The Coronavirus has made our lives in an unprecedented scale in the head. We all need to restrict us in our freedom of movement, in our consumer and social behavior.
Concretely, this means to stay at home to protect yourself and others from the further spread of COVID-19.
Currently, no one can predict how long these protective measures are necessary. But one thing is already clear: Many people suffer physically and emotionally under the insulation. The Corona-quarantine makes you exhausted and does things to you.
What can you do about it? How do you keep in your own four walls fit, healthy and powerful? How can you support your immune system and your mood holding up?
We have the experts discussed – of course with a sufficient safety distance on the phone.
Interview with the sports scientist Dr. Dr. Michael Despeghel
Dear Dr. Dr. Despeghel, thank you for taking the time for us. You are well?
Despeghel: Yes – up on the restrictions, with the spread of Coronavirus are connected and that all external activities likely to occur in the second half of the year again, so starting in June hopefully. The summer semester is still up in the air.
But we have to wait and hope that the people give with a concentrated joy of life at full throttle: going Out, parties, events, consumption.
I can well imagine that the same will come. After so much abstinence, it must go back to the front – that would be in my favour.
Very many people have currently no Chance to go to the fitness center. Since I count myself also. I train every day, one to one and a half hours.
This leads to the additional depressed restrictions – especially when it is linked to be able to even out of the house.
The sports scientist and author Dr. Dr. Michael Despeghel is a guest lecturer at the Institute for sports medicine of the Justus-Liebig-University of Gießen and as an expert in the areas of sports, health, lifestyle, and diet in great demand. He has written over 30 books, translated into 11 languages.
In addition, the Fitness and health expert, winner of the award “Speaker of the year” in 2006 and 2008.
Dr. Dr. Despeghel is on the Board of the German society for preventive men medicine e. V., Advisory Board member of the Foundation for men’s health and the Board of management of the German community of interest for the preventive men medicine. For more information, see medizinmaenner.de.
FIT FOR FUN has interviewed the experts on Fitness, health and the Psyche in times of Isoaltion by the Coronavirus.
How do you currently fit?
I’m still in the lucky Situation to be able to go out. As a result, I use the mountain bike when the weather is nice – at a distance, and alone, quite important. Then I trained even on a chin-up bar.
You can make it up to date, that you keep, in spite of the circumstances, every day kind of fit?
Yes, the already. But I understand, of course, the people who can make in the force area, suddenly, nothing more, because not everyone has the appropriate training equipment at home.
To train with your own body weight to get a similar feeling as in the case of a 45-minute device-based Workout in the Studio, which is of course a challenge.
What should be in your view the most important training focus, endurance, strength or agility?
For the protection of the immune system is of course the stamina. You can train but also with fast walks or Running on the spot indoors with the window open.
It is enough for two to three minutes, you can repeat more frequently as the interval with breaks of up to 20 minutes together.
But in any case, you should also do strength training, because the Psyche is stabilized: a hormonal action is involved.
The means: strength training acts as an antidepressant and entängstigend. The increased release of dopamine and Serotonin lasts about three hours. That’s why I see a regular strength training before agility and coordination training.
If you also has the time and inclination, how could you make the agility and coordination training at home?
There are many Exercises that are relatively simple, for example, the one-leg stand. You can in the morning when brushing your teeth, is already a habit: With an electric toothbrush, for example, rotated for two minutes.
Then you could switch every 30 seconds, the leg and close your eyes. That would be the variant for the Advanced and an excellent way to improve coordination.
Alternatively, you can stay at home, also deliberately in the dark: in the evening, or a scarf over the eyes and moves the beginning time, 20 minutes blind in the apartment, and later perhaps up to an hour.
The distracts first, brings perhaps a certain tension and promotes sense – perception, tactility, and above all, coordination.
What would you recommend to newcomers as a daily fitness program?
The beginners can follow our free fitness program, the “8-Level Core Training”. This is a minimal training program that is aligned to six weeks, and the supporting exercises after eight difficulty straight for every day includes.
A minimum of four days per week and for two minutes each, the Exercises should be completed. So you have mastered at the end of the six weeks, the complete and clean implementation of the Unterarmstützes.
