Why you need to stay home, stay safe and train hard

With the deadly second wave of covid-19 devastating the country, some states and cities have shut gyms in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus. However, gyms are still open in many places across the country. But does that mean you should be hitting the gym or stay at home and do your bit to fight this ruthless disease?

Stay home, stay safe and switch to home workouts was the unanimous message from coaches, health experts and gym owners that Lounge spoke to.

“There is no doubt that the second wave of covid-19 is hitting India very hard. It looks like the virus is airborne and keeping ourselves indoor is our safest bet to escape the infection,” says Dr Subhash Jangid, director and unit head, Fortis Bone and Joint Institute atthe Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram. “You never know where and when you may get infected. Gyms can’t guarantee that you will not get infected with the coronavirus. You will have to move out of the house in order to access the gym and that is not a good idea. Gyms can increase your chances of suffering from covid-19,” warns Dr Sanjay Nagarkar, general physician, Apollo Spectra Hospital in Pune.

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Gyms are usually in an air-conditioned indoor space, there is extensive sharing of equipment and it is difficult to keep masks on while exercising, says Dr Jangid. “People breathe fast and deep while exercising. This increases the distance of travel of virus with aerosols. Add to that the very high possibility of asymptomatic people in the gym as many covid-19 patients remain asymptomatic in the first 5 to 7 days. The infected person will spread the infection to others during this period,” he says. He adds that staying at home will also break the chain of infection and will help the country in fighting the second wave of the pandemic.

Gym owners such as Easy Human’s co-founder Sandeep Sachdev in Mumbai and AK Abhinav, founder of Namma Crossfit in Bengaluru, also suggest that people need to go back to home workouts and give gyms a wide berth. The only gym that you should be visiting is your home gym (if you have one), says Pallavi Barman, a Mumbai-based wellness coach and custodian at HRX. “Lot of cases are asymptomatic these days and it is difficult to decipher who is a carrier and who isn’t. It’s better to isolate and train at home than to take any risk,” says Abhinav, who had contracted covid himself in March and was asymptomatic. “However, training should go on as it puts us in a better position to handle the virus in case we contract it.”

The health infrastructure in our country is already under a lot of stress and “our frontline workers have their hands full. It’s best to do our bit and do what we can to relieve them of the extra burden we might put on them if we catch covid-19 because we refused to give up the gym. Home workouts are the safest and the best bet at the moment,” says Sachdev.

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As for running and cycling outdoors, both Jangid and Nagarkar do not recommend these as there is enough evidence that the coronavirus is airborne. “Even cycling and running should be avoided as you never know what is in store for you. It will be regretful for you if you come in contact with someone who is asymptomatic or may have covid-19. Avoid taking any kind of risk,” says Nagarkar.

However, if one really needs to step out for a run or a ride as these activities help in the upkeep of mental health, then do it early morning, keep your mask on at all times and do it alone while maintaining distance from others, advise Jangid and Nagakar. To help you stay home and fit, here are seven complete workouts to choose from.

HOME WORKOUT 1

Warm up

Waist rotation: 5 clock wise, 5 anti-clockwise

Ankle rotation: 10 each leg

Leg swing kicks: 10 each leg

Neck rotation: 5 clockwise, 5 anti-clockwise

Shoulder rotation: 5 forward, 5 backwards

10 suryanamaskars

10 glute bridges

Workout (3 sets)

10 burpees

20 squats

30 donkey kicks (15 each leg)

40 jumping jacks

50 crunches

60 lunges (30 each leg)

Cool down (2 sets)

Bow pose hold (30 seconds)

Plank hold (30 seconds)

Workout by Pallavi Barman

HOME WORKOUT 2

Warm up

50 right leg hop

50 left leg hop

Inchworm crawl: 30 seconds

Workout (2 sets; Use 1-litre bottles filled with water as weights)

20 Overhead squats with weights (hold the bottles above your head)

20 lunges each leg with weights (hold the bottles in each hand and lunge)

20 plank jacks

20 leg raises (45 degrees to down without touching the floor)

20 high knees

20 step-ups/box jumps

20 jumping lunges

Cool down (2 each)

Bow pose hold (30 seconds)

Superman pose (30 seconds)

Workout by Pallavi Barman

HOME WORKOUT 3 (7 rounds)

7 Dumbbell Sumo Squats

7 Lateral jump overs (each side)

7 Push-ups

7 Plyopush-ups

7 V-Ups

7 Russian twists (each side)

7 Back extensions

Workout by AK Abhinav

HOME WORKOUT 4 (3 rounds)

14 Plank shoulder taps (each side)

14 Plank T-extensions (each side)

14 Elbow plank oblique knees to elbow (each side)

14 Squat thrusters

14 Back lunges (each side)

14 V-Ups

14 Side plank hip raises (each side)

14 High knees (each side)

Workout by AK Abhinav

HOME WORKOUT 5

Warm up

Jog in place (15 seconds)

Speed quarter squats (15 seconds)

Inchworm (15 seconds)

Rest (15 seconds)

Workout (5 Rounds)

10 Mountain climbers

10 Dumbbell thrusters

10 Table top extensions

10 Plank-contra extensions

10 Side plank knee to elbows

10 Single arm dumbbell swings

10 Elbow plank scap push-ups

Single arm elbow plank (30 seconds each side)

Single arm plank extensions (30 seconds each side)

Workout by AK Abhinav

HOME WORKOUT 6 (5 rounds)

5 Pull-ups

10 Push-ups

15 Squats

Workout by Shrenik Avlani

HOME WORKOUT 7 (10 rounds)

5 Burpees

10 Sit-ups

15 Tuck jumps

Workout by Shrenik Avlani

Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.