So… I haven’t been getting my 6 hours/week of walking around the class plus 20-30 min/weekday of walking around the pretty landscaped area near my office. The first week I did a lot of string playing with Nice Kitty and walked around the back porch reading, but it’s not really the same.
We’ve been tossing the kids out for bikerides (with instructions not to stop at the playground), but currently only have 2 adult-sized bikes (we were waiting for DC1 to stop being in a growth spurt before getting hir a more permanent bike, and then we forgot about it because zie has been using mine) and I really hate biking in the streets (the norm in our neighborhood is that kids bike on the sidewalks, but adults bike in the streets).
DH says we should walk around the neighborhood but… there are a lot of people walking around the neighborhood which makes it harder to social distance than usual. Also it’s been raining a lot.
My sister, ever helpful, has been sending me links to things because she always thinks I should exercise/etc. more. Here’s a meditation app she recommends. Here’s more meditations. Free workout classes. 30 days of yoga with Adreine.
My students got to rent exercise equipment for free from the (now temporarily closed) Orange Theory they would usually go to work out in. It’s probably too late for us to buy a decent treadmill (or exercise bike etc.) and I’m not sure where we’d put one anyway.
After some discussion, DH and I have decided that we’re going to do something new each week of the quarantine to keep things interesting. But we’re trying to decide what. This week we’re doing the fitness ladder.
What are you doing to get exercise from home? Do you have any suggestions?
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
March 25, 2020 at 3:06 am
We are hiking in Central Park (easy to keep sufficient social distance), doing pilates Zoom sessions w our regular instructor & I’m doing powerlifting (ish) w dumbellz in the house.
March 25, 2020 at 7:22 am
Impressive!
March 25, 2020 at 4:03 am
We took a walk yesterday around a large cemetery, where the residents are really good at practicing social distancing.
March 25, 2020 at 7:23 am
ha!
March 25, 2020 at 9:34 am
The new house is really close to a walking park, which runs along the Arkansas River. We’ve been going there just about every day. Usually no one is there but us, though yesterday there were several people, some of them fishing the river.
March 25, 2020 at 9:40 am
nice
March 25, 2020 at 10:54 am
We have taken lots of walks. I’ve also been doing morning yoga with the kids (kind of like having two cats around) and yard work.
March 25, 2020 at 6:00 pm
My sister just recommended cosmic kids yoga.
March 25, 2020 at 11:00 am
I am getting very out of shape again, is what I’m doing. Until last Monday? On Monday I did my favorite exercise DVD for the first time in a while and I sucked! Some of my muscles still ache today.
Sometimes I remember to get up every hour or so and do something, like countertop push-ups.
And I usually do at least one of the three walks I try to take. I just walk to the end of the block and then walk a half mile up the street and come back. So if you add up three of those plus random walking around the house, it’s usually 10K steps. I used to walk to the grocery store and Target for variety, but I don’t now. There are a lot more people walking than usual, and they don’t all have dogs. But I just get off the sidewalk and get 6+ feet into the street (it’s not a very busy street), or occasionally one of them beats me to it and I stay on the sidewalk or they just walk down the other side of the street that has no sidewalk.
And like you, I wrote a post seeking ideas for exercise: https://livingdeb.dreamwidth.org/510676.html
And I linked to my post on Facebook. Most of my friends responded on Facebook rather than on my blog, so here are the responses from people who are succeeding:
* I have a full set of kettlebells at home from 8kg to 32kg. I can do a variety of exercises with them. About 15 people that I am friends with on FB are doing online exercise classes or workout of the day things. [She has warned that you should learn how to use kettlebells with a trainer because it’s easy to hurt yourself.]
* A quick swim in the morning (super quick when the water is cold). Yoga. Beat Saber on the Oculus Rift. [FYI, he’s let me play with it and it’s super fun.] An extended version of the 7-minute workout–push-ups, sit-ups, dips, squats, lunges, plank pull-ups on a rock-climbing finger bar, curls with weights. Once it stops raining, I plan to get back into bicycling. I want to check out the [local] bike path, now that it goes [farther].
* A bunch of studios around here (one owned by my friend and neighbor) are livestreaming free classes (hopefully soon to be paid so they can keep their livelihood) [including] Bombay Jam dance fitness!
Also, three people are moving heavy boxes around because they’re moving. And one is “rage weeding.”
