OpinionsGoing the DistanceBeing responsible and staying home

Being responsible and staying home

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In the past few weeks, many runners, triathletes, and other active individuals have been experiencing a dramatic change in their daily activities.

Before the coronavirus crisis, they used to be a lively bunch roaming the streets running or cycling. Everyday was a different workout, and the weekends were filled with either a long run of 12 to 25 kilometers around Dumaguete, or a bike ride of about 60 to 88 kilometers south to Tambobo in Siaton and back to Dumaguete.

Then all of a sudden, it was as if somebody just pressed the STOP button, and everything came to a halt. Now that the entire province of Negros Oriental is under Enhanced Community Quarantine, we can no longer run or cycle in the streets — and for good reason — and could only go out on errands within limited hours for a couple of times a week, unless one has an Essential Job.

The usual meet-up places for runners and cyclists in front of Robinsons, or at Jollibee North Road at the break of dawn are like ghost town areas now, with nary a single soul milling around while waiting for the others to come.

Come to think of it, this would have been a great opportunity to be out in the carless road, running and cycling, and not dodging vehicles at street crossings. Less vehicles on the streets means good air quality. And you hear oldtimers saying, “This is just like the old Dumaguete I grew up with!” — quiet, no traffic, no hustle and bustle.

But as people now are hunkered down in their homes, they are putting in more time into social media to keep themselves connected with friends and family, and updated with their respective goings-on. It is also quite common now for people to have become slaves to TV, overloading our mental capacities with CoViD-related news and information here and abroad.

To keep our mental and physical health in check during this enhanced quarantine, we need to focus on more constructive and enthusiastic vibes, and away from too much negative news which only pull us down and make us more melancholic. We need to keep our bodies active and moving.

The uncertainties of this pandemic now have suddenly changed our normal daily routines and personal habits especially of those who live an active lifestyle. Groups that were training together had to “break up” into individuals working out alone, or in pairs, like husband and wife Albert & Maripol at home, but not more than three people at the same time.

Indeed, it’s been hard to sit still, and not do anything physical; one gets easily agitated, restless, and even irritable.

When there are no alternative means to engage in outdoor exercises indoors, like running on a treadmill or using a bike trainer (a metal stand on which a bike is propped, clamping into the rear axle, with the rear tire pressing a resistance roller), any form of cardio exercises will do. Examples: jumping jacks, burpees (squat-plank-pushup-squat-high jump), or jog-in-place.

For those who do have workout equipment such as weights, access to a pool, or those who live right by a beachfront, they are lucky to be able to continue with their fitness routines. Others are doing calisthenics and body weight exercises.

The point is to be creative in figuring out a particular indoor workout that will be best for your needs, using available resources that could target specific parts of your bodies.

I’m sure most of you have stocked up by now on canned goods, rice, and other bulk items. You can actually use those unopened cans of milk or beans as hand weights. You can also lift a 10-kilo sack of rice for upper body strengthening. An ordinary chair or bench can be used for your step-up routine. Or you can surf the YouTube to find some new routines like yoga, or a diet fad you haven’t tried like intermittent fasting.

This is important as there is a huge chance we could all gain weight in these weeks and get out of shape before we know it, if a regular exercise regimen is simply relegated to the sidelines because we are on home quarantine, and are way too stressed with the pandemic.

Through social media, some have taken a regular exercise to the next level where one challenges another to perform some masochist circuit workout, upon completion of which, that person passes on the dare to the next physical activity enthusiast. It’s a fun way to spread the concept of fitness, and not the virus, in the community. Others have been posting their indoor daily workout routines, complete with pictures or videos, not to show off their physiques, but to inspire and encourage others to keep moving even for nine minutes, if only to stay healthy.

Then again, I’m sure there are also plenty of house chores that need to be done while we are just passing time, waiting for the next big thing to happen: these include washing clothes the traditional way (no, not in the washing machine), scrubbing the floor with a bunot (coconut husk), pruning of shrubs and trees, mowing the lawn, washing the car and scrubbing the tires, cleaning the dog house, gardening, etc. You may not have realized it but even a vigorous washing of hands for 20 seconds many times a day adds up to a nice calorie burn.

So don’t just sit around all day glued to your phone or TV or computer. Social distancing and being on home quarantine never meant that we will just lie down the whole day and just stand up to eat. Let’s make ourselves useful to the family. It’s good to be physically active even when inside our homes. We need to stay health in times like this by eating right, together with regular exercise. Besides our strong faith in God through prayers, we need to protect our health to keep ourselves safe from the coronavirus.

*****

Six weeks ago, we started the eight-week Beginner Running Program. This week is the seventh week. But due to the CoViD-19 pandemic, it’s not advisable to do this workout outside your home. You can actually continue with the program once it is safe to do this on the road, the track, the field, or at the beach.

In the meantime, those who have access to a clean treadmill can continue with the regimen. Just a reminder that when you start to jog, slowly find your rhythm with two strides breathing in, and two strides breathing out.

Week 7

Warm up by walking for 5 minutes then do some light stretching.

Do the workout:
 

Day 1. Jog 10 minutes. Walk 10 seconds. Repeat 3x
Day 2. Jog 10 minutes. Walk 10 seconds. Repeat 4x
Day 3. Jog 12 minutes. Walk 10 seconds. Repeat 4x

Cool down by walking 5 minutes then do some stretches, holding 10-20 seconds each muscles: hamstrings (back of thigh), quadriceps (front of thigh), and calves (back of lower leg).

___________________________________

Author’s email:
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