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Home » Exercise Programs » How and Why to Stay Fit When All the Gyms Are Closed – NC State News

For many of NCStates faculty and staff, swinging by the gym before work in the morning or on the way home in the evening is a normal part of their day or at least it was, until the coronavirus pandemic upended everyones routines.

Now that all gyms and fitnesscenters are closed, some are wondering how to keep exercising during aquarantine lockdown. For those who werent exercising to begin with, not muchhas changed in that regard; but nearly everyone is feeling greater stress and anxietythese days.

And thats exactly why now isthe perfect time to start exercising at home, according to Will Craig,assistant director of fitness for Wellnessand Recreation at NCState.

Physical activity is one wayfor people to manage the stress they feel in everyday life, says Craig. Soright now, when youre stuck at home or maybe working on campus as amandatory employee and feeling even more stress than usual, you can usephysical activity to help you deal with what life is presenting you.

Craig, who is a certifiedpersonal trainer and group fitness instructor, provides direction and visionfor all fitness programs, services and facilities in Wellness and Recreation.He also leads his units efforts to collaborate with campus partners toincorporate physical activity opportunities throughout the university.

Craig says his teams ultimategoal is to enhance everyones overall wellness, not just their physical fitness.

With all the research we havetoday, we know that physical activity is just one component of holisticwellness, he says.

To that end, Wellness andRecreation has launched a campaign called Move30, which encouragespeople to move at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, to achieve 150 minutesof physical activity per week as recommended by the American College of SportsMedicine.

Research shows that people who achievethat level of activity have a tendency to have better moods, a higher level ofenergy and improved concentration, he explains. They also tend to have less stress,anxiety and depression.

The benefits dont stop there.People who get that 150 minutes in every week also tend to sleep about an hourmore per night, he says. Its better-quality sleep, too. Physical activityhas a drastic positive impact across many areas of your life. So underlockdown, when you have more going on around you if youre working at home andmore going on in your head no matter where you are if you exercise, you mightbe able to focus better, work more effectively and complete your tasks moreeasily.

Craig offers these tips forexercising safely and effectively at home:

If youre starting an exerciseprogram from scratch, the same cardinal rule applies whether youre doing it athome or at a gym: Start off slowly.

It might even just be movingfor five minutes at a time to add up to 30 minutes, Craig says. Researchshows that if you split your 30 minutes up into five-minute chunks, you get thesame benefits as people who move for 30 minutes all at once. So start there ifyou need to. Then you can slowly build up to moving for longer periods oftime.

One of the most common things Ihear is that people dont like working out, they dont like exercise, Craigsays. But exercise is actually not the goal here. Were calling our campaignMove30, not Exercise30, because if youre moving it doesnt matter whattype of movement you engage in. As long as you meet the criteria for whatcounts as movement which means moving enough to increase your heart rateand speed up your breathing pattern you get the benefits, he explains. Sowe want you to find your own movement that you like doing, because if youredoing something you like, youre more likely to keep doing it.

Craig says fitness companies are providing free resources online, such as instructional videos and recorded workouts, that make it easy to exercise at home. In addition, Wellness and Recreation has launched the WellRec at Home initiative to help people engage in fitness activities no matter where they are.

Through WellRec at Home wereteaching about 30 virtual classes per week, he says. Anyone with a Unity ID canlog into a live class taught by one of our certified instructors in a varietyof formats like yoga, cardio dance, kickboxing, barre and its all free ofcharge.

To register for virtual classes,first download and install the WellRec phone app.Then use the app to register for the classes you want to take.

WellRec at Home also offers avariety of prerecorded workouts for those who cant attend a scheduled live class.In addition, the initiative provides videos on meditation, mindfulness, stress reductionand other practices that support mental and emotional well-being.

Beginning April 20, Wellnessand Recreation will also offer an online group wellness coaching program calledthe HealthyLiving Series. This four-week series of educationalsessions, available free of charge to all faculty and staff, will cover healthystrategies for stress management, nutrition and mindful movement.

In Craigs opinion, theres anunintended upside to all the gyms being closed: One of the cool things aboutexercising at home is that theres no one there to see you or judge you, hesays. You can truly take it at your own pace.

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How and Why to Stay Fit When All the Gyms Are Closed - NC State News

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Home » Exercise Programs » How and Why to Stay Fit When All the Gyms Are Closed – NC State News