Staying active in lockdown

Wow, so how are you coping with lockdown? It's hard isn't it? I have settled into a new routine of sorts, but I'm still finding it a bit unsettling.
Phase has been giving you some tips in the last few weeks about how to keep on top of your feelings and make this period of life as positive as possible.
One of the things I've been missing is movement and exercise. It's really easy to sit down all day, especially if you are doing school work, or maybe you're a grown up and are juggling paid work and house jobs and are short on time. Or maybe you are full time home schooling and trying your hardest to keep everyone happy.
At the moment I work at my desk a lot so I've challenged myself to stay as active as I can doing three things every day:

1. Every 50 minutes I get up and walk around my house for 10 minutes. If you're anything like me there's always a bit of tidying to do, maybe some washing up, clean the worktops or put the washing out. I promise your parents or someone you live with will be forever grateful if you do a few of these tasks each day. It gets your blood moving and stretches out your body, which is not designed to sit still all day!
2. Build in a short bit of indoor exercise (or use your garden if you have one). It doesn't have to be fancy - my favourite way is a short round of HIIT. It sounds worse than it is! It just means you work hard for a short period of time (like 20 seconds) and then you rest for 10 seconds. You choose 4-5 exercises, do them each for 20 seconds with 10 off and repeat that twice. Have a rest for a minute and then do it again. Aim for 20 minutes of work overall. Me and the kids have been enjoying Joe Wicks, so you could check out his workouts online to give you some ideas. There's loads of evidence that shows that short intense bursts of exercise are really good for your heart. Obviously be careful if you are not used to this and work at your own pace.
3. Use your exercise time well. We have permission to leave the house for a few essential activities, one of which is exercise. Make the most of this. I have been so aware of the privilege of being able to go on a daily walk since I've been conscious it could be taken away. I head out before the day starts for 30 minutes or so. Try going phone free so you can listen to the birds and be aware of your surroundings. It's good thinking time and I bet you feel brilliant when you get home again.

See how you get on, even if you try for one of these each day, or every other day to get started. These aren't meant to be more things to feel guilty about not doing either, by the way. We have lots of emotions to handle at the moment so go steady and don't put pressure on yourself.

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