It’s Been Four Months. Where Are You On Your Fitness Plan?

The season ended abruptly for everyone in mid-March. One day, you were on the lift line at Killington, and, boom, next day you were heading home. Just like that.

We know that many of your resorted to picking up new activities.  With the gyms. pools, tennis, and golf clubs closed,  we and you were left to our own ingenuity. Everyone started walking. Some got into a yoga routine. Cycles came out when the weather cleared. All good.

Four months on, how’s it working out for you?  Our yoga routine stopped short when we pulled a muscle.  We know folks that got tired of walking the same three mile loop. So, here’s the question:

Please write your response in the Reply Box below:

Have you maintained a new Corona exercise routine? Have you gained/lost weight? Gained muscle mass? Flexibility? After four months, are you still doing what you started doing back in March? What’s changed?

 

22 Comments

  1. Michael Sharkey says:

    Skiing was shut down about March 15 th with 2 months to go,then 2 days later my indoor tennis club and fitness center closed. Much to cold to start biking so I went on the internet and selected a fitness routine which I found on the 3rd day was too ambitious. I developed a groin pull and after a week of pain and COVID caused medical delays the doctor said I had a hernia and would need surgery. Due to COVID the hospital wasn’t doing any surgery and it took months to see the surgeon and on June 29th it was finally done so another month of just walks and no real exercise. Now I feel good enough to start hitting tennis balls (no games) hopefully short bike rides on flat roads (hard to find in Vermont) and lawn work. I have walked over an hour a day with my dog but now have to start rebuilding for the ski season. It could’ve much worse so far I have not contracted the virus but for sure my lifestyle has been effected by it.

    • Try rail trails. There is a nice one in Morristown, also the Burlington bike path and ferry out to the island.

  2. Alyce Perez says:

    I have established a new routine since my gym has closed down. I walk 2 to 4 miles each day. I belong to a yoga studio and do classes everyday, either outdoors at the studio or online with Zoom. After the ski season ended so abruptly I didn’t do anything for awhile and by body took a hit. I now have a steady workout routine again and feel I am back in shape. My weight has stayed the same, I feel better both physically and mentally. I will be ready for ski season.

  3. Exercise every morning. Toe touches and five lb weights . Ride bicycle on local road. Bike trails to busy. Play golf and work in yard. May not buy season pass this year where I ski at in New York. Have not traveled from Ohio to see daughter, son in law and young granddaughters that live in New Hampshire. Great joy skiing with grands. May not happen this year.

  4. Weight has stayed the same happily. With teleworking since March have used my little home workout room in the basement for my break room. Go down and do crunches, balance stuff, resistance bands for a few minutes. Not enough cardio though for sure.

  5. About 7-8 weeks ago, I learned about a full/all body weight exercise app for $4.99 that I could download on my phone. (You Are Your Own Gym) It only uses one’s body weight and items around the house for props. It has three different levels; I chose the beginner one after reading a review. Some of the pull up stuff is still too hard for me and I did strain a muscle in my forearm, so I don’t do the “pull muscle” exercises as instructed. I try to do this every other day, since it is a 10 week program and I hope to finish it in about 12-14 weeks! I live on a quarter of a mile road off a county/country road and walk it daily one mile at a time at different times of the day to get in 3-4 miles because I signed up for a virtual road race – can walk, run, bike, row, hop, skip or jump – from the NC mountains (Asheville) to a NC beach (Wilmington/Wrightsville) to keep me motivated and moving daily. I also ride my bike every 3-4 days either doing hill repeats on my .25 mile long street or on weekdays going to double track or easy single track nature trails in the area to ride about 7 miles. I will also hike these trails on weekdays if the parking lots are sparse. I also try to start the day with my morning daily exercises and try to do yoga consistently. So far, my weight has been consistent and I have no idea if I’ve gained muscle mass, but I know I’m stronger in my arms for push ups and legs for powering up hills either by foot on on the bike.

  6. Tom Kauffmann says:

    My local Planet Fitness reopened after a few months and I go there regularly. I also go for a walk each day, so overall, I am fairly OK, physically. However, with the COVID-19 situation continuing to deteriorate here in Utah, I’m wondering how long my gym will remain open. And as a local service provider with a small business, I had to shut down for the time being (due to people having concerns about personal interactions) and have consequently gained several pounds from not being as active as I was.

  7. Tom Weller says:

    Check out :Orginal Strength”, a great methodology. OS has books (see their website or shop Amazon) and a plethora of free YouTube videos. It is progressive and is appropriate for all ages and fitness levels. Great methodology for rehabilitation. My exercise philosophy is to do “Baby Steps”. Start out gently and ramp up difficulty when you are ready. No gym available, wow, you have an excuse. Not ! The bare minimum that I need is desire and a floor. I personally do a variety of exercise modalities (body weight, Original Strength, Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells, Monkey bars, Bicycle, Sled Push/Pull, etc. I encourage one to study movement / exercise. I use books, seminars and videos to learn. Consider this, what year were you born? If your body is an automobile, then that is the year auto you are driving. Sorry, you can not purchase a new vehicle. So, spend time learning to service your vehicle. The two hardest things about exercise are first starting & developing a habit of exercising and moving. The 2nd most difficult is avoiding doing too much. Combining, exercise, nutrition and rest is a key to maintaining your ability to SKI. Enjoy!

  8. I used the virus-related extra time at home to increase my time on fitness: running, flexibility and light weight training. Lost 15 lbs. by reducing carb intake.

  9. I was skiing, playing pickleball, walking and going to the fitness center. Then covid-19 hit and it all ended. I continued to walk an hour and a half multiple times a week, and started doing hour plus upper and lower body strength workouts in my apartment. I also rode my exerciser. Then in June I had a total knee replacement and am now rehabbing my knee, and building back my strength, so I’ll be ready to ski!

