Gyms are closed, exercise classes cancelled, so how are we supposed to exercise during the lockdown? It’s time to get creative! Whether your exercising for some peace of mind or trying to keep your stamina up, our new normal has already generated tons of ideas on how to keep fit indoors.

Keep fit online

With many celebrities and personal trainers now offering online workouts for free, us self-isolators can easily stay in shape. Below are a few of our favourites:

• Results Wellness Lifestyle – Former The Only Way is Essex star Lucy Mecklenburgh is currently streaming workouts from her programme each day on Instagram Live. Check out what’s available on her Instagram page: @rwl
• Gymshark – The fitness fashion provider is providing free workouts on the Gymshark Conditioning app, allowing you to exercise using objects found in your home. You can download the app using the app store on your phone.
• Barry’s Bootcamp – These legendary fitness classes are now being provided for free on Instagram Live for 30-minutes a day. See the schedule on Instagram: @barrysuk

Keep fit at home

Ever done weights with canned food? There are lots of ways to incorporate household items into your workouts. Tins of beans and vegetables are the favourite items when trying to complete weighted exercises. You can also use:

• Chairs/sofas for tricep dips, lunges and press-ups
• Tea towels to perform abdominal exercises by sliding along hard surfaces
• A backpack filled with objects for squats

The main thing is to have items that you can grip easily to prevent any injuries!

Keeping fit with children

Now that schools have closed, many are having to juggle working and entertaining children. Striking the balance between the two can be difficult, let alone finding time to exercise.

Many parents are joining the Joe Wicks workout which is live on YouTube every weekday morning at 9am. With easy exercises for both kids and parents of all ages, this is the perfect way to start the day. No equipment or even large space is needed and if you cannot join at 9 – the session can also be downloaded at a later time.

You can also incorporate exercise into the activities you do with your children. If you have a garden, playing games with your children can help them expend their excess energy and allow you to get a workout in at the same time. Setting up circuits around the garden or playing games such as football and catch will get them active. It might not be the lunch hour that you’re used to – but it definitely beats eating a Pret sandwich at your desk!

There are also some brilliant ideas on Pinterest if you type in “exercise indoors for kids”!

Keeping your brain fit

For many of us, isolation can be an anxious time, making it tempting to stay curled up on the sofa with our Netflix boxset. However, engaging in exercise during this time is a great way to calm your thoughts, get a sweat on and release endorphins. It will also help you get a better night’s sleep as your brain will not only be exhausted through working or looking after children, your body will also be tired.

Got more fitness tips? We’d love to hear them! Share your thoughts on The Hub.