The only thing missing from your mother’s morning mantra is a gruelling workout routine. We all have been lectured about (and sneakily ignored) the benefits of exercise. However, the quarantine blues and loss of long walks at school have made us question our long-held tiff with working out. After the WHO’s guidelines to stay physically active during quarantine made the rounds on WhatsApp, Athena decided to save you the exhaustion of choosing which YouTube video to follow. Here’s a list of fun and no-nonsense exercises that both Sluggish Garfield and Peppie Odie will love!

     #1 Zoom Dance Sessions: Who doesn’t love to bust some moves with their friends? Zoom your friends and blast your room with Britney or Rihanna’s music. If you want to get more serious, you can use this playlist for some Zumba lessons.

     #2 Plank challenges: Nothing motivates humans more than competition. Challenge yourselves with plank modifications and notice how long you can hold your plank after 30-days of plank-ing!

     #3 Yoga: Seriously, it’s not easy to be able to stand straight on one leg. Start by doing five Surya Namaskars and increase your count weekly; I guarantee you, when Aunty sees her child going back to their roots, you will gain some serious brownie points.

     #4 Sit in a squat while watching your favorite TV show: Multi-tasking may be discouraged by your teachers, but when it comes to beginning a workout habit—we can cheat our way into training those quads and that entire core (Don’t slack off on your posture though!).

     #5 Try body-weight workout: You don’t need heavy gym equipment or a personal trainer to gain some muscle. Just a yoga mat and a device that can stream this video is all you need for this session.

     #6 Juggle or play Scrabble or other online games!: Don’t forget about your brain when you’re thinking of gaining some muscle. It’s important to keep firing up your neurons to maintain a healthy body. In addition to the above games, you can keep your mind in fighting form by engaging in mind-flexing activities on Lumosity, which can help improve your short-term memory, visual-spatial orientation, hand-eye coordination, and much more!

So despair not! The worst is over, and we want every one of you to come out stronger from this tunnel. No more excuses, get moving!