Making a commitment to exercise more and get in shape is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions each January.
This year, 55% of people have set resolutions aimed at being more fit and active, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos for Urban Plates. More than 12% of gym members join in January, compared to an average of 8.3 percent per month for the full year, according to the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association.
But this year, packing into a gym with large groups of people is likely not the best idea. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic makes indoor exercising one of the more risky activities one can take part in.
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Still, that doesn’t mean that your New Year’s resolution is doomed from the start. People just need to get a little creative.
“Especially now, we can’t necessarily control everything about our environment — where we can exercise, what we can do. Make sure your goals are focused on what you have control over,” said Mike Granato, health coach for Community Health Network.
Granato has been a health coach and personal trainer for the past decade, with a focus on motivating people to get started on their fitness journey and staying with it for the long haul.
Throughout the pandemic, he has worked with clients about the best ways to stay in shape even if they couldn’t get to a gym. He has helped people put together effective workouts with equipment as simple as elastic bands, light hand weights and a mat.
Even without those, people can use filled water bottles, canned goods or laundry detergent jugs as stand-ins.
“If you don’t have a yoga mat, grab those old beach towels that are gathering dust in the closet, lay a few of those down so you have some padding,” he said. “Things like that can be effective.”
The key to sticking with an at-home fitness is time management, a task that is easier said than done, Granato said.
“Right now, a lot of people are living and working and exercising all in the same space. It’s really hard sometimes to designate specific times when you feel that you should be working or being with your family, and you can’t get away from those,” he said.
His advice is to schedule specific times for exercise. That doesn’t mean blocking off hours at a time; it can be as simple as setting aside five or 10 minutes to be active.
“Schedule it like you would another important appointment, like a doctor’s appointment or a meeting. Then build the rest of your day around that,” he said. “If you have scheduled it into your day, and it’s there, you’re going to feel less guilty taking time for yourself.”
Putting together the time to exercise and figuring out a routine, using the equipment at hand, is a good place to start in creating a fitness plan, Granato said. Online resources such as the American Council on Exercise and EXRX.net are two of his favorites to find regimens created by professional trainers, which are tested to be effective.
“You want to assess the time to exercise, and have a plan of what you have access to,” he said. “If you set aside the time, but you don’t have the plan, a lot of us, myself included, can get overwhelmed if you don’t have a specific plan in place. You start thinking, ‘Aw man, I’m wasting part of my exercise time figuring out what I’m going to do.’”
As people make their health-minded New Year’s resolutions, it can be easy to start out fast and motivated, Granato said. But after a few weeks, and up-and-down gains and setbacks, it can be easy to get off track.
According to studies by the University of Scranton, only around 40% of people who make resolutions have stuck with them after six months.
For long-term goals, such as specific weight loss, Granato recommends step-by-step smaller goals helping you reach that point.
“Look at your long-term goal as the desired result. Then use those short-term mini goals to get you there,” he said.
Granato also advises to make those smaller goals action based. Saying, “I want to lose 50 pounds,” isn’t an action, it’s a result, he said. Instead, make plans such as exercising on specific days and eating healthier food.
“What action-based steps are you going to set to get you to that weight loss goal? Then focus on what you can control in those goals,” he said.
A key point to remember is that, often when people set New Year’s resolutions, we view ourselves as our former selves and set expectations on that person, Granato said. That is especially true in the midst of the pandemic; we’re not the same people as we were in January 2020, he said.
That can make it easy to get frustrated during your fitness journey.
“Try not to compare yourself to your former self. Your priorities have changed, your physical capabilities have changed,” he said. “Set realistic expectations, and find pleasure in just maintaining your focus on, ‘I’m going to be better than yesterday.’”
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Exercises you can do at home
Here is a sample exercise routine that can be done at home with minimal or no equipment:
Front lunge
Body parts worked: Abs, butt/hips, legs
Equipment: None
How to do it:
- Start standing with your feet together. Pull your shoulders down and back without arching your low back, and "brace," or engage your abdominal/core muscles to stiffen your spine.
- Slowly lift one foot off the floor, stabilizing your body on the supporting leg. Avoid any sideways tilting or swaying in your upper body and try not to move your supporting foot. Hold this position momentarily before stepping forward. The raised leg should initiate contact with a heel strike first, slowly transferring your body weight into the leading foot placed firmly on the floor.
- As you lunge forward, focus more on dropping your hips towards the floor rather than driving your hips forward. Continue lowering your body to a comfortable position or until your front thigh becomes parallel with the floor and your shinbone.
- Firmly push off with your front leg, activating both your quads and glutes to return to your upright, starting position.
Bodyweight squat
Body parts worked: Abs, butt/hips, calves and shins, thighs
Equipment: None
How to do it:
- Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width, with the toes turned slightly outwards with your hands by your sides so the palms facing inwards. Pull the shoulders down and back.
- Stiffen your core and abdominal muscles to stabilize your spine. Hold your chest up and out, tilt your head slightly up, shift your weight back into your heels while pushing your hips towards the wall behind you.
- Start the downward phase by first shifting your hips backwards then downwards to create a hinge-like movement at your hips and knees simultaneously. As you lower your hips the knees will then start to shift forward slowly, but try to control the amount of forward movement of the shinbone. Maintain tension in the core muscles and attempt to keep your back flat.
- Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel or almost parallel with the floor, until your heels begin to lift off the floor, or until your torso begins to round or flex forward.
- While maintaining your back, chest and head-up position, exhale and extend the hips and knees by pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. The hips and torso need to rise together while keeping the heels flat on the floor and knees aligned over the second toe. Continue extending until you reach your starting position.
Push-up with single-leg raise
Body parts worked: Arms, butt/hips, chest, shoulders
Equipment: None
How to do it:
- Kneel on an exercise mat or floor and bring your feet together behind you.
- Slowly bend forward to place your palms flat on the mat, positioning your hands shoulder-width apart with your fingers facing forward. Shift your weight forward until your shoulders are positioned directly over your hands. Stiffen your torso by contracting your core and abdominal muscles and align your head with your spine. Place your feet together with your toes pointed towards your shins.
- Lower your body towards the floor while maintaining a rigid torso and head aligned with your spine. Do not allow your low back to sag or your hips to hike upwards during this downward phase. Continue to lower yourself until your chest or chin touch the mat or floor.
- Press upwards through your arms while maintaining a rigid torso and head aligned with your spine. As your press upwards, extend your left hip to lift your left foot off the floor, keeping the knee extended. Continue pressing until the arms are fully extended at the elbows and your left leg is extended off the floor. Hold this position briefly before returning to your starting position. Repeat with your opposite leg.
Bear crawl
Body parts worked: Full body
Equipment: None
How to do it:
- Start in a push-up position with the hands shoulder-width apart and the legs straight out directly behind the body about hip-width apart, keeping the knees bent.
- Push the toes of the left foot into the floor while squeezing the right thigh and glute. Move the left hand and the right leg forward to start crawling.
- Alternate the arm and leg movements while keeping the back straight and the hips and shoulders at the same height. Crawl for a desired distance.
— Information from the American Council on Exercise
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