Physical Fitness During Quarantine

Since schools closed on March 13th, many people have been self-quarantining. One thing many people have found difficult is staying in shape, and working out regularly. While staying at home and rarely leaving, it is hard to be motivated to do physical activity. However, there are many ways to ensure you are staying physically active over the break.

Many influencers have released home workout programs, which promise to help you lose weight and stay physically fit over long periods at home. Daisy Keech, a popular Tiktoker and Instagram influencer, offers programs at $47. Many have accused her of attempting to profit off of these times and people’s desire to stay in shape. On the other hand, some influencers such as Chloe Ting have been releasing at home workout plans for free. Chloe Ting’s wildly successful 2-week shred videos promise abs in two weeks with only one ten minute workout a day. While the effectiveness of these videos has been questioned by some, there is no doubt that many have benefited from her videos and continue to do them every day.

Alyssa Rolley, a sophomore at Lafayette High School, says she has been doing home workouts with her mom, whenever they get a chance. This typically happens on weekends. Unlike some, she does not use influencer’s videos or programs. Instead, she creates her own at home routines to stay in shape. She saysshe feels like she’s done a good job staying physically fit, but optimistically believes there is always room for improvement.

I spoke to another Lafayette sophomore, Alaynna Geron. Before the lockdown began, she worked out twice a week. She’s stayed very consistent with that, continuing to exercise twice a week while self-quarantining. She watches influencers videos to get ideas for exercises but typically creates her own workouts that differ from their programs. She likes to do many different kinds of workouts, primarily legs, abs, and cardio. Some arm

workouts are included, but not as many as the others. When asked about whether she feels she has done a good job of staying in shape during quarantine, she says she definitely feels less active, but still in shape.

The next person I talked to was Kathryn Williams, a sixth-grader at Berkeley Middle School. She typically exercises every day. Cardio is part of her routine a few times a week. Her primary method of finding new workouts to do is Youtube videos. She doesn’t have a favorite type of exercise to do. Her routines often include dance, stretching, cardio, legs, arms, and abs. Biking and swimming are also two of her favorite physical activities. Her dance studio, iDance, sends her videos of classes that she watches and follows along with. They plan to begin zoom classes within the next few weeks. Working out while at home is important to her because it keeps her in shape and makes her feel good physically and mentally. She feels she did a really good job of staying in shape at the beginning of the lockdown and fell off a bit during the middle of it. However, she has gotten back on track and says she is in good shape now.

The last person I spoke to was Hannah Rubin, a sophomore at Lafayette High School. She runs or works out almost every day. Part of her routine is going to the Lafayette track to run, running in her neighborhood, and doing influencer’s at-home workouts. Her favorite person’s workouts to do is Pamela Reif. She does a lot of ab workouts. Having a healthy and balanced diet is also very important to her. She feels she has done a very good job of staying in shape the past few weeks.

As Hannah said, eating healthy is another important factor in staying fit. Eating healthy makes you feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally. Consuming the correct number of calories for your weight and activity level can make you feel balanced and healthy, while also helping you to lose weight or stay fit. Many people eat more while at home, just because there is food available and nothing to do. Cutting down on snacking and sticking to three full, healthy meals a day is a good way to control food intake and ensure you are staying healthy.