March 25, 2020 at 6:04 pm
DH bought a switch so he could get oculus rift as a self birthday present but then the pandemic happened before he could get it and it is way back ordered. So instead they’re playing the sociopathic goose game and legend of Zelda, neither of which burn off much energy.
We set the kids to weeding! They should do more of that.
March 26, 2020 at 2:47 pm
Ah well, delayed birthday present. I don’t have any of that stuff myself, I just get to use my friend’s sometimes (not now, of course).
Today I did some sweeping and mopping and extra floor scrubbing in spots, so that was good.
March 26, 2020 at 2:50 pm
If he’d just had a slightly earlier birthday, we would have been set!
I always feel like productive exercise is the best exercise, but somehow I don’t generally end up doing a ton of it. (Part of it is an extreme dust allergy combined with extreme allergies to most green things outside, so it’s not 100% laziness, and yet…)
March 26, 2020 at 8:05 pm
Definitely allergy season!
And meanwhile, it would be funny if a new family tradition was to celebrate all birthdays a month early!
March 26, 2020 at 8:36 pm
Just in case!
Sadly for me, everybody who buys me presents remembers my birthday the week of, so I get gifts dribbling in shortly after. (I don’t mind though!)
March 25, 2020 at 12:05 pm
I’m so glad I have regular running buddies. We run early in the morning, when there’s very little other traffic (pedestrian and otherwise), and we try to maintain safe distances. But that running is a huge part of my physical and social sanity!
My sisters introduced me to Fitness Blender a few years ago. I love their intense workouts (which I modify a lot, because I don’t do the abs workouts and I they go kind of squat-crazy as far as I’m concerned; I’ll often swap squats for pushups). So when I can’t get out with friends (rain, or conflicting schedules, I’ll do that).
When our classes “start” again next week, I’m going to try to remind my students to get active if/when they can. They might have some cool ideas for me . . .
On the other hand, one of my buddies loves Yoga with Erin Mott. She sent me a 30-day yoga series, and I made it to day 4 a few times and then dropped out. Kind of like War & Peace: I’m 46 pages from the end, it’s just the *front* end.
March 25, 2020 at 12:07 pm
How do you social distance with running buddies? Or are they living with you?
March 25, 2020 at 12:44 pm
We stay 3-4 feet apart, running on wide roads. Not 6 feet apart, I admit.
March 25, 2020 at 12:14 pm
I’m just here to say fuck meditation. The suggestion of meditation sends me into a violent rage. Which probably means I need to meditate, but whatever. It’s right there with tea at the top of the list of things I fuckin’ hate with a passion but that everyone constantly (I mean, constantly!) suggests.
Great if it works for you (the rhetorical you), but I’d much rather kick or punch something than sit still with my eyes closed.
Ahem.
Now that we got that out, I have a rowing machine and a kickboxing bag at home, plus walk/run in the mostly deserted neighborhood 30 or 60 min/day most days, depending on mood and weather.
March 25, 2020 at 12:25 pm
I think it’s Jon green who talks about how meditation causes some people to get worse. Maybe it’s someone else but there’s like validation that it doesn’t help everyone. I wish I could remember more.
Progressive muscle relaxation literally puts me to sleep.
March 25, 2020 at 12:43 pm
Maybe not john green… ugh, I feel like I followed some person’s journey with meditation not working and then they found some articles about how it doesn’t work for everyone. Sadly googling it is only giving “what you’re doing wrong” and not “meditation doesn’t actually work for everyone”.
March 25, 2020 at 12:48 pm
Maybe something like this?
https://www.insider.com/why-meditation-can-be-bad-2018-3
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindfulness-wellbeing/201603/dangers-meditation
March 25, 2020 at 12:52 pm
probably!
March 25, 2020 at 12:57 pm
I think it was the article linked to in that insider article.
March 25, 2020 at 12:44 pm
This reminds me of a Tamora Pierce book (Cold Fire?), where the protagonist is trying to teach twin girls to meditate to control their magic. One needs absolute silence and stillness, while the other can’t sit still to save her life and needs to do a sort of fighting meditation to be able to clear her mind. I don’t tend to lose myself in exercise very well, but it’s more stress-relieving that meditation, typically. I think that need for movement is more common than most folks like to admit!
March 25, 2020 at 1:04 pm
SO MUCH agree about both meditation and tea!
And I am crying laughing at the italian mayor compilations
March 25, 2020 at 1:10 pm
https://xykademiqz.com/2020/03/24/mamma-mia/
March 25, 2020 at 12:39 pm
In-house dance parties. The kids usually work up a sweat. Also yoga videos.