  10. Terri Burton-Wire says:

    I’m a personal trainer whose gym was closed for 2 months. I was in the process of getting a 200 hour yoga certification, the class decided we all had excess free time, so we increased the hours per week and took it online. So the first month, I was totally immersed in yoga 4-8 hours a day. It was nice getting a break from the weights for that month. I’ve stuck with yoga several times a week. And backed off on the weights to 1-2 times per week (I hate lifting at home). I’ve been able to run and bike more. I have lost 6-7 pounds, but some could be muscle. I have been getting in good workouts most days, since I have no interruptions from people in the gym. I still have not gone back to work for 2 reasons. My husband has an autoimmune disease, so I’m not comfortable possibly exposing him, and all of my clients are older with health issues.

  11. I’ve mostly traded walking for Nordic walking — good upper body exercise, can do it most places, and useful for poling motion come winter.

  12. And easy on the body!

  13. My wife (non-skier) and I purchased exercise mats. We were going to the gym three times a week and now exercise three times a week using an app, we also do ab work and stretches. Frequently on the “off” days I do abs and stretches.

    Recently I purchased an aeroski to up the aerobic/ cardio workout.

    The only workout issue is not getting enough or sufficient weight/ strength training.

  14. Yvette Cardozo says:

    I had JUST signed up for a series of personal training sessions when my gym ran a killer sale. And then, here in Washington state, we slammed shut. I tried walking and discovered (we have hills here…our approach road is so steep, a tow truck once went into the ditch in winter) my ‘good’ knee was seriously unhappy. Tried a friend’s recumbant exercycle. That bothered both knees. You’ve heard of the freshman 15, this has been the covid 10 for me. However, my personal trainer texted recently and is trying to do personalized zoom sessions. And I do stretching and some strength exercises here at home.

  15. Diane Carroll says:

    We left Sugarbush in March in a heavy rain, and all skiing shut down the next day. My son and his wife had a baby 5 days later and because of the high rate of COVID where they are, came to live with us in NJ. So until May it was mostly cooking, baby rocking, and long walks with their dog. My CrossFit gym closed and they posted daily workouts, which I did for a while. As the weather got better I started riding a hybrid bike my family had gotten me for Christmas, and I got hooked. I love exploring the country roads around where I live – it makes me feel like a kid again! I now do 50-60 miles a week and continue to to yoga fairly regularly. Stopping CrossFit helped my arthritic knees a lot, so I am planning to get a kettle bell and some dumbbells to work on my own to build upper body strength.

  16. The last day I skied was March 9th at Hunter Mtn. in NY. The following week my company instituted out of office work. I live in Red Bank, NJ. My gym near work closed where I was taking spin classes at lunchtime 3 days a week. Encouraged by a former work associate who lives in Colorado I joined Studio Sweat on Demand (SSOD), a gym in San Diego, CA who have an on line class offering that is staggering in scope. All workout disciplines are available. I focus only on spin classes. I have a Lemond Fitness spin bike in my basement. Since they offer classes on demand I can login and spin with others whenever I want. SSOD has partnered with MyZone a heart rate monitoring and performance tracking software system. When I work out it measures calories, average heart rate and most importantly it quantifies the workout with a point system. My associate in Colorado uses the same system and is a member of SSOD. We compete daily and track each other’s performance through the MYZone app. When I see that she has worked out it encourages me to work out as well and to exceed her performance. She in turn is encouraged to compete with me. We started this workout regime in April and both of us have lost weight and feel fitter. I’ve lost 17.2 lbs. I know this will make me fitter for the slopes when our 2020 ski season begins.

  17. Hollace Widdowfield says:

    We have taken up Tai Chi and it has improved our balance (a whole lot for me). We are also doing exercise bands on our back deck and using our Zaaz Machine. Hopefully, we will go into this ski season in the best shape in a long time!

  18. Eileen Fishkin says:

    Left Sunday River March 12, and that was that! I simply cannot exercise by myself at home! Traded the gym and fitness classes for walking. And more walking. I have weights and bands, but it is just no use. After 15 minutes I’m done. Got rid of my bike 6 years ago, with the knowledge that biking on our suburban streets just too dangerous. Tried renting at the sports shops, but all were gone! My 15 year old grandson has been riding his mom’s bike because the one that was ordered for him in April has yet to arrive, so I cannot even borrow that one! I have actually lost 5 pounds. I had normal body weight to begin with so….. Oh for our lives to bet back to normal!

  19. Well, certainly no skiing here in OH in late August, and I was unable to go west to ski CA with family last winter. I am biking 8 mi. every other day to return to my level of last summer when I could peddle 20 at a time. I’m building up to doing a section of the C&O Towpath late next summer. I can get my bike to Harper’s Ferry on Amtrak from Cleveland where I’ll spend a couple days in a B&B, then I’ll be bike-camping for 2 nights after 20 mi. rides, and then be at a B&B in DC for a few days with my brother. Amtrak has stops along the 330 miles from Pittsburgh to DC. This only gets harder past 70, but it keeps me going. I usually do some x-country skiing with family near Norden, CA and showshoeing with Sierra Club folks.

  20. Philip Brencher says:

    I’ve changed my eating habits (meatless days, less animal protein overall, no more cannoli & cookies), started lifting freeweights several days per week, walk 3+ miles with the mutt every morning, swim a few times per week, and ride my bike on Sunday mornings. The result? I’ve lost the 30 lbs. I gained while recuperating from a completely torn hamstring. My wife just gave me a new pair of Volkl Race Tiger world cup SL skis, marker bindings and swix poles and I can’t wait for our local adult race season to begin.

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