Staying active and getting exercise is a vital part of leading a healthy life, and like many other things, the pandemic has made doing so much different and more difficult in many ways. By now, over a full year into the pandemic, most have learned to adapt and have found new ways to fit COVID-19-safe fitness into their schedules. 

Sophomore Grace Lippincott plays softball. She explained that she and her team are expected to come into the season in shape and ready for practice. Because of the pandemic, Lippincott’s traditional pre-season fitness regimen was changed, and she commented on a few of the safer alternatives she has explored. 

“I used to run when it was warmer outside, but now that it’s colder I work out in my house.” Lippincott explained, “It has a few cardio machines and free weight that I use.”

While many people have returned to public gyms and workout spaces as COVID-19 restrictions began to ease up, many people still feel uncomfortable with it. Lippincott, who has made the necessary adjustments to be able to work out in the comfort of her own home, feels the same. Making these modifications to ensure the safety of her workouts is just one of the aspects of staying physically fit changed by the pandemic. Lippincott touched on her motivation levels since the start of the pandemic as well. 

“I think my motivation has grown since the pandemic,” Lippincott said. “I have just gotten really bored, and working out was easy to do and it became a habit.”  The large amount of free time that was presented to most people by the pandemic has been used up in many different ways, including establishing new, physically healthy habits, like Lippincott.

Unlike Lippincott, whose season is upon her, sophomore Lona Horner plays field hockey, which is not currently in season. Horner explained that her sport does not give a strict regimen for staying in shape, but provides a few options for players who want to get in shape or stay in shape. 

“I’m able to go outside and do workouts outside; like running and watching YouTube videos is always helpful when you can’t access a gym during quarantine,” Horner explained. “Since I have weights at home, from taking experience from going to the weight room at my school, I do simple dumbbell exercises.”

In this day and age, most people have access to countless videos, routines, and fitness plans when it comes to working out from home. While this has presented Horner with a few different options within her fitness regimen, like most, she commented on the motivational challenges she has faced while attempting to stay fit during the pandemic. 

“I think the pandemic made it harder to work out,” Horner said. “Everyone has been sitting around for months on end and when it comes to getting back in shape, it’s hard to find that motivation to start again.” Finding motivation while being stuck at home—often without being able to see others—is a challenge that nearly everyone has faced throughout the pandemic. Similarly to Horner, many will go as far as to say that it is the biggest challenge they have faced while trying to keep themselves fit this past year. 

“Telling yourself to get out of the slump you’ve been in all [of] quarantine is really hard,” Horner said. “If your motivation is close to nothing without the pandemic, then it’s even harder to get started.

The pandemic has presented everyone with all types of challenges and adversities. However, as 2020 progressed, many have found their own ways to stay fit while also keeping themselves and others safe.