Don’t let the closure of your go-to fitness center spoil a healthy exercise routine. Here are a few creative tips to help bring your exercises indoors.

Indoor aerobic activities

Aerobic exercise helps your heart and lungs and offers proven stress-reduction benefits. Do moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes every week – 30 minutes a day, five times a week is an easy goal to remember. Here are some ways to do aerobic activity inside:

• Follow along with an exercise DVD or online video.
• Dance to upbeat music.
• Go up and down the stairs.
• Speed up your vacuuming, bathroom cleaning and kitchen cleaning.

Strengthen your routine

Strength training helps your bones and muscles. Do strength-training exercises at least two days per week. You can bring strength training indoors, too:

• Begin with soup cans or light dumbbells, lifting eight to 12 times in a row. When you can do more than 12 reps, move up to a slightly heavier weight.
• Do push-ups, pull-ups and/or other body-weight exercises.
• Try using resistance bands if you don’t have weights.

Don’t forget to stretch

Stretching keeps your muscles flexible and helps prevent injuries. Stretch after you do your regularly scheduled strength and aerobic activities. Here’s how to do it inside:

• Learn yoga or tai chi from a video, book or class.
• Look up stretching routines online.
• Be sure to hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds and repeat about three to five times.

Another easy way to exercise at home – never miss a chance to move! For example, you can lift hand weights, march in place, dance or stretch while watching TV. If you are on the phone, walk around the house or up and down the stairs while you chat! A little extra movement goes a long way.

Source: The StayWell Company, LLC