Staying active during this quarantine has been one of the toughest challenges for me to navigate, but as time has gone on, and as I’ve gotten lazier, I have had to start seeking out methods to get my heart rate up. And it’s not that I was the best at staying active before this quarantine, but with my time of doing absolutely nothing skyrocketing, that lack of activity is much more pronounced. I don’t think the key to this problem is overcompensating and going over the top with staying active, but it’s more about doing little things that can shake up your routine, and you can possibly form a new habit that will carry on past this quarantine.
To me, going for a bike ride is probably one of the most underrated activities. With me not being 11 years old anymore, my desire or need to ride a bike has significantly declined, but the feeling it provides remains. One of the last encounters I had with bikes was a few months ago when me and my friends were boozing in my garage, and we noticed four bikes hanging on the wall. At that moment, something clicked in all of our heads, and we decided to go on a late-night bike ride through our community was the only move to make.
We ended up having so much fun that night that we kept up that tradition every weekend for the next three weeks until one of us popped a bike tire, and rather than replacing it we just figured this new tradition had run its course, and we put the bike riding to bed.
But now, with the number of available activities being pretty scarce, I’ve had to figure out how to get a bit of exercise in, and bike riding was certainly at the front of my thoughts. This is partially because I have seen such an increase in people riding their bikes around my community, and partially because I am always filled with nostalgia whenever I have thoughts of riding a bike. So what I’ve done is got a pump to re-inflate my partially flat tires, and got myself rolling. So far, in the week since I got my bike roadworthy, I have taken three nighttime bike rides, and it has been the perfect way to practice staying active and also has given me an amazing outlet to decompress at the end of my days.
This is something that I was doing a bit more before the more strict quarantine guidelines went into effect. When everything first started shutting down, my friends and I went out of their boats for three weekends in a row, and it was always a good time. It was honestly the most consistent interaction I had with the outdoors in months, and it was funny that it took the world shutting down to remember how much I enjoyed nature.
And while going out on the boat was an excuse to hang out and drink a few beers when there was really no other outlet for those activities, it also provided a way for me to practice staying active. This also perfectly coincided with the weather heating up, which was probably a factor in my lack of swimming. But every time we went out on the boat and pulled up to the swimming hole, the first thing I would do is jump out of the boat and start doggy paddling around.
The first time we went out, I actually swam so much that I woke up the next morning my whole body ached, and I felt happy knowing that I had put myself through a decent workout. I was then able to replicate this for two more weeks until all of my friends started feeling like the boat wasn’t the smartest idea, but I had already caught the swimming bug, and on the fourth weekend to fill in for the boat me, and my girlfriend swam around for hours in her pool.
If you have access to a pool or live in an area with weather that permits for swimming, I highly suggest you jump in because it is the perfect activity for staying active.
With me being a person who doesn’t practice staying active in the traditional manner of sticking to workout routines, skateboarding has always been my outlet. I’ve been skateboarding for 13+ years, and it has always been one thing that is constant in my life. And while swimming and riding a bike are methods of staying active that I am also using to get out of my house and not be stuck inside, skateboarding is something that I use for so many more reasons.
Skateboarding to me is an art and an escape from the drama of everyday life, and it is one of the things that I am most grateful for during this quarantine. And to make everything sweeter, this quarantine is actually the best time to skate due to lack of foot traffic in public places, and less getting kicked out of high bust locations. So for my friends who enjoy filming in the streets and me, this shutdown is actually proving to be the wild west when it comes to that activity.
And I know most skate parks are shut down right now, so if those were your ideal locations for skating, you are out of luck. Still, I promise that just taking to the streets and pushing around can provide a feeling like no other, and beyond staying active, you will have the opportunity to clear your head of all thoughts.
I know there are endless videos and articles that lay out the best and most efficient methods for staying active while stuck inside, but again, I’m not looking to get ripped or to keep up some already established hardcore routine. I’m pretty much just building from a blank slate, and I think this quarantine is the perfect opportunity for people like me to get introduced to a more active and healthy lifestyle. So while biking, swimming, and skateboarding might not be the complete form of staying active, it is certainly enough for me right now, and I’m having a blast doing it.
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