As the weather is changing and getting a lot colder, staying indoors and keeping warm and cosy sounds good but staying active is more important than ever right now, and even if you’re mostly in your house, there are plenty of ways you can still do so….
Join an online class
If you are a member of a gym, check their social media pages to see if the instructors are running any online classes! Many gyms are continuing to offer classes from home, and these do not require any specialist equipment. If you aren’t a member of a gym there are still many online videos on YouTube or other social platforms that are great for beginner’s right through to experienced fitness fanatics.
Exercise outside
If you are ready to brace the cold weather, exercising in the crisp fresh air can be much more awakening and refreshing. There is something about exercising in the cold weather that warms you in the inside.
Find exercise painful?
Many people live with chronic pain, or health conditions exacerbated by exercise. For many people, this puts them off exercising full stop. It is important to try to find suitable alternate exercises that do not place too much stress on areas of injury, or cause any issue with a pre-existing health condition. Yoga, stretching, cycling and bodyweight exercises are often less stressful on our joints than jogging and high intensity interval training (HIIT), so modifying exercise routines is important.
Avoid falling into unhealthy eating patterns
For many the current need to social-distance means working from home has become essential. With this, many people no longer adhere to the traditional ‘lunch break’ routine you may be used to at work. Many of us are now sat either in, or very close to our kitchen with access to food all day. You may find yourself snacking more often than usual. If you find this to be the case, then you may want to set yourself specific times of the day you are to eat between. It may be helpful to allocate yourself a breakfast, lunch and dinner time, and try to avoid unhealthy snacking between these times.
Check the Care first Lifestyle website for information on Physical wellbeing
Your Care first Lifestyle site has content dedicated to physical health and wellbeing, including articles and information on warm-ups, stretches you can do whilst working, ways of keeping fit for free and many more. You can also access Care first’s Wellbeing Assessment tool, which looks at 10 aspects of health and wellbeing – allowing you to take more control of your own wellbeing.
Join Care first’s daily themed webinars
The service managers at Care first have been running daily webinars since the pandemic started, these webinars have been over a number of different topics. Most COVID-19 related but also a number on Mental health and Wellbeing issues. Healthy eating, Alcohol awareness and Sleeping well.
If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Keeping active at Christmas’ this is being delivered live on Friday 10th December at 12pm, please use the below link to register for this session –
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3575236199774376720
If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place. If you feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.
Please be aware that Care first is an external provider and the information in their webinars may not fully align with advice from the University on some subjects.