Updated 13/04/2020

One thing that seems to be keeping everyone going as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to unfold is the opportunity to get or stay active. There are some obvious benefits for both physical and mental health to be had, but it's also a great form of entertainment in lieu of the usual trips out and social occasions we might normally be engaging in.

As Spring begins, we've already seen some great suggestions for ways to stay active at home or nearby without splashing the cash and we wanted to share some of the best ones. We'll keep updating this list as we hear new ideas and of course in line with changing government guidance. So if you've had an ingenious idea of your own or you've seen something brilliant in your neighbourhood do drop us a line on info@properactive.co.uk to let us know.

For all the family

• Daily PE with Joe Wicks: The Body Coach is doing his bit to support parents who have their children at home full time by bringing us daily workouts for kids, every school day from 09.00 - 09.30 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyCLoPd4VxBsXs1WmPcektsQyFbXTf9FO

• Our Parks Superhero Fitness Workouts: And to end the school day, if you’re home schooling, Our Parks founder Born Barikor will be hosting 15 minute workouts at 15.30 every day on the Our Parks Facebook Live channel; with special guest appearances from his kids https://www.facebook.com/ourparks/

• Dance Lessons with Oti Mabuse: If your kids prefer a bit of jiving with their jumping, this star of Strictly Come Dancing has been streaming regular dance classes for kids at 11.30. Routines with fun themes like Shrek or Trolls are then available to watch on demand through Oti’s YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58aowNEXHHnflR_5YTtP4g

• WiiFit / Xbox Kinect: Remember those? Thousands of us still have one of these stashed in a cupboard and this might just be time to dust it off and fire it up. Remember how much fun you used to have at the Mario Olympics?

• Get your garden in tip top condition: The Spring Equinox is upon us which is the perfect time to get the garden ship shape and to plant something which you can see grow over the coming weeks. Not necessarily a completely free option, but seeds can be purchased online from an array of retailers for relatively low cost. Alternatively you may want to look up your local garden centre to see if you can support their business at this difficult time. Some are now doing online local deliveries, whilst those with farm shops may still be open for food sales. There are loads of great growing options, like tomatoes, chives, strawberries and peas, which are relatively easy to grow and great projects for kids.

• Garden Games: Badminton, volleyball, frisbee, football, skittles, hoopla; most of us have the gear for at least one of these stashed in our garage, shed or cupboard under the stairs, but if not, don't worry; improvising is half the fun.

• Disney Dance Alongs: This Girl Can has teamed up with Disney to bring you some great dance-along tracks from some of your favourite Disney classics, like The Jungle Book and Moana https://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/activities/disney-workouts/

• Create an obstacle course: Use whatever household items you can find - chairs, beanbags, cushions, plastic bottles, books, shoes, hats, boxes, puzzles; it doesn't necessarily have to rival this Ninja Warrior effort, as long as you have fun building it and using it. Obviously 'Safety First' applies here, so do consider the age and abilities of the kids (or grown-ups!) you are building for.

Online fitness

• The Body Coach: Joe Wicks has his own online channel dedicated to offering free home workouts, with a whole array of options to suit different fitness levels. https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

• Yoga with Adriene: Possibly the most well known yoga instructor around the world, Adriene offers hundreds of yoga workouts through her free YouTube channel, with sessions of different length and style, with something for people of every ability. Some great wellbeing options on this channel too.  https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

• Davina McCall Own Your Goals: Davina has made her fitness platform completely free for the next 30 days with no credit card details required. https://ownyourgoalsdavina.com

• Les Mills: If you're missing your Les Mills fix from the gym, fear not, they have made over 100 workouts free to access online during the COVID-19 outbreak. https://watch.lesmillsondemand.com/at-home-workouts

  [Note: Les Mills have also started a 30 day free trial for ALL online content, but you'll need to input credit card details for this and remember to cancel at the end of 30 days if you don't want to be charged].

