How to stay active during this quarantine

Chattanooga, TN

In the month of March, the cases of coronavirus skyrocketed pushing the Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, to begin closing everywhere from restaurants, movie theaters to even gyms. With the year barely being four months in, many had committed to their resolution—fitness. How can you possibly stay motivated and active during this time?

Due to self-quarantining, you’re limited to what and who you can be around. Because of all the closures, many are taking advantage of the quality time with people they probably wouldn’t see at the given time and hour. For my parents, Vincent and Tabitha Rodriguez, they have taken up walking in place while watching movies. “We get to be with each other and we’re not on our phones or distracted. We missed this quality time.”

The concept of walking in place while watching a movie was my mom’s idea (go figure.) She got the idea from her school that started “Moving for Health.” Even though she was no longer at school, she still wanted to continue on at home. “You can keep a focus with a path to walk on. With no path, how can you focus? So, I started watching movies and walking in place.” She says.

The movies they watch typically come from Amazon Prime or Netflix. Usually they watch comedies, or romcoms. My dad tracks his steps by using his phone, while my mom uses her watch. Together they walk over 20,000 steps. “He walks about 8 miles, while I walk about 5 ½-6.” 

As for other ways to be active, my sister, Christina Rodriguez, uses a workout schedule from Cassey Ho, a POPFlex Pilates instructor on YouTube. “She has a PDF that contains different links to daily routines,” she says. Intrigued by her answer, I did some research on this Cassey Ho. Right away, “Blogilates” popped up on my browser. I would assume many have taken advantage of all the workout videos YouTube has to offer.

As for me, now that they’re closing all parks for the time being, I have taken up walking my dogs around the neighborhood. As we’re all adjusting to this, it’s important to turn the stress and anxieties into something good for yourself.

Take a walk around the neighborhood, or watch a movie while walking place, and enjoy the quality time we’re given. Take care of yourselves during this time and remind yourselves it won’t always be like this. The gym will open again, so will everywhere else and we won’t be required to “stay six feet apart.”