 COVID-19 has damaged the economy and put people in dire financial positions. All of these unknowns can cause a lot of unwanted stress. Stress is dangerous for the mind and the body. Stress can create high blood pressure, headaches, irritability, a weakened immune system, and even missed periods.
It's just bad all around. If you are trapped at home, or like me, confined to the area near your home, you can work to relieve that stress through simple physical activity. Here are some of my favorite things to do right now: Walking Based on this website, it's no surprise this is here. Walking is the key to our philosophy. Walking calms the mind. Try taking walks around the block. Go alone or go with your family. Hiking Nothing gets your mind off all the "things" that don't make sense like a long hike. I am lucky enough to have access to 80+ miles of trails within steps of my front door. Depending on your stay-at-home order, this might be possible, but if it is, I recommend going to an unpopular trailhead and spending the day in the woods. Cycling Get on your bike and ride until your legs hurt. Or just take a nice little ride around town. Meditating I cannot stress this one enough. Take a minute or two every morning to sit on your own, close your eyes, and focus on something positive. Breath deeply. Allow yourself the space to relax. Dancing This is a great one. Blast the tunes and just dance. If you have kids, get them involved. Dance and dance some more.  Face it-- you're not Arnold or some rich celebrity that can afford to workout for hours a day (or afford it!), but you are capable of living an active lifestyle. Those who change from a sedentary to an active lifestyle see wonderful changes, both physically and mentally. Why? Well, the body is working properly. The body is doing what it was meant to do: move and work.
But maybe you aren't fully committed to trading your potato chips and Netflix for Nike shoes and day hikes just yet. I'm not saying that the chips and TV are acceptable, but I'm not here to force you into a lifestyle. But, I am hopeful that you can start thinking about making a change; after all, you are reading posts about health and nutrition...that right there is a positive step toward a healthier lifestyle. So how can you go about making a permanent change? One day at a time with small steps toward a total change. This is a process and it begins with making smart food choices and incorporating fitness into your routine. From here on out, I want you to visit our site every three days and pick a new habit to incorporate into your day. Simple. Today, I want you to use this post as your new change. Today, you are going to start walking every day before dinner.  Akin to running stair, jumping rope is an excellent for of cardiovascular exercise that shows the benefits much quicker than running or walking (at least we think so!). The best part about incorporating jump rope into your routine is that isn't take much money or space.
Jumping rope uses all of your muscles and help you build a super duper strong core. If you haven't done a jump rope workout before, we suggest that you add in one-minute intervals to your current cardio routine before taking on a full 15 minutes of it! It's going to burn. According to several surveys, Americans are pretty passive when they aren't at work. The most popular hobbies are watching TV, reading, playing video games, going to the movies, renting movies (seriously...the media consumption is through the roof), fishing, computering, shopping, sewing, board games, golf, crafts, etc...
Obviously these are not all of the hobbies in America, but these are the ones that are hogging the upper ranks. Active activities such as walking, hunting, hiking, sports, and skiing were barely holding onto the bottom of the survey. And while all of those these listed are fine to do here and there, they should be done in moderation especially if you want to lead an active lifestyle. If you are new to the active lifestyle, you may be wondering what types of hobbies are available to you. And if you are a seasoned pro, perhaps you are looking for a new "thing". Let's look at nine hobbies that fit into an active lifestyle.  We've said it before and we'll say it again, "Walking is an excellent form of active movement." Why are we always promoting walking as your main form of movement? Well, walking improves your mental and physical health, and hey, we all need some calm energy in our lives.
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