We are in an unprecedented time for sports. The spring sports season will most likely not be carried out, and many athletes are devastated about it. As an athlete, the most important thing to do is to stay healthy and active in hopes of having somewhat of a season.
Before closures and sports being cancelled, I was training very hard with my lacrosse team at Walter Johnson High School. The top form of exercise for us was cardio. Cardio workouts are the most vital because they improve your cardiovascular endurance, or the health of your heart, while burning calories and fat at the same time. Having good aerobic fitness helps athletes and non-athletes stay in shape for the long run and will enable them to have good stamina when playing sports.
There are many things to do to keep up cardio at home. A very popular workout option is to follow a YouTube or app-guided high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. HIIT are made up of many rapid, short-length workouts with rests in between. HIIT workouts are the best to do because they are easiest as you do not need any equipment to do these workouts with. Other ways to get a good cardio workout are biking, running and jump roping. The app “Zombies, Run!” has trended on social media because it makes running more enjoyable and easier as the app portrays different scenarios in which zombies are chasing you. This is a way to not only have a better time while exercising, but it makes you work harder as you try to “escape” the fictional zombies.
Full body workouts are easier to do at home than they might seem. For your arms, toning and building muscle can be done many ways. This can be done with push-ups, tricep dips and arm circles. And, as you work on your arms, it is very easy to be working other upper body muscles at the same time. For workouts such as inchworms, up-down planks and incline push-ups, your chest, back and core are engaged. Doing workouts like these are an effective way of getting a full body workout in.
In addition to full and upper body workouts, you can never skip leg day! Working your lower body is just as important as the rest of the body. Just like arm workouts, leg workouts work many different muscles such as your glutes and hip flexors. Squats, although primarily targeting glutes, are a good workout for your legs. Other easy workouts to do at home for the lower body is calf raises, lunges and step ups. These workouts can also help you improve balance and agility. For athletes, major injuries like ACL and MCL tears can be prevented by strengthening the muscles in your lower body.
At home, it is very easy and important to get a good workout in. Staying healthy is a first priority for people right now. Doing these at home workouts is a good way to stay healthy and occupied during this trying time.
Article by Jillian Ward of Walter Johnson High School
Photo Courtesy of Flickr