Staying Fit in The Q As Told By Elon Students

We don’t know about you, but ever since the quarantine hit, we’ve been waking up at noon every day and having a lot of trouble changing out of our sweats. It’s challenging to stay motivated when the only places to go are the couch and the kitchen.

We spoke to a few Elon students who have provided us with their workout routines and motivational tips while being quarantined at home (and thank goodness for that).

Ally Disanto is currently quarantined at her home in Wilton, Connecticut. She believes waking up and getting active truly sets her energy for the day. After waking up, she completes a 20-minute power yoga flow with Melissa Wood Health. “That gets my energy flowing and gives me motivation to do all of my school work,” Disanto said.

After class and work, Disanto likes to continue moving her body with an online HIIT or Pilates class conducted by either SoulCycle instructor Julie Ferrer or her friend, who is a HIIT instructor and goes live on Instagram daily. She said, “Sweating has been the only thing getting me through this time, it’s so good for the oils in my skin and my anxiety levels in general. It promotes better sleep and has been a good way to relieve stress!”

Alexa Rasmussen is currently quarantined at her home in Franklin, Massachusetts. Similar to Disanto, Rasmussen said her “exercise routine is the only thing keeping [her] sane.” Rasmussen said her normal routine each day is to run about four miles and complete a quick arm or abdominal workout afterward.

“Unfortunately, it’s been raining a lot. So, when it rains and I can’t run, I do an arm, ab, butt and leg workout in my living room on a mat with two five-pound dumbbells,” said Rasmussen. Specifically, Rasmussen said she completes “about 50 sit ups, planks and dip to each side, side planks, donkey kicks, arm flies outward and forward, boxing punches and push-ups.”

Lauren Catalano is currently quarantined at her home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Catalano said she has been trying to do a Feel Better Yoga class online four to five times a week. In addition to yoga, Lauren goes on long walks almost every day and completes a quick 15-minute ab routine from darebee.com. 

“I've been very motivated to get outside because I know that if I’m stuck in the house all day I’ll get sad and bored,” Catalano said. She said yoga has been great for her and she has been very motivated to practice because “it’s helping [her] stay calm and in touch with [herself] during this crazy time.”

Amanda Gibson is currently quarantined at her home in Atlanta, Georgia. Gibson said her biggest motivator throughout this time has been her Apple Watch. The watch has three rings: standing hours, exercise and movement. Gibson programmed her watch to have the three goals as 12 standing hours, 30 minutes of exercise and 500 calories burned by the end of each day.

Usually, Gibson completes all of her three goals by noon when she is at school. While it is much more difficult to complete these goals in your home, Gibson said the Apple Watch is very helpful in challenging her to complete these goals by “ringing” and alerting her to complete them.

In addition, Gibson belongs to Burn Boot Camp, where she does Zoom workouts. “You actually have a live workout and the trainer will like call me out if he knows I could be doing better,” Gibson said. “ appreciate that motivation.”

Dara Sypes is currently quarantined at school in Elon, North Carolina. Sypes is an instructor for Campus Recreation and Wellness at Elon. She teaches yoga, Pilates and barre. Though it has been challenging for her to stay motivated to stay active during this time, she said she finds herself being more productive on days when she makes time for a workout.

Sypes said she tries to get her heart rate up each day, even if it is just a light walk. She said, “I try and do yoga or some form of barre or Pilates in the afternoons or a walk. Just something to get my heart rate up and fun!”

We hope their routines and ways to stay motivated help you continue to move your body each day. Quarantine is something we never thought we would have to deal with in our lifetime, and yet here we are. The best we can do is continue to take care of ourselves, our bodies, and our loved ones. Getting outside or sweating in your living room can really make a difference for you. Change out of your sweats, and get sweating!