The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many severe damages to people’s lives. It affected all aspects of existence: medicine, economics, and politics. Without any doubt, it also influenced sports and practically all kinds of physical facilities as fitness centers, gyms, and sport clubs were closed. Therefore, many people are not able to actively engage outside of their homes in their regular group or individual sporting or physical activities. Even after most of the facilities were open, attending them would still bear a serious risk, as well as the fact that people have to maintain social distancing regulations and train in masks making it quite uncomfortable. Currently, people are facing a new reality and new rules of life that they need to accept but it is important that fitness enthusiasts find a way to stay physically active even in these given circumstances. The World Health Organization recommends about two and a half hours of reasonable exercise, or about an hour and a half of hard training a week. However, people have found ways to stay active, healthy, and be in good shape under these circumstances as there are always limitless opportunities for practicing at home, online, or outside, taking the required precautions.
Life in lockdown has been difficult because people need to stay healthy, while still remaining safe and adhering to the new rules. During the self-isolation period, the population became used to a sedentary lifestyle with little physical activity and practically no exercise. It has been hard even for professional sportsmen who had to modify their training programs so they could exercise at home. For the population at risk, doctors advise to use home equipment for sports, such as treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes. Today, it is not hard to find guides for training at home; any person can access the Internet and find advice for activities that would be comfortable. There are ways for online training with a real coach that would develop an individual program for exercising and would help one to stay in good shape. There are even professional athletes who give instructions to people on how to stay physically active during the lockdown. Some of the experts manage to demonstrate different exercises that could be done at home, others give guidelines for a healthy diet. Today, it is possible to buy all the necessary equipment for training at home. Even ordinary exercises that everyone can do without special fitness machines are useful. Everybody can make squats, side bends, jumps, press-ups, and many other basic elements of gymnastics. For those people, who cannot do heavier exercise, doctors suggest having regular walks. Moreover, it is usual practice now to go to the backyard and throw a ball around or play other games. However, contact sports such as football or basketball with friends or strangers are still considered to be dangerous as they can result in the increase of the number of infections. Today, gyms and sports facilities should organize their space in a way to prevent the virus from spreading. It is preferable that all the activities that could be done outside were moved there as it is much safer.
In conclusion, sport is an important part of human life. In order to stay healthy a person needs to exercise, and even if it is as simple as walking, this is productive for the body and spirit. Today, safety is the primary factor and the population all over the world should practice the activities that are not dangerous for them and the people around. All people should be wise and take necessary precautions to prevent further transmission of COVID-19, but it is necessary to remember that sport is also one of the best ways to boost the immune system and fight off infection.