How to Stay Fit

Mar 25, 2020 | Lifestyle

 Girl how the hell are you staying fit during quarantine? I am constantly being asked this question from you guys! A lot of you are struggling with switch up of your daily routine, the gym being closed plus the added stress of all the unknowns. It’s a lot to navigate in general plus trying to stay on point with your fitness goals while you’re stuck at home. And trust me sis I get it! Part of me was freaking out! Like doomsday level, I should take all my money out of the bank and hide it in my mattress type freak out. My next reaction was to buy a bunch of junk food and veg out on the couch. Just say fuck it because who knows how all this will end so I might as well eat what I want. But I knew deep down that would breed a lot self loathing and make me feel even more like shit. Thankfully my inner optimist finally arrived on the scene to remind me now is the perfect time to continue with my fitness routine because if you can maintain during all this chaos, you’ll be able to keep it going when regular life starts back up. Plus I already have plenty of experience learning how to work out from home thanks to my knee surgery. So I decided to do a fitness tell all here on the blog. I’ve included a sample meal plan based off what I’ve been eating for the past week, my workout schedule with recommendations on what equipment you should consider buying and the apps that have been helping me stay on track. Whether you’ve never worked out from home or just need some help getting inspired, this post has you covered!

Eating GOOD

I feel like this should go without saying considering our immune system is the first line of defense against colds and flus but eating healthy is probably the most important part of all this. If your diet goes to shit your body can’t perform optimally. You won’t have energy to work out and if you eat like crap then all the working out you’re doing won’t amount to much.

This year I have been transitioning to be more plant based meaning my meals will have little to no meat. I also try to stick to eating the same meals during the week then allowing myself to eat out and enjoy treats on the weekends. With social distancing I’ve been eating healthy 6 days and doing take out for dinner on Sunday. Before you freak out at the thought of eating the same thing for a week keep in mind, this is what I do and works for me. Also when you learn to make healthy food that tastes good then you really don’t mind eating it day after day. And if you haven’t made healthy food that tastes good scroll through Pinterest, find some recipes, then give them a try. That’s what I did. And now is the perfect time to try out new recipes, here are some I’m planning to try: roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower with dates, and seseame noodle salad.

By planning my meals in advance I avoid wondering what to buy, putting whatever in my cart or worrying what I’ll be eating. Having a meal plan sets you up for success not only with your health goals but even your budget as well. When creating a meal plan be realistic, if you don’t mind eating the same thing then keep it simple but if you like variety just plan accordingly. With that here’s an example of my meal plan for the week:

Sample Meal Plan

Breakfast: Oatmeal topped with Hemp Seeds + Berries

or

Protein Pancakes (usually Flap Jacked) with Pumpkin + Berries

AM Snack: 1/2 Bag of Salad with added Seeds + Almonds, easy on the dressing

Lunch: Mediterranean Quesadilla (flatbread with low-fat cheese, peppers, sun-dried tomato paste, red onion, artichokes, + sprouts)

or

Roasted Veggies + Chickpea Pasta and Goat Cheese (recipe inspo here)

Pre-Workout: Low-fat Yogurt + Berries (either as a smoothie or a yogurt bowl)

Dinner: Roasted Chickpeas + Sauteed Brussel Sprouts, Toasted Pine Nuts, Cucumber with Tazhiki (recipe inspo here)

or

White Beans + Cauliflower Gnocchi, Mushrooms and Sun dried Tomatoes (recipe inspo here)

My Home Workout Schedule

The beautiful thing with the quarantine is that so many gyms and fitness gurus are hosting a variety of free classes so if you’re a class person be sure to see what your gym or favorite IG personality is doing. I’ve been taking my dog on much longer walks, about 20-30 minutes, which has been my pre-warm up everyday but otherwise not much has changed with my weekly workout schedule:

Monday: 5-10 min Stair Warm Up + Leg Day (think squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc)

Tuesday: 5-10 min Jump Rope Warm Up +Upper Body Day (i.e. push ups, curls, tricep extensions, etc) + Sprints

Wednesday: 5-10min Stair Warm Up + Leg Day

Thursday: 3-5min Battle Rope Warm Up + Upper Body Day + Sprints

Friday: Strech Day (using p90x video)-I won’t lie, pre-quarantine this was a full on rest day

Saturday: 5-10min Stair Warm Up + Glutes & Abs

Sunday: Stretch Day (optional)

You can check out my Fitness Instories on Instagram to see the exact moves I do. When it comes to equipment my home gym consists of:

  • adjustable weights, my Pro-Form Fusions go up to 25lbs each
  • resistance bands– for a free option fill up milk jugs/laundry bottles with water, I did this in college lol
  • battle rope, I think mine is 8 lbs
  • pull up bar
  • jump rope, mine is a custom RX rope for my height
  • sturdy chair

Apps to Keep You On Track

There are two apps which I absolutely swear by:

  1. The first is MyFitnessPal which is an app that allows you to track your calories, or in my case macros. Even in the free version you can add weight goals and target macros. Plus their library is ginormous so everything in your pantry has probably already been loaded into their app. It’s so important to track if you don’t so you can see where you’re starting and track as you adjust to tell what’s working. 
  2. PumpUp is the second app which I love because it will create workouts for you. When I first started on my fitness journey this app was a saviour! You can put in how long you want to work out for, what equipment you have and what body parts you want to work and it generates a workout.  The workouts ususally include a warm up, sets + reps you should do and a cool down. So if you’re a beginner, don’t have a routine or even just struggling with what moves to do because you have no equipment this app is perfect for you!

The idea of working out from home can seem daunting and I admit my routine is not for everybody. My biggest advice when it comes to fitness is just to start, be patient and find what works for you! Fitness doesn’t just mean weight lifting, if you like to dance find a way to dance. For those with a sweet tooth like me find a way to incorporate sweets into your meal plan without going overboard.  But for heavens sake just start, give things a try and remember health is a marathon not a sprint. So don’t expect to be perfect and if you slip up don’t use it as an excuse to stop completely! I am human, I eat cookies, donuts and skip the gym for a nap some days but I don’t let that derail me. Enjoy the break but remember that is just a break to catch to catch your breath, not the end of the marathon. If you found this helpful be sure to share it with your friends and family. Stay healthy and be safe loves!

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