Club Respect

6 May 2020

The lycra-powered energy of Aerobics Oz Style dominated our free-to-air TV’s in the 90’s. A couple of decades on and the craze of home workouts have come back with a vengeance, with brand new ‘motivators’ urging us to flex-and-stretch our way to fitness. With so much time at home, we’re definitely finding new ways to move. So, here are my five favourite ways to stay active during lockdown.

1. Invent a new game
Lockdown can give us time to get creative, so modifying existing games or inventing new games are a great way to keep us entertained and active for hours, maybe even days! My go-to activity is walking around the house with a small-sized soccer ball, finding doors that are slightly ajar and aiming for the gaps as goals. But you might want to try something similar to what this family posted online. This game has a goal-oriented approach, can be adventurous as you like, and you can keep the damage of household items to a minimum (unlike walking around with a soccer ball)!

2. Fitness workouts
Fitness studios and their instructors have moved online and now we are being encouraged to use household items as gym equipment. No kettlebell? No problem – just use a tote bag filled with cans to execute your squats.

Any mention of home workouts and we’ll need to mention Jane Fonda, here’s a workout I found online from 1982 experiencing a resurgence and nothing will ever be as energetic as the opening to the 1988 Aerobics championships! However, if you’re looking for a more modern take on home fitness workouts, Joe Wicks has fun and free 30-min exercises. They are posted daily and great for all ages.

3. Dance workouts
If straight-up fitness isn’t your thing, dance workouts might be where it’s at. Successfully merging extravagant self-expression and banging tunes, dance workouts are excellent for people who want to have a great time and maybe get fit in the background. This article was brilliant and has some excellent class workouts that go ‘from the deeply kitsch to the seriously sassy’.

4. Sleep
Yes, sleep! This one is a bit serious but incredibly important. A decent night’s sleep improves concentration and productivity and helps with learning and memory. It is also one part of our lives we have sacrificed in the quest to get more out of our days. I know sleeping is tough for some people, so now might be the time to experiment with ways to improve your ‘sleep hygiene’ during lockdown using tips from the Sleep Health Foundation.

5. Sport celebrities and nominating a ‘challenge’
The difficulty of working from home is real. AFLW footballer Darcy Vescio’s comical video shows how we can be our worst enemy (however, home schooling parents might have more powerful distractions!). Some sports celebrities have been challenging their teammates and friends from opposition teams. Looks fun, is fun!

Be active, safe and kind to yourself and others while in lockdown. On the other side of this, hopefully you will all have some new and improved ways to keep active.

Originally published on the Trust Journal republished with permission from the Victorian Women’s Trust.

Tarik is the Manager of the harm prevention sports initiative, Club Respect. Joining the Victorian Women’s Trust team in late 2019. In the years prior, Tarik has been heavily involved with Sports Without Borders, working closely with newly arrived people, refugees and people seeking asylum.