Fasting considerations
During Ramadan, continue to exercise as it helps to keep control of weight gain and maintains fitness. But you may need to adjust your usual routine, and things like fatigue, recovery and dehydration need to be taken into consideration. Avoid high impact exercise before Iftar as you may be dehydrated and low on energy. Keeping any cardio low intensity if you have been fasting will help avoid a sudden drop in blood sugar levels.
As well as light exercise, remember to eat and drink the right things during non-fasting hours and to get enough sleep.
Low intensity options
Lower-impact exercises like the ones listed below can still produce the desired results, but remember timing is key. Strength training and gentle cardio are fine to do during fasting if you feel capable, but any high-intensity cardio should ideally be done after the fast is broken.
- Bodyweight training You don’t need a gym to weight train. There are many excercises you can do using your bodyweight for resistance, or simply use household objects like tinned goods or a water bottle to get your muscles moving.
- Walking We may not be able to go out, but if you are lucky enough to have a garden or access to stairs, getting on your feet and moving for 30 minutes is a great way to increase heart rate and unwind a little.
- Low impact cardio If you want to get a bit more of a sweat on, combine three moves, such as mountain climbers, jumping jacks and run and jumps, as a lower impact HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) routine.
- Yoga or pilates A great workout for the body and mind. Not only will your body benefit from a series of posture and breathing exercises, your mind will start to unwind too.
High intensity at home
If you aren’t fasting, being at home doesn’t mean your usual high-energy fitness regimes need to be toned down. Below is a list of exercises that can be done with little or no specialist equipment. If you need a little more motivation to keep the heart rate up for longer, download an app to follow an instructor or participate in a live class.
- Jump rope Skipping with arope is one of the best calorie burning exercises. This high impact exercise requires no special skill, no fancy equipment and can be done anywhere you have space to spin a rope.
- High Intensity Interval Training There are thousands of videos online with HIIT plans for you to follow. Short bursts of exercise at high intensity, followed by a break, will leave you exhausted but feeling great.
- Burpees The exercise everyone loves to hate, they are very hard to do but extremely effective at increasing your cardo threshold and work pretty much every muscle in your body.
Whether you are going for high or low intensity, remember to make a home workout part of your daily routine. Get the kids involved too and make it fun. Not only will your mind and body benefit, you are giving your immune response a boost too.