Here is how you can keep fit during COVID-19 lockdown

Muscat: Sports coaches in Oman have prescribed methods for adults and children in the country to stay fit during the time of COVID-19.

With many people in the country unable to go outside for a walk or a run, they have instead prescribed exercises that would enable them to maintain good health while staying indoors, and have recommended doing these together, so that people are able to motivate and encourage each other.

Irina Samakar, senior coach at the Nautilus Swimming Club, said, “We try to provide our students with exercises that include a structured pattern they can follow at home, under supervision of their patients. We ask them to do the same exercises that we do in training, because it is very important for them to stay in shape. It is necessary that people who are used to being active continue to do so, because to stop everything and just sit at home will not help them.”

Samakar, who is a former member of the Belarus national swim team, added: “I hope they do it, so that it can help them stay fit. Children cannot swim right now, but they can do many exercises to stay in shape. Mainly, we advise them to do cardiovascular exercises such as walking or jogging if they have the opportunity. These are compound exercises that really help you stay in shape. There are all kinds of simple exercises such as squats, push-ups and jumping that help as well. These help you keep fit and stay in shape.”

Adding to her suggestions was former Morocco international goalkeeper Chuck Martini, who these days is heading up the Muscat Football Academy in Oman. He too has drawn up plans that anyone can follow at home, and more importantly, do these as a group.

“This pertains to whoever has the desire to be healthy and fit, whether it’s taking a walk around your compound, or setting up at home to do a circuit training – for which our coaches have sent instructions to our players so that parents and children can do it together and get a fun element out of it as well,” said Martini, who previously played for Leicester City and AFC Wimbledon in the English Premier League. “There are many things you can do around the house to keep fit.

“I myself have taken it upon myself and some of my kids – my eldest daughter and I go out for walks and jogs – but for the rest of the children who are used to playing outside, whether it is the football field or the cricket pitch on the swimming pool,” he added.

While ordinary people have only been asked to subscribe to a fitness plan, the Oman Cricket Association has made it compulsory for their players to follow their training regime at home as well. With the team expected to play at the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in Australia this October, head coach Duleep Mendis wants his players to be in excellent shape so that they can pick up where they left off when outdoor training resumes.

“These days, cricketers are not just cricketers...they are athletes,” said the former Sri Lanka captain. “They concentrate so much on fitness, so that they can participate in tournaments. Fitness is a key component of this game now. It has become that. With fitness, your feet start moving quicker, you see the ball early, so everything revolves around fitness.

“What I can recommend is a whole series of exercises, including running and stretching. In fact, some of our boys have purchased exercise bikes, which is a very good thing, because they cannot do anything outside right now,” Mendis went on to say. “They do their exercises inside, and the main part is that we keep monitoring them. We monitor them in the morning, and we monitor them in the night. We do this, because then they can’t just sit around.”