We’ve all been warned about large public gatherings and not touching commonly touched surfaces to limit the spread of the Corona virus. Public health offiials have also told us that those who are healthier have much less threat of suffering the most severe results of it.
So how should you exercise to stay healthy in such a pandemic environment?
Should you go to your gym?
The first consideration, if you have a gym membership, is should you go there? After all, while Scottsdale is a health-conscious community fill with membership gyms, that’s a public place with people touching and leaning against the same equipment you might want to use.
It’s common for sweating people to wipe that off their faces fairly regularly, and touching hands to faces is something we’ve been cautioned repeatedly against doing. And there is no lack of powerful exhaling in those spin classes.
While Scottsdale hasn’t seen the incidents of Corona virus showing up as other places, it’s just a matter of time, and it’s more than likely that someone here will report as infected soon. If you do go, be careful. Use disinfectant wipes on all the equipment and don’t share (or use the gym’s) mats. Probably the safest exercise there might be the clorinated pool, but – as always – be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before.
But there are other options that won’t put you close to the next potential victim.
Jog – it is spring in Scottsdale
The weather is perfect in southern Arizona in the winter and spring to lace on the shoes and take a run around the neighborhood. It’s easy to avoid just about everyone doing that, and it is a quick and effective way to get exercise right out the front door.
If you have a bike, give that a go as well. Or take a hike on one of the many Scottsdale trails available. It’s a great time to be outside, breathing fresh air.
Work out at home
Certainly, the gym has much better and more effective (and pricier) equipment than you have (or have room for) at home. Not all of us have a slick eliptical. But there are some inexpensive equipment items you can order online and have delivered to your door that could help.
Resistance bands, for example, can substitute for weights for many of us, at least for a while until the epidemic subsides and you can get back into the gym. You could also get light weights to accomplish much of the same exercises.
Stability balls, those big balloons you sit on, can be useful, particularly for working on core muscles. A jump rope can get the body sweating.
Yoga is an inexpensive and flexible exercise that requires little equipment or space. Perhaps it’s time you explored that.
Turn on the tube
YouTube has an endless supply of coaching videos that will help you perform a wide variety of exercises to keep you fit. You can find them for yoga here.
But that is a narrow slice of the collection. There are full body workouts, targeted area coaching, and sweat your tush off jump and bounce offerings. You can find a litany of them here.
If you’re seeking something more narrow, just go to YouTube.com and seach for your particular interest.
This is not the time to an already fit Scottsdale woman or man to let their physical conditioning lapse as a healthy body and hearty immune system are valuable in warding off the worse effects of the virus. So if you’re considering abandoning the gym temporarily and looking for other workout options, you are on the right track.
And if you don’t have a workout system in place already, it might be a good time to start.
Other inexpensive workout tools
For sources and more information, go here, here, here, and here.