Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, nearly all of its have felt changes in our lives. In the worst case scenarios, we have become sick or had loved ones fall sick. Other bad scenarios include loss of jobs, decreased hours, or simply the looming worry that jobs could be lost and security could be eliminated.

For those of us who have fared well thus far during the pandemic, we are undoubtably struggling with all of the obvious changes to life such as homeschooling children, distancing from immunocompromised loved ones, taking on extra chores for those who are unable, etc. . . Really, things that aren’t so bad compared millions who are severally suffering during this pandemic.

This is a time for us to step up and help others where we can. Shop for the elderly, provide video lessons for nieces and nephews, donate when possible, etc. . .

Within this blog and my scope of practice, today I would like to help you during the COVID-19 Pandemic. I won’t go into the didactic details of strength training and immune function, the role of sleep, and aerobic conditioning’s impact on increasing cardiopulmonary efficiency.

Instead, this blog is about your home office set up.

Strength training is a great modality that should have place in everyone’s workout program. Hands down!
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But, what is strength training? Perhaps your first thought is olympic weight lifting

​Or maybe it is strongman activities

​Or bodybuilding

​Really, “strength training” is quite a broad term. Strength is the ability to exert or resist force. Training is the act or process. So, Strength Training is the process of exerting or resisting force.

We’ll just keep it within the physical dimension today, but you can apply those definitions to other characteristics such as ‘mental strength.’

So, if strength training is ‘the act of resisting or exerting force’ as long as the energy put into a movement is at or above the threshold to maintain position, you’re strength training!

Stretching. Ah, stretching. We all know we should do it more often for our tight hip flexors (whatever those even are). Right?
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Here is a sample of a static stretching routine that I made for a high school athletic team I work with.

Stretching has been on and off popular for decades. Many have touted its miraculous ability to “lengthen tight muscles” whereas others claim it to be a futile effort.

I sit somewhere in between. It is hard to know, even for those of us who have degrees in the field, advanced certifications, and loads of experience. Just looking through my bookshelf I found a variety of different opinions on the topic of stretching.

It doesn't matter.
Well it does. 
But it doesn't.

Many people find themselves going to a new gym or simply researching  exercise online because of a common goal; Weight Loss.
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Exercise should be an important part of the equation if you’re interested in losing a little weight. However, exercise is not the only variable in the equation.