Lyle Topping, In Motion Features Reporter
For those people who know how tedious getting and staying in shape can be, the mandatory gym shut down did not make things any easier. The quarantine through last summer put a real hold on a lot of people’s physical health. Unless you were extremely motivated, your couch and cell phone became a blackhole to your days and your “gym outfit” quickly turned into a pair of stained sweats and an old Gators shirt.
Now, for the people who are still skeptical about going out and working out at the gym, there may be a solution. Haley Kopshina, a personal trainer at the Daytona Gold’s Gym, gave some tips and advice for people trying to stay active. “For one, be easy on yourself because it’s a tough transition from a fully equipped gym with motivation from others with the same mindset,” Kopshina said.
Kopshina said that getting outside is great for you regardless. “But when you’re quarantined and not supposed to leave your house, it’s easy to stay inside and not realize you’re not getting the vitamin D to keep your body and bones functioning,” she added. “Have a Zoom call with friends or people you normally work out with. Just do something every day no matter how long it takes, 10 min or 3 hours. Ten minutes today is still 1% more towards bettering yourself than 0%.”
Some would consider physical fitness a two-part system. On one side you have weightlifting or cardio, and on the other you have your diet. Calm down. This next segment isn’t about a sourdough recipe or how to make vegan pancakes. Stacey Scrabis, an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who teaches human nutrition, provided some tips on dieting for people trying to eat better. “Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, choose whole grain over refined grains, replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat, limit food and beverages high in sugar, fat, salt, control portion sizes, and stay hydrated with water,” Scrabis said.
When talking to a nutrition scientist, beware of the term “superfoods.” You might be embarrassed to find out “Superfood has no legal definition and really has no meaning among nutrition scientists,” according to Scrabis. Still, there are some positives to this elusive staple.
“Food with a high phytonutrient content (antioxidants, fiber selenium, omega-3’s, etc.) that may offer health benefits,” Scrabis said. “Common ‘superfoods’ include blueberries, pomegranates, wheatgrass, goji, noni, acai, chia seeds, broccoli, garlic, pumpkin seeds, tea, soy, coconut oil, spirulina, and quinoa.”
Sounds like one helluva smoothie recipe. So there you have it, folks. Eat your veggies and play outside. Essentially, be a kid again.