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As of right now in the state of Michigan, our governor has ordered many businesses be shut down for some time to help contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). These businesses include fitness centers and gyms. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a home gym or even some home workout supplies then this could spell trouble for your fitness aspirations. Here are some pointers to help you get through the next few weeks (at least) of gym closings.
Workout at home
Simple enough right? Well…not for everyone. This generally requires some supplies if you want to get in a decent resistance routine (cardio can be done in the street, on a home treadmill or elliptical or anywhere really). Pushups and plyo/isometrics can only go so far. I personally just bought a set of resistance bands that can be used to make up the missing pieces of my usual workouts. These particular bands (see link) only cost about $40 and are stackable up to 105 pounds of resistance. They come with different handles and even a door stopper so that I can use any door in my house as an anchor point for the bands. This allows me to do things like chest presses or fly if I don’t happen to have a bench. I am hoping to post a full workout routine very soon that can be done with these bands (and other supplies listed below) to make up for gym closings.
Another useful and economical way of adding to your home workouts is to invest in some slide pads that can be used in a variety of ways (I use them for my ab workout every week). I own the exact slide pads in the link above and even took them on vacation with me. They can also be used in a variety of leg and chest exercises.
Utilize nature and furniture for some exercises. Many back exercises can be done while hanging from a bar, tree limb, bench or even your kitchen table. The resistance bands above can also be utilized for most.
What about my diet?
Given the lack of items on the shelves in grocery stores, your diet may take a hit for the next few weeks. Generally speaking, you can still hit your calorie and macro targets with a little bit of creativity and thrifty shopping. I have not yet had any trouble getting ground beef or milk and these are protein packed options to make up some lost protein in your diet. My diet has not been impacted greatly (yet), but there is a pronounced lack of turkey burger at most stores (which makes up half my taco meat). However, given the simplicity of my “taco diet” I am able to make these meals in bulk on a regular basis. I am frequently preparing a weeks worth of taco meat (7+ pounds) and freezing much of it until I am ready to thaw and eat. This same strategy can be utilized if you are worried about any potential upcoming shortages at the grocery store.
It also wouldn’t hurt to stock up on some protein powder either. This stuff can literally be used as a meal replacement in a pinch and can be mixed with tap water and still taste fine. I recommend checking out the current sale at bodybuilding.com where they have pretty much everything at 25% off! If you are worried about all the chaos out there right now and the empty shelves in the stores, this is a good option to have around as it is essentially a nonperishable that many people haven’t thought about. You can even grab some weight gainer powder if you are having trouble coming up with enough calories given the current shortages out there.
According to most experts, the supply chain hasn’t really been disrupted yet, but if people keep panicking and buying more than they need it could eventually happen. So avoid the panic and try to stock up on A FEW nonperishables or make meals you can freeze as mentioned above. This will give you a sense of security should the worst happen, yet prevent you from hoarding supplies that other people will eventually need and potentially disrupting the supply chain.
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels