Fitness can go severely downhill if you’re confined to four walls during self-quarantine, but this quarantine workout plan aims to give you the right tools and knowledge to minimise the effects of staying indoors for a week or two.
The importance of daily activity in our day-to-day lives cannot be understated, both for physical and mental health. But without our usual tools at hand – be it fitness equipment, your gym, local track, CrossFit Box, or laps around the block – it can be hard to know what to do, how to maintain your usual activity levels, and how to find suitable substitutes for your usual sporting routine.
That’s why we created this ultimate quarantine workouts plan, to teach you how to get creative with the tools at hand and make your path to working out while quarantining the easiest and smoothest it can be.
Quarantine workouts include simple and advanced bodyweight exercises, creative ways to use equipment such as tables, chairs, and doors to your advantage, and some options with basic equipment.
Quarantine workouts plan
It is perfectly possible to continue to be active without special equipment and with limited space. Follow this plan and reduce the impact of staying indoors to a bare minimum.
No equipment
The following quarantine workouts plan has two sessions per day. You can either complete them back to back or do one in the morning and save the second for the evening.
If you’re self quarantining for two weeks you can also do the first session the first week and the second session the same day on week 2.
| Day | Workout type | Exercise | Reps |
| Day 1 | For Time | Alternating Lunges | 50 |
| Handstand Hold | 30 seconds | ||
| Burpee over Object | 60 | ||
| Handstand Hold | 30 seconds | ||
| Alternating Lunges | 50 | ||
| Ladder for Quality | Push-Ups | 10, 9, 8, … 2, 1 | |
| Day 2 | AMRAP in 10 Minutes | Burpees | 5 |
| Mountain Climbers | 10 | ||
| Jumping Knee Tucks | 8 | ||
| For Time* | Chair Step-Ups | 200 | |
| *Every 25 reps | Superman Hold | 10 seconds | |
| Hollow Hold | 10 seconds | ||
| V-Ups | 10 seconds | ||
| Day 3 | 4 Tabatas | Russian Twists | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest |
| Reverse Lunges | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | ||
| Cobra High Knee Lateral Steps | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | ||
| Flutter Kicks | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | ||
| For Time* | Wall Squat Hold | 15 Minutes | |
| *Every time you rest | Push-Ups | 5 | |
| V-Ups | 10 | ||
| 1-1:4 Air Squat | 15 | ||
| Day 4 | 4 Rounds for Time | Jumping Jacks | 100 |
| Wall Walks | 8 | ||
| Step Ups | 20 | ||
| AMRAP | Burpees | 7 minutes | |
| Day 5 | 30 Rounds for Time | Hand Release Push-Ups | 5 |
| Goblet Squats (pick load) | 10 | ||
| Alternating Pike Leg Lift | 20 | ||
| 4 Rounds of Tabata Planks | Plank March | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | |
| Side Plank | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | ||
| Extended Plank | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | ||
| Reverse Plank Bridge | 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest | ||
| Day 6 | Descending Reps for Time | Burpee | 50-40-30-20-10 |
| Air Squat | |||
| Push-Up | |||
| Sit-Up | |||
| For Time* | Plank Hold | 10 Minutes | |
| *Every time you rest | Burpee | 4 | |
| Chair Dips | 8 | ||
| Alternating Pistols | 12 | ||
| Day 7 | 10 Rounds for Time | Jump Squats | 5 |
| Tuck Jumps | 5 | ||
| Hollow Rocks | 15 | ||
| Bicycle Crunch | 20 | ||
| AMRAP in 20 Minutes | Push-Ups | 20 | |
| Walking Lunges | 20 | ||
| Chair Dips | 20 | ||
| V-Ups | 20 |
With minimal equipment
The following workout routine will require access to dumbbells and resistance bands.
