You might assume that staying active is difficult when confined to the same small space all the time. It doesn’t have to be. Staying active at home just takes a little innovation and planning, and it can make a world of difference!

If you aren’t quite ready for intense activity, try calisthenics – a workout method that utilises your own body weight to build big muscle groups – or pick up some dumbbells or water bottles and do arm-strengthening exercises as you watch TV.

Skipping

The low-impact action of skipping means that you can burn a mountain of calories in practically no time at all. One study suggested that if you spend just 10-minutes per day skipping, you can reap the benefits of a 30-minute jog daily.

Or you might try walking on tiptoe to strengthen leg muscles and increase tone, or get the entire family involved by taping masking tape down at both ends of the hallway, and then splitting into teams: the player who scores more points before his or her partner does wins!

Dance together as a family, or compete to have the best original dance sequence. Jump from foot to foot or run up and down the stairs or around different rooms in the house.

Kayaking

This makes kayaking the perfect low-risk, full-body exercise to improve your aerobic fitness while toning your core and lean-muscle mass. The steady pace of kayaking means that the knees and ankles won’t be forced into flexion as quickly. This makes kayaking an excellent sport for those with ankle or knee problems.

The mood-uplift effects of paddling can be attributed to its stress-reduction. Kayaking fuses Mother Nature and endorphins, dopamine and serotonin in a cluster-bomb of antidepressant molecules – an antidepressant without side-effects.

Hanging out and kayaking with your gang will amplify all of its benefits. When you paddle with friends, you lower your anxiety and build greater social support, making you more pleasantly relaxed on the water. Also, talking while kayaking will activate synaptogenesis in your hippocampus.

Gardening

Gardening can be meditative, whether you’re planting herbs and vegetables or flowers and succulents. Repeating tasks – think of those raking sessions! – and waiting for plants to grow can put people in a calmer state of mind while bringing them closer, in a therapeutic way, to the natural world.

Gardening doesn’t have to be done outside at all – many species will do quite well inside, especially if air quality can be improved, and all its benefits will still be there, plus an opportunity to socialise, perhaps through online forums, perhaps through meet-ups organised locally or further afield.

Bodyweight exercises and yoga are great ways to stay active when it gets cold or if your motivation starts to wane. Or make your living room into an obstacle course – and challenge your friends and family members!

Technology

Being dedicated to your fitness goals doesn’t mean you have to leave your front door. You can also stay there and use smart technologies to stay sprightly and hale right where you are.

Or make use of a site such as Everyone Active and develop a regime to shed calories and build muscle without needing expensive equipment. You can also employ bodyweight exercises from channels such as the Body Coach Joe Wicks and Yoga Cosmic Kids hosted by YouTube.

Come up with some easy things for you and your family to do together. dance parties are a fun way to be active and play together.Step into your playful side with your loved ones.Alternatively, build an obstacle course in your house together. Race up the stairs, over pillows, and through cars as you jump over obstacles, such as chairs, Lego sets and other furniture.

Socializing

It can be tough in poor weather or during a pandemic to keep active but this should not be an excuse for skipping workouts or neglecting your overall health.

Find a way to make indoor exercises fun to increase your chances of sticking to it in the long run and resisting boredom, especially if you can do it with friends or family members.

Here’s hoping that games designed together like this can both burn calories and train the brain. Get competitive and challenge whoever you’re with to the fastest finisher. Chess boards or your board of choice are always fun, or checkers, Monopoly, Clue, or any of those games you’re into that might actually speed up your brain.