Across the country, gyms are starting to reopen. Here in the Bay Area, gyms aren’t likely to open for months. Even with gyms opening, not everyone will immediately return. Money is tighter, more uncertain. Unfortunately, some fitness studios and gym may close permanently. People in sensitive groups, or sensitive groups in the household or care, it may feel too risky. With many children home for the rest of this academic year, there are more family obligations.
Since Mid March, my local YMCA has been closed for safety reasons during the COVID19 pandemic.
The gym was my sanctuary. There are few places I miss more during the ‘stay home’ order.
Group exercises weren’t my scene. Solace lay in my time for me to be one with my body—this precious alone time to focus on the wonder of what my body can do.
Up the stairs, I’d go, past the basketball court and group class spaces, to the women’s fitness center. My Usual routine involved 15-20 minutes of rowing, stair master, some days the elliptical machine, then a hardy session of fitness training utilizing the cable machine and free weights.
I miss it, but I’ve adjusted. The first few weeks, still in denial, I took walks. Lots of walks. Walking is a great way to get out of the house. After about two weeks, I realized I needed to step it up. Physical activity is a necessity for my mental and overall health.
Not a fitness buff? No worries, there’s something on this list for almost everyone. While I’ve been a #teamgym most of my life, in 2018, my mother passed away during fire season. Between my grief and asthma, I went over a month with 0 exercises. Darebee and Walk at Home helped me get back into everyday movement.
Ready? Let’s go!
Darebee Fitness
No Equipment? No Problem!
There are over 1400 workouts in the Darebee database, 1200+ require 0 equipment. Darebee isn’t just for entry-level, it’s also great for anyone looking for bodyweight workouts you can do anywhere. And I mean anywhere; Sofa Abs brings binge-watching to another level. Office Boxer has got me through some long webinars at work.
Darebee offers programs and 30-day challenges. (Not to brag but I’ve totally nailed the ‘Only Homemade Challenge’) For my fellow nerds, they have a few RPG fitness challenges; imagine that would be fun for a family or zoom groups. Age of Pandora seems a timely post-apocolyptic themed fitness quest.
Darebee is 100% free, supported exclusively by user donations. If you find it helpful and are able, I encourage you to donate.
You can find Darebee workouts on their website or the Google Play store.
Note: As of May 16, 2020, some pdfs aren’t available for download due to high bandwidth. Saving images still work.
Walk at Home by Leslie Sansone
Can a person have a guilty pleasure exercise? Walk at Home might be mine. 1 Mile Classic Walk is a workout that’s gotten me through some rough times. Depression, injury recovery, busy schedule, tight quarters, it didn’t matter, Walk at Home was an exercise I could do.
Some of you might be familiar with this program, Leslie Sansone has been around since VHS days. These days, there’s a team of Walk at Home trainers, each with their personal style. While they do mention weight loss, it’s infrequent. I also appreciate the body diversity.
The Walk at Home YouTube channel has several dozen videos, from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. The routines are simple, easy to remember. It helped me realize I can take time to move: while watching tv or talking on the phone with a headset.
Hipshake Fitness
Get ready to take to the floor! These fun, dance-based routines make you sweat. Dance styles vary from barre to hiphop For some reason there’s a lot of intensive videos on learning how to twerk. As a dancer, I enjoy how many of the workouts feature developing a routine. Havana is one my favorites.
Hipshake also has a few videos on their YouTube channel. It’s a nice option for the budget-conscious or anyone who wants to see their offering without providing credit card information.
Hipshake advertises a lot of “this day only” specials; however, I’ve noticed these come around pretty often. They offer a 15-day trial, and often options for 60-day trials.
After that, it’s 18.00/month (plus tax as applicable) or $126/yr – $10.50 a month.
Hipshake Fitness YouTube Channel
Just Dance 2020 | Just Dance Unlimited
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, Google Stadio, Mobile
Just Dance was recommended to me when I first bought my Nintendo switch a few years ago. Assuming it was similar to DanceDanceRevolution, a fun but boisterous game, I passed. Now that I’m working out exclusively at home, I decided to check it out. Very realistic to dancing, If DDR is your only experience with dance games, this is totally different.
It’s not just for console owners, the Just Dance Now app – available through the iOS App Store or Google Play – allows you to use your smartphone as a controller in conjunction with any Internet-connected screen to get your routine going. Players can play one song per day for free. There’s also free dance happy hours for Just dance Unlimted.
Just Dance Unlimited is an add-on. There’s a free 30-day trial when you purchase the game. They recently offered a free month to everyone during the pandemic, which was cool. It’s $4-6 a month, depending on the platform. Unlimited unlocks 500 additional songs. If it’s in the budget, it’s worth it.
If you see me on the World Dance Floor, I’m J-Lumen.
You can find Just Dance on your console’s store.
Nintendo Fitness Boxing
Platform: Nintendo Switch
I tried the demo to this game when I first bought my Switch. I enjoyed it but didn’t feel it was worth the $40 price tag, especially since when I had a gym membership and dance practice to keep me busy. Of course, Rona changed all that.
Nintendo Fitness Boxing isn’t a game per se, more of a digital workout. You can work up a sweat.
If you’re active, it can be deceptive. After doing the daily workout for a few days, I almost increased my daily goal from 20 to 30 minutes. Then routines began featuring ducks, weaves, and steps. 20 minutes is a ballpark; I’m also learning. The workouts have been from 16-26 minutes. A more narrow time tolerance would be nice.
There’s also the option to exerciseto a song for a quick movement break.
I highly encourage you to try out the full demo to see if you like it.
In the full version, you can change instructors, customize their looks, and adjust the volume of voice, background music, and sound effects. I prefer to mute the instructor’s voice and follow the visual cues.
Have you tried any of these home workouts? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below or Instagram.