How I’m (Barely) Staying in Shape Through Quarantine

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Picture this: a four-bedroom college-house, 3 roommates (all former volleyball players), an empty living room with furniture pushed against the wall, and a singular Spikeball net and ball as the crowning jewel of our arrangement.

This is what I’ve resorted to to not only kill boredom but stay in shape during this quarantine.

I knew it was time to start implementing legitimate at-home workouts when I found myself lying on the floor in a sweaty pile after playing Spikeball while literally just sitting on my ass.

It was honestly a bit of a wake up call for me because for most of my formative years and consequently all of my adult life, fitness has been an essential part of my life. Yet, in the same way that I’ve been struggling to find motivation to do work that I used to be able quickly and efficiently, I’m struggling to stay in shape.

When I first started playing travel volleyball at age 14, I was also required to attend workouts with my team before practice at least twice a week. This helped me to develop crucial gym skills and knowledge that I’m extremely thankful for now because I’m never intimated walking into a gym that’s overrun by testosterone-pumped boys who think it’s fun to only do arm workouts. But on a serious note, it instilled in me a love of fitness and a passion for maintaining a healthy and strong lifestyle.

I continued working out consistently for the next 5 years and added the intensity of summer and fall workouts with my high school to my routine. Through that time, I saw working out become a crucial part of my life. It was a way to stay healthy but also another outlet for stress and other frustrations.

When I moved away to college. I almost immediately joined the club volleyball team and for the first year, I saw myself using that as an excuse not to workout on my own time. I was eating healthy and regularly getting moderate to vigorous cardio so I was by no means out of shape but something I pride myself in is being strong and fit for my small size and I saw a lot of my muscular definition diminish.

My vertical has infinitely decreased since I stopped doing regular plyometric workouts, but hey, college-me has still got some hops.

Summer came along and I told myself I was going to take working out more seriously. And I probably worked out two to three times a week and played sand volleyball at least once a week so again, I was by no means out of shape, yet I still felt unfulfilled.

I started taking exercise more seriously when I began my second year on campus. I began implementing strength and cardio based workouts at least 3 times a week and added legitimate workouts into the practice plan for club volleyball as well.

The day I started to see my biceps forming was a monumental one for me—as someone who prides themselves on being mentally tough and intellectually strong, I haven’t always felt as if my physical appearance matched this. For me, it’s never been about my actual physical appearance, but about the mental benefits that come with maintaining a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle and continuing to have goals to work towards and achieve.

Fast forward another year and here I am, stuck in quarantine. I usually hate at-home workouts. I really love the experience and ritual of leaving my house to go to a gym environment where I can plug into my music and get to work. When I try and work out at home, I get distracted easily and never have the right equipment or space to do what I want to do. But my inability to get through a low-key game of spikeball with my roommates was the kick in the ass I needed to start working out again.

Today, my roommates and I did a bodyweight leg and ab workout and by the end of it, we were lying in a sweaty pile on the floor. But it felt good to be out of breath again and to know that I was taking the first steps to getting back on track.

But another large factor was finding people who supported me. While living at home over the summer, I often found that when I told my parents that I was leaving to go workout instead of staying to sit and watch and movie and snack with them they felt as if I were choosing my physical appearance over spending time with them.

However, I’ve found a great group of people who not only support my goals but are right there with me. My best friend is just as passionate (maybe even more) about working out than me and he’s currently training for a range of crossfit competitions. And my roommates have been right there with me and making me feel less stupid as I jump around in my living room.

Left: My roommates, Xavier and Taylor, and I Right: My best friend, Wheaton, and I.

There are a multitude of resources for easy and effective at-home workouts on the internet, social media, and even in your backyard. For me, it was just a matter of getting the motivation to start.