You’ve been working out consistently because you have all the time in the world during quarantine right? But what is your fitness levels going to look like once life goes back to normal? Will you be able to stay physically active after the COVID-19 quarantine is over?

This is a serious question not many have really thought about.

What’s My Deal?

I find it really easy to stay physically active during the COVID-19 quarantine through out my day, along with keeping my students busy remotely. Although, when I sit down and really think about what my workouts will look like once I am back at work, I sort of get worried.

After my workday of teaching K-8 PE I am mentally and physically exhausted.

Beginning of my units are the most taxing. It’s a lot of repeating the same thing over and over to different grades and different grade level classes. A ton of demonstrations, and a ton of movement to make sure my students are performing the skill or activity correctly.

Towards the end of each unit it gets easier physically, because it’s more observation and assessment, but mentally it’s all the same.

Nine DIFFERENT classes a day.

That means you can have the worst first class, but in thirty minutes when their class is over, you have to be at 100% for the next grade. And then the next. Until your day is over. Then the next day the exact same scenario, but a completely different set of kids.

I never understood what mental exhaustion was until I started teaching. Sometimes my body was tired, but my main problem was when I got home from work I was down for the count.

Getting a workout in for myself after work was just impossible.

So How Is Exercise Going To Fit In Once LIfe Gets Back To Normal?

Well that’s up to us.

With all the excuses such as “I don’t have time” or “I’m too exhausted after work” I genuinely wonder how some of our fitness levels are going to be affected.

Right now some of us have all the time in the world to stay physically active during the COVID-19 quarantine. Family walks, bike rides or outdoor activities are in progress. Home workouts in front of the TV are extremely popular.

But the thing is, we have time for it. This pandemic has slowed us all down and let us enjoy physical activity. We are taking more time for outselves.

So why is it so hard to take time for ourselves when there isn’t a global lockdown going on?

Change Your Mindset

Once you are back to the every day hustle and bustle, it’s up to you and you only to keep yourself healthy.

You know exercise is extremely important to your overall health, but don’t forget about the healthy eating. The two go hand in hand. Think of your body as a machine. The healthy food is the gas, to keep your body running strong.

Find Time To Stay Healthy

This may be the hardest part for some. A lot of people these days are over worked and underpaid which means people are working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

But it doesn’t mean your health should take a backseat. Even though you are constantly consumed with work, finding time to get your physical activity in in a must.

The Department of Health and Human Services provides The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to help maintain or improve their health through physical activity with evidence-based guidance. It is recommended that adults get at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week.

I understand this may seem impossible for some people, but you can break this up however you want. You’re going to have to set up a routine for yourself to get your exercise in throughout your week.

Maybe that’s a walk on your lunch break, or a 5-10 minute body weight workout before your morning shower?

Goal setting and routines are going to be important if you’re a busy person.

For some tips on how to set goals to keep yourself on track with your health journey click here.

Form a Habit

According to health researcher Phillippa Lally, it takes a little over two months to form a habit.

Two months may seem like a long time, but the more you work at it the easier it becomes.

I’ll use my fiance as an example. Adam my fiance has a bunch of hobbies. From studying and working out every morning, making me a cup of coffee right after, and to reading a book he enjoys every night.

These are all hobbies that turned into habit, and each one of them make him a stronger person physically and mentally. The coffee one is purely for my benefit, but at least he enjoys it!

The point is that he worked really hard on these habits.

Adam gets up at 4:30 am every morning and works out. Since the gym has been closed for a while he bought weights and resistance bands and created a home gym in our basement. There is not one day that he misses. And if it’s warm enough he will go for a 3 mile run.

Since he’s working on more certifications for his automation networking career he needs to study. After his workout and shower he pencils in an hour or two to read, code and take notes.

Once he’s done, I’m usually strolling out of bed around 8 am and he’s in the kitchen making my coffee. Then onto his sometimes 12 hour workdays. Once it’s time for bed, he goes through his nightly routine and then he gets in at least 10 minutes of reading.

Fun fact: I became a coffee person at 30 years old. Now I’m a 2x caffeine person while teaching. Click here to order my favorite coffee that gets me through life.

All of the things he enjoys started off as hobbies and are now habits. Because everything comes so natural to him, he doesn’t feel like working out, studying or reading are chores. His habits are solidified, and his life is good.

This can happen for anyone if you commit to it long enough.

Again, it’s only up to you!

Do Something You Enjoy

Physical activity doesn’t have to be a hardcore crossfit workout that you dread doing every night.

Find something you genuinly enjoy, and progress at it.

For instance, I fell in love with yoga and I do it every single day. Sometimes I do it for just 10 minutes, and other days I’ll do a 50 minute intense full body flow. The point is I didn’t even know I would like it so much until I gave it a serious shot, and now I can’t go a day without it.

You know those long runs you see and hear your friends talking about that they do? If that’s not something you enjoy don’t do it!

Your workout does not have to look like your friends. Here is a list of 10 EASY workouts you can do at home that you may enjoy. Find your spark and keep it bright.

I’m Routing For you

Whatever you end up doing in quarantine or out, I’m routing for you to stay healthy. I hope that if you are someone who has gone through this lockdown with a positive outlook on exercise that you keep it up.

And if you’re more of a Netflix and pizza kind of person during all of this, I hope you find fun creative ways to get your workouts in!

Staying physically active after the COVID-19 quarantine may be a challenge, but it will be worth it.

Still To Come:

Keep an eye out for the Detroit Physical Education 15 Minute Workout Series coming soon to help you stay active in a short amount of time.

The workouts will have a wide variety, so that you’ll be able to pick and choose how you want to get your physical activity in for the day.