People rely on the gym for many reasons. They help people with anxiety, feel fit, and just to get out of the house. The closure of the gyms due to the coronavirus concerns may leave you on the couch and eating junk food, but exercising at home can help you get through this pandemic with no gym. There are some unique exercises that you can do at home to help you stay active. One of the most common things to help you work out is things around your house that have weight to it.

Do you have gallons of water laying around your house? If so, you’re in luck. Some people are using water gallons as dumbbells. You can use them for curling to workout your core and biceps. If you really want to get creative and you have even more materials around, I have seen other people make their own barbells by only using a strong metal pipe, two buckets, water, and one bag of cement. What you do is take a bucket, put some dry cement in, add some water, and then mix it. Then you put the one side of the metal pipe in the bucket and let it dry. After that, you repeat the steps for the other side of the pipe. Now, not everyone has cement lying around; however, if you do, this is a great way to create barbells.

Some other exercises you can do at home are the basics: lunges, pushups, planks, side planks, squats, burpees, situps, and glute bridges. You can create your own workout intertwining all of these exercises into a daily routine.

Do you have a jump-rope or a rope of a similar length lying around your house?  This will help with your breathing, increase your coordination, and burn major calories. Even if you don’t have one you can pretend to jump rope and that actually still burns the same amount of calories as if you had a jump rope.

Resistance bands are also a good tool to use if you have them. When you’re pushing against a resistance band during an exercise, your muscles have to engage to fight the tension. There are plenty available on Amazon for less than $20. You don’t have to do these alone though. If you’re a kid doing these exercises, get your parents involved, and ask them to do it with you. Likewise, if you’re a parent, get your kids involved. These are all easy 20-minute workouts that you can do in your house, driveway, or even your garage.

There are many exercise apps that can also help you stay fit during this pandemic. Some of those apps come at a price but since we are in the middle of a pandemic, a lot of fitness companies are offering a free 90-day trial. Some of those apps are running apps, for example, the Nike Run Club, The Map My Run by Adidas, the Zombies Run, and the C25K 5K Trainer app. Right before your run you hit the start button which starts your run and it tracks how many miles you’ve run, the calories you’ve burned, and how many steps that you took.

There are also yoga apps like Yoga For Beginners, Lotus Yoga, and Simply Yoga. Then there are just regular fitness apps like a 7-minute workout which is the number one fitness app in 127 countries. Peloton, Fitton, Map my fitness by under armor, JEFIT, and Sworkit are also exercising apps that can be used at home.
After our school baseball season was canceled my baseball coach sent out a list of exercises every day to help with staying in shape. I regularly follow my workout routine, but other times I simply go outside and do sprints up and down the sidewalk. Some of the exercises that I do at home are planks, side planks, pushups, jumping jacks, lunges, and situps.

I know this coronavirus pandemic is making you go stir crazy, and it is hard to stay active, but why not get active and try to be productive during this time? I know all you want to do is just sit on your couch and do nothing. Trust me that’s all I want to do as well, but just take 20 minutes a day to help you pass the time but still stay 6 feet away from others.

When we went into quarantine, I wasn’t expecting to do much. Maybe some small assignments from school, eating all the junk food, and binge-watching Netflix. I was totally wrong, although I do still binge-watch Netflix while doing work.  I got bored pretty quickly, so I had to start thinking of things to keep myself busy.

My mom started making me workout even though it was seriously the last thing I wanted to do during the quarantine. I really just wanted to eat Cheetoes and binge-watch Criminal minds.

While I was searching for workout apps, I stumbled upon Peloton. Peloton first came out in 2012 and has been a hit since, but I didn’t start using Peloton until our state went into lockdown. I first saw Peloton a couple of months back on commercials with someone watching a workout session on a treadmill. I kept seeing the same commercial over and over again, and although it looked cool, I thought that it was only for people who had proper equipment like a treadmill, kettlebells, etc (none of which I own).

I wanted to get into my “hot girl summer” body because I was not getting that exercise of climbing from the first floor to the third floor at school, and I am going to Florida in August. I started trying all these different workout apps (7-minute Workout, Fitness 24/7, Fitness Coach, etc.) on my phone, but none of them really made the cut for me. Before lockdown, I was never really the one to go and work out at the gym because I thought I was being judged, but when you’re using these apps on your phone, you hide behind a screen.

One day the Peloton commercial came on again while I was sitting on the couch, and I figured, let’s just do it, it can’t only be for people who have the equipment. I downloaded the app and started the 90-free day trial.

Peloton is a workout app that provides live workout sessions, or, if you are in a hurry,  work-outs that have been previously recorded. You can pretty much download the app anywhere; I have it on my phone and my kindle fire. However, they are such small devices, so if you want it on your tv, you can use Chromecast or Roku and hook it right up. Peloton has really helped me because there are so many options of classes to choose from, and Peloton also keeps track of how many classes you have done. Sometimes I forget to workout, or I just don’t feel like it, so Peloton allowed me to set an alarm to help you know when to get up off the couch and workout.

My first session was a live 15-minute Desk Yoga, and the trainer was very friendly and gave me the motivation. The trainers also do live workouts from time to time and people write motivational comments throughout the workout to inspire others to work harder. I really like Peloton because you can go at your own pace; you don’t necessarily have to follow the trainer and can take your time. If you have any injuries, Peloton trainers provide an alternative to whatever yoga or workout position you are in.

Peloton also has different workout sessions for all different kinds of workouts that you want to do. They have categories such as Strength, Cardio, Yoga, etc. I’ve been trying different sessions throughout each week and learned that you really do get a good workout. For example, on Monday, I did a 20 minute HIIT (High Intuitive Interval Training) Cardio Workout, and let me tell you, I’ve never used my muscles like this before. I was sore in the back of my legs for a couple of days. During the workout, I was sweating by the first couple of minutes because it was so fast-paced.

Peloton offers at least more than five sessions in which you don’t need any equipment, but, for those that do require equipment, you can purchase weights, treadmills, exercise bikes, and more from Peloton’s website. They are expensive, but generally, exercise equipment is already expensive, and you could still order cheaper versions on Amazon. I didn’t purchase anything because I felt that I didn’t need to. I’m doing just fine with the non-equipment workouts.

I truly am happy using it to workout. I watch the yoga classes when I am feeling stressed, and afterward, I’m relaxed. At night, I use the meditation class because they have a session called “The Power Of Sleep” that helps me shut my mind down.

The one negative about this app, as I’ve mentioned before, is that the equipment is extremely expensive. I wouldn’t spend over $2,000 for an exercise bike when I can get one at a cheaper price somewhere else like Walmart or Target. I would say if you are really dedicated to exercising every day, go ahead and get whatever equipment you want from wherever you want.

I am currently on the 90-day free trial, and I am already seeing a difference since I started, so when this trial is over, I might consider actually getting a membership. There are two different types of memberships but only one would be available to me. The first is Peloton All-Access Membership but it requires a bike or treadmill and its $39 a month. The one that I might consider getting is called Peloton Digital Membership, which is only $12.99 a month. In comparison, to the gym membership I have now which is at Crunch, it is pretty much the same price.

I really do recommend this app to anyone who wants a quality workout, is trying to lose weight, or honestly, just wants something to do during this quarantine. Peloton is really helping me get to where I want to be.