Tips on how athletes can stay fit at home

By Timothy Jaikarran

Guyana’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases have gone past 80, and the pandemic continues to cripple health systems all over the world. 
It has even gone on to cripple sports in general as the entire sporting world is at a standstill. This is the same for sports in Guyana – basketball, cricket, hockey, volleyball, etc, have been placed on hold, but with the athletes now at home, what can they do to maintain their fitness?
In this piece, the aim is assisting athletes during this isolation period to keep off the weight and come out fitter than they have ever been when sports in general resumes. One would suggest a gym, but with gyms closed and people asked to maintain a social distance of six feet, what will sports look like when this is over?
But there is always light at the end of the tunnel, or to put it in better terms, every cloud has a silver lining, because athletes can now turn their living rooms or even backyard spaces into fitness areas. Traditional bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and planks have become necessary staples. Household items like jugs and cases of bottled water have been used as makeshift weights since some individuals may not have dumbbells in their homes. But, nevertheless, even those who have fitness equipment at home still must improvise to a certain degree.
In this day and age, the transition hasn’t been easy for everyone. For someone who was going to the gym before COVID-19, the transition can be tough as they are now forced to do bodyweight exercises. But with the power of improvisation whether it be five-gallon bottles of water or even rice sacks, one can perform a full body routine. This would allow them to feel like they were in the gym giving them some form of relief; while exercising at home is not the same as at a gym, it will definitely keep you fit. So, when the quarantine ends, it will not take a lot of effort to get back to where you were in your gym life.
There are lots of options to keep fit if you have to remain at home. The guidelines recommend 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity five days a week for adults, but short bouts of physical activity (even 10 minutes at a time) can quickly add up to 30 minutes. The important thing is that no matter what your age or circumstances, you need to keep moving, so make sure to include some physical activity in your daily plan. A simple workout routine to follow that can be done is the Crank Workout, which can be done in three rounds and will definitely leave you feeling the burn.