Fitness Expert Zoe Modgill Tells You Her At-Home Workout to Get Fit

Cosmo: How are you coping with gyms being shut during self-isolation?

Zoe Modgill: I am spending as much time jumping around, staying active at home and keeping an eye on how many steps I take with the help of trackers and monitors. I am also using this time to work on some fitness skills that I can be better at. Staying active is not the hardest thing for me but I am hoping to be able to reach out to out to other people who find it difficult so that they can get more conscious about getting fit. 

Cosmo: How do you swap your gym routine with an at-home workout?

ZM: Firstly, even if you are at home and you know that you will be there for a while, it helps to create or stick to a routine that you were anyway doing according to your body clock. So, get up, get dressed, eat your breakfast just like you were doing before. Whether you were hitting the gym in the morning or were working out in the evening, make sure that you keep that as a pressure…as something you must do so that you don’t find other options to not do it. Because if you postpone it or alter your routine from what you were usually doing, chances are that you will end up not working out. It is all about not letting your routine get ruined. So just make a workout space for yourself, plan those things.

Cosmo: Do you have a new regimen now?

ZM: I will be starting something exciting which is live workout sessions on my Instagram page. This is for people who have never worked out before, seniors above the age of 50 and even kids. Fitness-crazy gym people already know how to work out and I do keep putting videos out for them, but this time I want to reach out to a different group of people. I will be starting these live classes the day after and I will show some basic stuff that people can do in their living rooms, mobility movements to keep joints active and more.
Self-isolation can be the best time for people to be active. Now, more than ever people need to be reminded that getting up and moving is a good thing.
I am going to be keeping my exercise live videos 25 minutes long and I will have different time slots for kids and include my dogs too to get them excited!

Cosmo: Can you suggest 5 basic exercises that can be included in your at-home workout?

ZM: I would suggest including mobility movements such as shoulder and arm rotations. Upper body twisting is a really good exercise because your lower back can get compressed from sitting or lying down too much. Your spine is designed to move in all direction, so this swaying side to side movement keeps it more fluid. Neck rotation exercises are great too especially if you are sitting all day looking at your laptop or phones. And, legs, of course. They are the biggest muscle in your body. So, getting up and sitting down on a chair 20 times every half an hour is a great way to keep active. Lunges are great because they work out the full-body.

Cosmo: And, what is one the exercise to do if you absolutely don’t want to work out but want to remain active?

ZM: You are better off getting your heart rate up by doing some sort of cardio activity, marching on the spot or just climbing a flight of stairs. So, brisk walking in your balcony, jumping rope, I would definitely recommend cardio and if I had to pick an exercise, I would say lunges are really good.