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Everyone has the same questions. How can I continue to be motivated to stay in shape and stay active with the gyms closed during this time? There are still many ways you can challenge yourself physically. This time doesn’t have to be wasted on binge watching TV shows and movies on your couch, especially for those of us who already spend all day working in front of a computer or laptop at home. Instead this is a chance for you to work on your body in ways you haven’t before. This is a time that many of us usually do not have during our normal daily routines and workouts. Your physical health doesn’t have to suffer.

There is plenty you can still do on your own that doesn’t have to involve a lot of equipment. This can be a time to work on body weight exercises. Yes, you can try to challenge yourself and see if you can do more pushups or sit-ups, but you can also start working on and strengthening specific muscles that you normally don’t. Strengthen your mid back, core, and glutes in isolation, and feel how much those targeted exercises can burn. You can focus on planks and side planks, paying extra attention to form. If you usually don’t do aerobic exercise as much as you should, this is a great opportunity push yourself to see if you can run or bike for longer and farther than you normally do. If you can’t run or bike, you can still do air squats, high knees, lunges, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, or jump squats. This is also a chance to work on flexibility in muscles that are usually tight that you always put off because you don’t have time. Push yourself to increase mobility in your mid back or flexibility in your hamstrings and hip flexors, for example. There is not a lack of exercises for you to do.

Challenge yourself and see if you can change your body (and not for the worse) during this time. Maybe that lingering issue in your low back or knee that’s always bothered you because you haven’t had time to stretch out a specific area and strengthen another can finally be addressed and taken care of. We aren’t often granted the opportunity to have time to work on ourselves, so why not seize this moment? You don’t have to be complacent just because the gyms are closed. Take advantage of the time you have now to work on yourself, and you won’t come out of the quarantine feeling like have to start all over again, but instead feeling like you’ve improved and have developed new healthy habits.

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