Staying Active During Coronavirus

Gym closed!

How are people going to stay healthy?

www.everybodylosangeles.com

The gym closure was huge for me. My goal this year was to decrease my waist size by 2 inches: 36 to 34. It may not seem like much, but it had been at least a decade since I was that slim. Also, cosmetic and health benefits aside, many roles for male background actors often wanted men with a 34-inch waist or smaller.

Over the course of the last two and half months of regular gym workouts and watching my caloric intake, I dropped 15 pounds and at my last fitting measured 35 inches.

El Molino Viejo, San Marino

But now the gyms are closed now. What to do?

Here are the three things I have done to keep the body moving:

First, I walk at least one hour every day. As the Los Angeles mayor said, the new stay-at-home rules still allow you to go outside on walks and take hikes. My wife and I have discovered new stores, interesting homes, and historical points of interests throughout our neighborhood.

Gymenist, photo Amazon.com

Second, I created a mini home gym for $100. I already had a yoga mat, but needed a workout bench and weights. In my case, I needed lightweights due to a repetitive stress disorder in my hands. I found this colorful set on Amazon ($28) from BalanceFrom. Also living in an apartment, I needed a workout bench that I could fold up and move out of the way when I was done. I ordered the Gymenist on Amazon ($90). I find the construction to be sturdy and the cushions comfortable.

Finally, I learned that my YMCA was conducting live-streaming, instructor-led classes through Facebook. When I told my mother, she said the Silver Sneakers Program for seniors was doing the same thing. Looking on YouTube, I found a slew of exercise videos. My wife and I pushed our couch back, laid out our yoga mats, logged onto Facebook and followed our favorite instructor through a sweat-inspiring workout.

I hope that my experiences provide you with some ideas on how to stay active and healthy during this coronavirus period. My new goal is to reach a 34-inch waist by the time production starts in the next few weeks or heaven forbid, months.

If you have any additional tips on staying healthy please comment.

Take care and be safe.

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