Lauren Young prepares to broadcast a Zoom session from her home. As more people log in to the meeting, she decides to start her online class.
“Good morning, everyone!” she says. “Today, we are going to start off with child’s pose.”
Young is not a professor. The senior business administration major is actually a yoga instructor for USC Recreational Sports, which now offers free online fitness classes ranging from High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to zumba.
Personal trainers and fitness companies nationwide are providing no-cost options to help anyone exercise under quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak. Youtube and Tiktok are easy platforms to watch influencers, such as Blogilates, give daily workouts. The Nike training app now offers its premium version free of any charge.
Young says that the move to online fitness makes it more accessible to stay active. Her in-person yoga classes at USC averaged around 20 people, while her online sessions now host double, and sometimes triple, that.
While Coronavirus has added to the stress of everyday life, exercise may ease someone’s mental health as they deal with the stress of the growing pandemic. One Harvard study published last year illustrates that just 35 minutes of physical activity a day can be effective in lowering the risk of developing depression by up to 17%.
Darien Pyka, one of USC Athletics’ strength and conditioning coaches, emphasizes the benefits that fitness can have during the current period of heightened anxiety.
“It definitely eases the stress of not knowing what’s going to happen," she said. "It gives your mind a break.”
Pyka was already helping USC’s athletes train at home, so the transition to this new remote job was smooth. Understanding that most people do not have gym access, Pyka is a huge proponent of body weight circuit regimens.
Switching between exercises after a few reps in a cycle “will keep you from getting bored and will help you maintain quality form,” she said. “You don’t want to just do a 100 push ups in a row.”
For those that miss the feeling of pumping iron, your house can easily be transformed into a gym. If you don’t have the barbell for bicep curls, use a ten-gallon water jug or sandbag. Don’t have either of those? Fill up a backpack with books and lift by the top handle. When you’re done, wear the bag as a weighted vest during squats as a substitute for a bar.
The endless possibilities to work out at home, combined with a new abundance of free time, are perfect for anyone eager to get into shape. Pyka advises, however, that the current time away from traditional workout environments offers an opportunity to refocus on performing exercises with proper technique.
Exercises without added weight can be effective at building and maintaining strength when done, slower, with a greater range of motion and in sets with higher amounts of reps.
With more available workout time, Pyka also hopes that people will dedicate more effort into aspects of strength training that are often ignored, like joint mobility or stretches.
Staying active can be one small but powerful decision that a person can make to individually fight the Coronavirus. Exercising can prevent the development of underlying conditions that make people more susceptible to the virus. While there is a common misconception that intense exercise can temporarily weaken the immune system, many studies suggest that for people who are not already sick, physical activity enhances immunocompetence in the long run.
At-home workouts under quarantine have created the chance for people to get healthy at their own pace without having to feel self-conscious, too. As Young puts it: “Now that everything is online, no one can see you.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is probably the biggest challenge that most of us have ever faced. But by staying active under isolation, we’ll be mentally and physically fit -- to not just flatten the curve, but crush it.