The background is: What people need in situations where you don’t have clarity, are rituals. If you have a daily life that is going on right now domesticated, it can help both physically and mentally to start each Morning with an Exercise.
The take at the beginning, maybe only a Minute, but you can repeat the Exercise over the day several times to have the feeling to keep up.
The 8-Level Core Training could be a companion, of Corona out of the train and the circumstances of endure better with a daily Ritual. In the end you would still have a higher efficiency – although it was so restricted. This is the idea behind it.
What I recommend, in principle, independent of our training program, everyone is Plank-Training.
The forearm support can keep with regular workouts getting longer and longer: This is an excellent Exercise for beginners without equipment, all the major muscle groups.
How can athletes, who otherwise would have gone every day to the Gym to get your efficiency and your muscles at this high Level?
You need an add-on device. I recommend wood rings with the appropriate mounting options. So that you can strain the body is excellent – up to 70 or 80 percent of the maximum force. The rings you can mount anywhere in the door, on a pole or a tree.
So you can carry out a highly specific and very challenging Cross-Training. That would also be a TRX and sling trainer.
Nevertheless, most of the people are currently less moving than usual. What tips do you have on the topic of nutrition?
First of all, the topic of alcohol comes to mind for this purpose. Since there is always the question of whether of not killing the virus even. However, this is a myth – except, that is not externally applied to the hands, this is the case.
You drink it, worse the alcohol, the immune system in its efficiency, rather quickly even. Thus it is more susceptible to the virus. Therefore, my advice to you, well here’s my typical 4-to-3-and alcohol-free days to install – especially when you’re older.
The Younger ones will enjoy it, because they expect to be fit and the holster, but it is actually the immune system working 40 years already reduced.
And what do you recommend in terms of diet?
At this time you should eat as wholesome as possible. The Mediterranean diet is the best studied. This means, you need first of all high-quality Oils such as linseed oil, rapeseed oil and olive oil for the Omega-3 supply, but also whole grain products.
The second stage consists of fruits and vegetables. You should daily eat two pieces of fruit, if possible, to 17, to claim the sugar metabolism than necessary.
Add to this 500 grams of vegetables per Person per day. You can also prepare with the juicer and drink – but please not as a Smoothie, but as a vegetable-based Drink.
In the last stage of legumes such as peas, beans, lentils and a daily basis a small hand full of nuts, such as almonds. Then, only fish and eggs.
Fish is now contaminated, unfortunately, often, and more than one Egg per day, you should not eat.
Really we should not consume also dairy products, as yogurt, especially if it is sweetened, but also cottage cheese and milk, are more likely to be inflammation of drivers, and the Omega-6-fatty-raising.
Not at all, or as little as possible, you should meat and sausage products, but also sugar and sweet drinks, and simple carbohydrates, and alcohol.
What helps against melancholy, caused by the current Isolation?
Teas from lavender and St. John’s wort, Bärwurz and other substances that are actually motivational, can help.
Previously I would have said that you should make, especially as a non-athlete for at least 10,000 steps a day, but that is currently because of the risk of Infection is difficult. A small cardio program can be completed but also the inside.
If you have a balcony or garden, should you, where it goes looking for the sun, because Vitamin D stimulates and protects the immune system.
With the daily cardio program and additional strength exercises like Planks and Leg of the Mediterranean diet, the sun light, if possible, and may teas, then you have a small list that you can deal with every day and should.
You must also set tasks, in periods in which no employment is given. The structured and people just need in times of uncertainty structure in order to feel good.
The recipe for Dr. Dr Despeghels “Good mood tea”:
The Good-mood-tea, according to Dr. Dr. Michael Despeghel is a composition of green tea, orange peel, rosehip, lemon grass and cinnamon taste and gives pleasure for all the senses – for the currently-so-important small moments of happiness of the day.
With this recipe the tea at home easily serve can.
Ingredients:
- Green tea
- Carcade flowers
- Rosehip
- Cinnamon
- Echinacea herb
- Lemon grass
- Orange peel