ARCHIVE: Active Living Community Resources
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"Can" do-at-home workout with GC
Regulars in GC's workout classes know she always provides a good sweat and a good time. She's getting creative to bring you a class you can do in your own home. Just grab a few cans from the kitchen — and a couple other household objects for weights — and you're ready to work.
Props needed: 2 cans for hand weights, bag of flour or similar for bigger weight, suitcases or similar for biggest weights.
Active Living nerf gun workout with Vicki
How do you keep your kids busy while you're trying to workout at home? Aquatics Manager Vicki put together a game that will engage kids while giving you a major sweat session. Write 10 or more different exercises on cards and tape them to the wall. Grab a Nerf gun (or a flashlight or anything they can use to aim at the wall) for your kid. Start the music - whichever exercise your child chooses, you must do!
Nicks' 100 Burpee Challenge
Our Instagram followers challenged Nick to do 100 burpees. Learn the mechanics of how to do a burpee properly as UCalgary's head personal trainer throws down on this challenge.
Follow us @UCalgaryActive
Keep Moving 1 with Sherry
UCalgary fitness instructor Sherry was kind enough to record and share a Keep Moving workout for everyone to try at home.
Keep Moving is a lower intensity, traditional fitness class that combines cardio and simple low-impact movements including strength, core conditioning and flexibility. While this class is designed for older adults it is open to all ages and fitness levels.
Keep Moving 2 with Sherry
UCalgary fitness instructor Sherry is back with another Keep Moving workout to get your heart pumping and body in shape. No fitness experience required.
Keep Moving 3 with Sherry
Join UCalgary fitness instructor Sherry for another gentle workout, suitable for all skill levels. Learn more about our Keep Moving classes here.
Personal Training Instagram Takeover
UCalgary's head personal trainer took control of the @UCalgaryActive Instagram account on April 8, 2020, to answer our followers' questions and share some of his favourite at-home exercises.
Slow flow yoga with Rose
Yoga instructor Rose is a familiar face from Active Living's classes. Stressful times call for a relaxing yoga class that anyone can try and enjoy. Find a comfortable space in your home and get ready to slow things down and bring your awareness back into your body again. Ground yourself with gentle core activation, sun salutation variations, standing postures and a supported inversion.
Props needed: - 2 cushions (or a bolster)
Minds in Motion Kids Science Activities
Explore the fascinating world of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) from your own home. Find a list of experiments you can do yourself, including equipment list and all the instructions you need. Become an at-home scientist today.
Bubble-ology
Create bubbles from ingredients you might already have at home. Add pipe-cleaners to design your own wands and see how big you can make your bubbles.
RATING: Easy
Magic Milk
Watch as colours dance around your milk, all thanks to chemistry! This simple project uses supplies you might already have at home, such as milk, food colouring, and dish soap.
RATING: Easy
Holiday Activities
Chromatography
Bird Beak Challenge
DIY Spacesuit
Egg Staining Experiment
Bridge Building Experiment
Molecules Activity
Week 6 Activities
Floating Boats
Windmills Activity
Windmills Activity
Week 5 Activities
Coding Cups
Design Your Own Insect
Magic Milk
Week 4 Activities
- Binary Bingo
- Human Body Poster
- Oobleck! The strange liquid solid
- Paper Plate Sundial
- Senses Scavenger Hunt
Oobleck!
Human Body Poster
Senses Scavenger Hunt
Week 3 Activities
- Bubble-ology
(blowing homemade bubbles) - Cracking the Code to Encryption
- Creating Craters
- Newspaper Chair Challenge
- Zip Zip Hooray! (build a zipline)
Bubble-ology
Newspaper Chair Challenge
Zip Zip Horray!
Week 2 Activities
- Scratching the Surface
(kids intro to coding) - Egg Drop
- Germ Bread
- Salt Crystals
- Baking Soda Bottle Rockets
Egg drop
Salt Crystals
DIY Spacesuit
Week 1 Activities
Leaf rubbing
Rube Goldberg Machine
Rube Goldberg Machine
Free personal trainer-designed workouts to get toned at home
Nick Lapointe — Active Living Personal Training Coordinator
We all know staying active and moving throughout the day is important for our health. Usually, we walk at work, we go to the gym, we swim some laps, go hiking, maybe some rock climbing, we jog with our running group, hit the slopes, etc… In these times, however, these options aren’t all available, so what do we do now?
Though working from home and practicing social distancing makes being active more difficult, it’s certainly not impossible! There are many ways you can push your limits and work up a sweat from the comfort of your own home.
Give these a try!
Sample warm-up:
10 arm circles forward/10 backward
10 leg swings back and forth/10 side to side
20 jumping jacks
3 forward lunges/leg
3 reverse lunges/leg
5 plank walk outs
Workout #1: Circuit
Instructions: Complete 5-10 rounds of these exercises in sequence, taking as little rest as possible, but as much as needed
- 10 leg lifts
- 10 lateral lunges (5/leg)
- 5 push ups (hands elevated if needed)
- 10 reverse crunches
- 10 superman back extensions
- 10 squats
Workout #2: Supersets
Instructions: Perform each pairing of exercise 4 times, alternating between exercise A and B
1a. 10 pushups
1b. 30 jumping jacks
2a. 10 forward lunges/leg
2b. 30 mountain climbers
3a. 10 shoulder presses (use cans of soup or water bottles)
3b. 30 step ups (use your stairs)
4a. 10 dead bugs/side
4b. 30 second plank
Active Living Personal Training Coordinator Nick Lapointe, right, with a fitness client
7 sneaky exercises to add to your day
In addition to these designated workouts, try and move as much as possible throughout the day. In fact, I’d encourage you to be active regularly throughout the day rather than being completely sedentary for 10 hours, and then doing one single bout of intense activity. So, here’s some tips on how you can move more throughout the day while you’re home bound.
- Climb the stairs in your home 1-3 times every hour on the hour… I apologize if you live in a 20-storey building 😉
- Do 10 minutes of physical activity between every episode of Netflix
- Hold a plank while watching TV
- Do bodyweight squats while cooking (waiting for the water to boil anyone?)
- Lunge walk from room to room
- Stretch while watching TV
- Stand on one foot often (balance and fall prevention training!)
Remaining active is important not only for our physical health, but our mental health and clarity, controlling stress and anxiety, to help us focus better, sleep better, and the list goes on! Set goals, make a schedule, and be consistent – even while you’re at home!
Nick Lapointe
Personal Training Coordinator – University of Calgary Active Living
Webinar: Keeping a grip on fitness
With gyms and parks closed, how do we maintain our physical health? Dr. Patricia Doyle-Baker reviews the key attributes of fitness and how to stay strong while keeping your distance.
Register to download the recording
Live Zoom workouts: Active in the Atrium
Active in the Atrium streams 30-minute Total Body Strength classes with Samme during lunchtime on Mondays and Thursdays.
Be Fit For Life - Active at Home
University of Calgary partner Be Fit For Life has a long list of resources to offer. Check out their fitness guide for activity at home during the pandemic, and their list of activity ideas for kids and adults.
Exercises for limited mobility
For those who struggle with mobility issues, this resource details effective exercises for those who might not have a full range of motion.