• Paracise: For those looking for a workout that’s fun but a little bit less intense, Paracise sets groovy dance moves at a more modest pace to fabulous tunes. They are now offering a new video every week that you can access from their website. https://paracise.com/

• Dance Lessons with Oti Mabuse: The Strictly star hasn’t just been busy making fun ways to get the kids moving, she’s also been doing dance lessons for grown-ups; these are live streamed at 19.30, but then available on her YouTube channel at your leisure. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58aowNEXHHnflR_5YTtP4g

• Move It or Lose It Daily Live Sessions: Another great option if you want something that will get you moving but at a more accessible level of intensity. Julie is a really friendly and relatable instructor who will guide you through all the moves. You can find her live on Facebook at 2pm every day. https://www.facebook.com/pg/MoveItOrLoseIt1/videos

• The Active Wellbeing Society LIVE weekly programme: To ensure there are plenty of options for its residents in Birmingham and anyone else who wants to join in, TAWS have put together a full weekly timetable of live streamed classes. There is everything from kids zumba and tai chi to chair workouts and family bollywood. You can find the full timetable here: https://theaws.co.uk/activities/virtual-wellbeing/

• Host your own fitness session: Many of us are turning to Skype, Google Hangouts, Teams, Zoom and others to stay in touch with colleagues, family and friends. So as we all get used to being on screen a lot more, why not get a group together and have a go at your own online class. It could be anything from salsa to tai chi to clubbercise! Getting all the steps right optional, top tunes essential!

Out and about

Current guidance (as at 01/04/20) still headlines with the key message to stay at home as much as possible. We can still get out and about specifically to exercise though, as long as we do so responsibly and maintain appropriate social distancing. So whilst it is sad to hear that many of our more popular destinations, like National Trust sites, have had to close due to the risk of crowds, here are some ways you can still get outside safely, as long as you follow government guidelines and stay 2m apart from those not from your household.

• Find a green space: According to The Green Space Index there are 216,000 hectares of green space in the UK; so whilst more well known spots may need to be avoided, there could be an alternative, slightly less mainstream, green space which you hadn’t even realised was just around the corner. The Ordnance Survey have this handy site which is a great place to start. https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/greenspaces/
  [TOP TIP: If you do need to travel by car, look for somewhere as close to home as possible and make sure you think about where you’re going to park; public car parks present a big risk to effective social distancing and you will find a lot of the bigger ones are actually closed for the time being].

• Find a walking route: There are hundreds of great walking routes all over the UK, in both rural and urban locations. There are some smaller gems to be found all over the country which won't necessarily draw big crowds. Walking Britain has a really useful route finder with walks all over the UK https://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/find-walks-by-me.php, but a quick search for 'walks near me' will throw up countless great options too. [Don't forget to respect your surroundings if you're new to the Great Outdoors].

• Check out the OS Explore map for where you live: Even if you’re staying strictly local, it doesn’t have to mean the same walk around the block every day. Even urban areas of the UK have bags of hidden paths, commons, woodlands, alleyways and parks. If you don’t have a paper copy, you can view a map of the UK online at https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ and find out what’s near you.

• Go for a run: what could be simpler than popping on a pair of trainers? No other equipment or experience necessary. And in case you're worried that you don't have the credentials for running, here's a retro reminder of what it's really all about.

• Couch to 5k: If you're completely new to running but keen to give it a go, the Couch to 5k app is a fantastic way to build up gently at a pace that suits you https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/couch-to-5k-week-by-week/. And if you're worried about what you might look like, we refer you to the video above (In the words of Rabble: If you're having fun you're doing it right!)

Additionally, if you have a long-term health condition or a disability and would like to get active at home, but you have concerns about your health, you can find some great ideas and advice from Activity Alliance or via the NHS website.

To let us know about your great ideas for the nation to stay active throughout this difficult time, drop us a line on info@properactive.co.uk. (All ideas included will be credited).

And don’t forget - socially distant doesn’t have to mean emotionally distant so if you are out of the house for your daily exercise, don’t forget to wave, smile or say hi to as many people as possible, from a safe distance of course.