Hey fellows! I know we are all stuck at home doing a great job keeping physical distancing and flattening the curve.
That is a big change for our bodies! You probably heard that physical activity is great support for your mental health, and it is 100% true (proved with my own experience)! I know it can be very difficult to push yourself to do something when you are struggling mentally, so I want to link this wonderful article explaining how you can make a shift: The Problem With Suggesting Exercise For Depression
Physical activity keeps your mind busy from all the stressors, this can help you avoid getting stuck in your negative thoughts that only snowball and end up in an avalanche. Ouch! You probably already know that exercise reduces the levels of stress hormones and stimulates production of endorphins. These are natural mood lifters that can keep stress and depression at bay. Endorphins may even leave you feeling more relaxed and optimistic after a hard workout. Also, you can show off to your friends with your badass photos of you having fun π
Here are some of my favorite home workout videos. All of them will work both for men and women and genders in between. All of them are targeting full-body workouts, no equipment needed, no noise. Please check the whole channels and Instagram pages of these creators too:
Natcha Oceane – my all-time favorite because of her approach to physical activity and eating habits. If you are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with sport and food – please please please check out Natacha – she will help you shift your mind to being happy and comfortable with food and working out. She also backs everything up with science.
Whitney Simmons – She has genuinely good thought-through workout routines for full body and good calorie burn. She is just pleasant to workout along, very positive vibes and adjustable variations for any level. Plus she is also funny just like Natacha. Nice bonus: you will find more workouts targeting specific body parts on her channel too.
You probably heard of Blogilates – she is great if you are just starting working out and not planning on gaining a lot of mass or becoming a pro-athlete. Pilates is not as easy as it seems and benefits men too! She has great workouts for specific parts of your body on her channel. Cassey also does fun challenges with print sheets that you can follow along, not too mention her hilarious cartoon page on Instagram with comics that we all can relate to.
Stretching is an equal workout as building the muscle or actively burning fat. This helps to keep your muscles and joints flexible which prevents injuries. Also, this helps with the circulation of blood and lymph which helps with bloating, encourages healthy oxygen flow to all of the organs and helps with swelling.
So here are two suggestions from me. First is Rivka with her yoga and Hawaii. Just looking at her page I get relaxed and happy. She has a very good technique and been teaching yoga for ages. Recommend! Meditation included π
But if you are like me and is not a newbie in stretching and would like to push your limits into more professional contortion lever, then you should check out Micah Walters. He is an artist and contortion teacher. He is an absolute gem. Trust me, I used to do contortion at the Olympic School in Moscow.
Good luck working out! And post your workouts online, we should probably do some fun challenge with each other! π Hugs!