By Emily Woodbury
By this point, you’ve probably seen or heard many mentions online about people gaining weight during the pandemic. Like, for example, the meme above, which my mother sent to me last week. However, I’ve heard many wonderful stories about people actually being more active during this time (myself included).
Last night, on my 3-mile walk, I wrapped up 110 miles walked in the month of April. That rounds out to close to 4 miles a day, on average. Some of those days I walked only half a mile, while other days I walked six or seven miles. With nothing else really to do (I can only clean and organize the house so much – it’s pristine at this point), walking has become the one activity that I look forward to most each evening. (The dog agrees.)
My gym membership is on pause, my apartment complex’s gym is closed, and my usual running and walking buddies are quarantined with their own families. So a walk it is! What about when the gyms re-open though? Will I go back? Honestly? Probably not.
Let’s see what you had to say about exercising during this time. Are you exercising now more than you were before the pandemic? (This is a poll question we asked you on April 21st, by the way.
Some of you, 13 percent, are like me and are exercising more during this time than you were before. The majority of you, 52 percent, are exercising about the same as before. A little more than a quarter of you, 26 percent, are exercising less, and 10 percent of you asked, “Exercise? What’s that?” Ha…Ha… Now let’s jump down into the comments and see what you had to say there.
Since Bob Godfrey’s gym is closed like mine, he wrote, “…These days we’re riding our bikes 8 miles each morning and lately there’s been quite a bit of wind so we are definitely getting an aerobic workout. So far we’ve got over 175 miles done. If I don’t lose weight now I never will.” Great, Bob!
Roy Christensen commented, “I have been walking twice each day most days if it’s not raining. I feel better because of the exercise. I figure that the stronger my lungs and heart are, the better I’ll be able to fight the virus if I am unlucky enough to get it. I wear a mask and avoid walking near other people…. Walking outside renews the spirit and makes confinement less awful.” I agree, Roy. Plus, that Vitamin D feels good when it seeps into the soul, doesn’t it?
Linda is walking less but not for a reason you might guess. She wrote, “I am exercising less (walking on our 20-acre property) not because of the virus, but because the mosquitoes have hatched. In a week or two, their numbers will abate and I can get back to my 4-5 miles a day.” Mosquitos suck, don’t they, Linda?
Well, folks, as I said last week, get outside and go for a walk!