Session 1
| A1. | Weighted Poliquin Step Ups | 3 x 20 / side |
| A2. | Three Point Stance DB Bent Over Row | 3 x 12 / side |
| B1. | Banded Crab Walk / March | 3 x 50 (25 / side) |
| B2. | Pronated DB Strict press | 3 x 12 |
| C1. | Sissy Squats | 3 x 15 |
| C2. | Supinated Seated Banded Row | 3 x 15 + 30s Hold |
| D1. | Weighted Straight Legged Glute Bridge Hold | 3 x 60s |
| D2. | Neutral Grip DB Bench Press | 3 x 15 |
| E1. | Supinated DB Curls | 3 x 12 |
| E2. | Standing DB French Press | 3 x 12 |
Movement demos:
Session 2
| A1. | Weighted Foot Elevated Dips | 3 x 15 |
| A2. | Dual DB Romanian Deadlifts | 3 x 20 |
| B1. | Neutral Grip TRX rows | 3 x 15 |
| B2. | Rear Foot Heel Elevated Split Squats | 3 x 12 / side |
| C1. | Neutral Grip Incline DB Bench Press | 3 x 15 |
| C2. | Hamstring Slider Curls | 3 x 15 |
| D1. | Pronated Seal Rows | 3 x 15 |
| D2. | Tempo Goblet Squats | 3 x 10 |
Movement demos:
Session 3
| A1. | Dual DB Sumo Deadlifts | 3×20 |
| A2. | 1+1/4 Goblet Cyclist Squats | 3×15 |
| B1. | Sorenson Hold | 3x90s |
| B2. | Goblet Cossack Squat | 3×12/side |
| C. | Every 5 minutes x 4 sets | |
| Endurance exercise of choice | 3 minutes | |
| DB deadlifts | 15 | |
| Endurance exercise of choice | 3 minutes | |
| DB Suitcase Lunges | 20 |
Movement demos:
Program your own workout
If instead of following a standard quarantine workouts program you’d rather use the time to chip away at your weaknesses, learn here how to program your own workouts.
All you’ll need is to choose a handful of bodyweight exercises and then decide how you want to structure your workout. The same exercise can feel varied when you change up the tempo, reps, or the amount of time it takes to complete your work.
Other exercises to include in your workouts
- Planks
- Back Extensions
- Shoulder Tap Push-Ups
- Pike Leg Lift Hold
- Skater Jumps
- Glute bridge
- Pogo Lateral Jumps
- Cossack Squats
- Bulgarian Split Squats
This extensive list of bodyweight movements (47 of them), as well as minimal equipment exercises (80 of them) by Marcus Filly is a great place to find new elements to add into your training. He demos all of them, so you’re not left wondering what effective exercises such as a Candlestick Roll Up are.
If you’re not used to working out every day, try these basic standing yoga poses or these yin yoga poses to relax and release tension.
Benefits of working out during quarantine
As countries began shutting down at the start of the pandemic, big parts of the population drastically reduced their sport and exercise activities. Extended periods of sedentary behaviour can provoke “a kaleidoscope of unfavourable metabolic effects that would dramatically increase the risk of many severe and disabling disorders,” research into physical inactivity at the time of COVID-19, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found.
Even two weeks of being confined to a room can have some negative effects on your personal health and fitness.
While it isn’t always easy to remain active or stick to your exercise routine while quarantining, you should still do your best.
The World Health Organization recommends adults do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, or a combination of both. You can achieve this even during self-isolation.
Exercising is a great way to boost mental and physical health, and working out during self-quarantine comes with important benefits, which include:
- Maintaining physical fitness levels
- Hitting daily recommended activity levels
- Excellent way to spend time
- Useful coping tool against boredom and emotional stress
While health authorities strongly encouraged people to substitute sporting activities in social settings with home-based workouts, many people couldn’t find the tools to make this recommendation happen.
Guidance and a simple plan to follow are both important steps towards making your quarantine time more active, as are intensive social support and high levels of self-motivation and self-efficacy, a 2017 systematic review which analysed adherence to home-based exercise found.
Read more: How to Build Muscle with Bodyweight Exercises – Top Tips for Training at Home
Staying fit, happy, and healthy during self-isolation
To ensure quarantining has as little effect on your fitness as possible, make sure you continue to eat healthily and stay hydrated throughout. Prioritise sleep and cognitive challenges.
Setting up a routine can help combat boredom and anxiety, both of which can prevent you from following your plan.
Looking forward to your workouts (instead of seeing them as a chore) can help reduce stress. While getting started might feel challenging, try think back at the last time you regretted working out – it doesn’t happen very often.
Disclaimer: this quarantine workouts plan is intended for people without any symptoms or diagnosis of respiratory illness. Always consult a medical professional for guidance, especially in case of any health condition.
image sources
- quarantine-workouts-plan: Tim Samuel from Pexels