March 25, 2020 at 12:44 pm
that sounds fun! I wonder if the thirteen year old could be enticed…
March 25, 2020 at 3:31 pm
We have also been doing energetic dance parties! I chase the kids if they are insufficiently energetic.
March 25, 2020 at 3:52 pm
ROFL!
March 25, 2020 at 12:49 pm
I am normally very consistent at working out at/around home but honestly have done very little in the past week and a half besides come home from work, walk my dogs and sulk on the couch.
Luckily we have a pretty good home workout set up (treadmill, 2 sets of adjustable weight dumbbells, a few kettlebells, pull up bar, resistance bands and loops).
What I normally do and need to get back to:
-Run in my neighborhood or on the treadmill (there are more people out walking and running than usual but not so many that I can’t just run in the street for a moment to avoid them)
-We have a bunch of recorded workouts, mostly from various beachbody programs (if I didn’t have these I’d probably think about subscribing to beachbody on demand- there are a decent number of workouts that are only bodyweight/don’t require equipment but are still challenging. Even though I hate the company name and the MLM aspect).
-Assorted workouts that I’ve come across on youtube or online generally and pinned or bookmarked
-Yoga with Adrienne
My mom told me the barre studio she goes to has been streaming classes on their IG stories twice/day and she’s been doing that at home. Some friends have really liked the Kayla Itsines app (BBG?) which I assume is still out there and has some bodyweight workouts.
Oh yeah, and beatsaber. Which is addictive and I’m kind of embarrassed to admit I have played long enough on multiple occasions to have sore arms and shoulders, although I don’t think it uses nearly as many calories as my apple watch thinks it does.
March 25, 2020 at 6:06 pm
Man I wish we had that ring thing, but alas.
Thanks for the recommendations!
March 25, 2020 at 1:10 pm
? walking meditation so eyes open focusing on bringing attention back to staying in the present moment hearing the outdoors.
Where I am the local YMCAs are all banding together over wide area and doing zoom classes (I believe for free for now) on line…….
Walking and the everyday practice of getting flat on floor and getting self back up with no hands used. (Old people independent living skill so start while young!!!)
March 25, 2020 at 6:06 pm
Sounds useful!
March 25, 2020 at 2:16 pm
Joe Wicks!
March 25, 2020 at 2:25 pm
Huh! Kind of like a 21st century Richard simmons
March 25, 2020 at 4:14 pm
But no music. Oh well.
March 25, 2020 at 3:20 pm
We have always done lots of walks (due to dog), and there now are a lot more walkers out and about each day. There is still enough space for us to maintain social distance, though.
March 25, 2020 at 3:55 pm
I think part of our problem is that our house is on the corner of two main streets in the neighborhood so people congregate not social distancing near our house. So it may seem like a more widespread problem than it really is.
March 25, 2020 at 6:05 pm
P90X and Insanity video workouts. Also local Parkour group posts conditioning workouts that I’ll do every once and a while. Everything inside.
March 25, 2020 at 6:08 pm
Trying to imagine parkour inside…DH did once lock himself inside a 2nd floor apartment without a phone…
March 25, 2020 at 10:52 pm
I’m on my feet a lot when I cook which is not exercise at all but is still totally physically draining and gets in the way of my having any energy to do actual exercise.
I still walk the dogs but only every other day, so far, our shifty schedules change a bit every day so we have to be flexible and sometimes that means one of us doing all the walking one day and the other takes the other day. JB gets to do yoga, hopscotch and dance party plus those walks.
Maybe I should be trying to exercise more but I simply don’t have it in me to add one more mental thing to the list.
March 26, 2020 at 8:11 am
I am not sure if any has commented about this, but I am finding I am not drinking as much water as I do when lecturing. Stay hydrated!
March 26, 2020 at 8:38 am
Water is important!
One of the things about our house is that all roads lead to the kitchen (it is centrally located). I’ve not only been drinking just as much water but I’ve also been snacking a ton more. Of course, DH has been stress-baking. I just noticed that I ate a slice of toasted sesame pound cake, by the evidence of the crumbs on a plate in front of me and the residual flavor in my mouth. Not very mindful eating!
March 26, 2020 at 2:40 pm
I have no energy for exercising. Working from home and childcare needs are killing my spouse and me. Normally we have some parental help and part time nanny…and kids are in school.