It’s no secret that long periods of inactivity can be detrimental to your overall health. But what if you have no choice? How do you stay healthy in a time where going to a facility isn’t an option?
There are some simple ways around this, even without equipment. Along with exercise, mental health and healthy eating are more points to emphasis. Working on or maintaining these three categories together is important to overall health. So to start with let’s go over some great alternatives to the barbell and dumbbell.
HIIT and Resistance Bands
In the situation where no exercise equipment is available, HIIT training and resistance bands can help maintain muscularity and cardiac fitness.
HIIT training is an intense interval training method devised to raise your heart rate and keep it up. Typically, HIIT is comprised of a number of rounds where you perform chosen exercises for that session. These exercises can target certain body parts, such as legs or be full body. A bodyweight HIIT training session might look something like this:
5 Rounds
- 25 pushups
- 30 squats
- 25 jumping jacks
- 30 second plank
One way to add some extra resistance into the mix would be to add resistance bands. They are a strip of rubber formed in a circle. The size of the band indicates its resistance level; smaller, thinner bands are easier to handle than a large, wide one.
A resistance band provides more of an impact the farther it’s stretched. This allows your muscles to stay under tension for the entire duration of the movement. This can still be accomplished using only bodyweight. For example, if you wrap a band around your back and perform pushups, this additional tension will have your body fatigue quicker while still pumping a large amount of blood to the chest, triceps and shoulders.
A healthy diet
Maintaining a healthy diet can do wonders for anyone. By providing your body with the right nutrients and by keeping hydrated, your body will thank you. Doing these things can help fight off illness, help you think more clearly and raise your metabolism.
Meals are the ideal way to get nutrients. They not only provide you with sufficient protein, carbohydrates and fat, but also micronutrients; that is, they are a vehicle for delivering vitamins and minerals the body desperately needs. To get these nutrients, the food that is consumed can make a difference. Foods such as spinach, carrots, kale, peppers, grilled fish and much more are packed with these raw nutrients.
This can be imperative to heart and muscular function. The heart needs certain minerals such as potassium and magnesium, which are electrolytes and help regulate circulation and blood pressure. Some foods that will help give you these nutrients are seeds, nuts and eggs.
Mental health
One aspect that can be overlooked is mental health. There are ways around this and it requires little effort. Yoga is a popular way for relieving stress and tension. Reading is another way to reward your brain. Finding the one that works for you can be fun.
Experiment with different ways that you think you’ll enjoy. Your body and mind will thank you for it.
