Right now, it’s safe to say that we’re living in very strange and uncertain times. No doubt you’re all sick to the back teeth of hearing about the Coronavirus, AKA Covid-19, but the simple fact of the matter is that we need to do our part and act now before it’s too late.
By simply staying indoors and avoiding other people, we’re helping to flatten the curve, as it were, and are helping to stop the disease from spreading until it loses steam, dies out, and we can develop a cure/treatment.
As a result, countries all over the globe are going into self-isolation/quarantine/lock down in order to stop this virus from spreading.
Now, for many, the gym is a sanctuary and is an escape from everyday life. Sadly, gyms have been forced to close for the next several weeks in order to stop the virus from spreading, so what will happen to your gains?
Just because you’re unable to train at a gym and are housebound, this does not mean that you need to lose your gains. Exercise now is more important than ever.
Here are 3 exercises to help you maintain muscle mass while under quarantine.
Push ups
The simple fact of the matter is that push ups are a fantastic exercise to perform, whether under quarantine or not.
This compound exercise targets the pecs, your triceps, your core, your delts, and your back and is a great mass builder.
To perform a push up:
- Begin by getting into a plank position with your hands shoulder width apart.
- Next, slowly lower your chest towards the ground until it is as close to the floor as possible.
- Hold for a second and return to the starting position and repeat for as many reps as required.
Basic squat
If you’re worried about losing muscle mass in your legs, basic bodyweight squats are fantastic as they hit the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and even the calves.
- Begin standing up straight, with your feet a few inches wider than shoulder-width, and your toes pointing at a 10 and 2 position.
- Now, slowly cross your arms over one another so that your right arm touches your left shoulder, and your left touches your right shoulder.
- Keeping your head up straight, slowly squat down until your knees form at least a 90-degree angle, and your butt is as close to the ground as possible.
- Hold for a second and return to the starting position.
Triceps dips
If you want to keep your arms looking jacked, triceps exercises are very important as this muscle group is the one which gives the arm its size.
- Simply sit on the edge of a chair, place both of your hands over the edge of the chair and extend your legs out in front of you so that they form a 90-degree angle.
- Keeping your elbows close to your sides, bend the elbows to form a 90-degree angle and slowly lower your butt towards the ground.
- Hold for a second until you feel a squeeze on the triceps and slowly return to the start position.
- Repeat for as many reps as needed.
