YouTube became my instructor and I’m more fit than ever
Photo by Ksenia Kazak on Unsplash
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the whole world. According to WHO, over 6.5 million people died. Everybody’s lives have been disrupted. The news in every media is full of tragedy.
Here I dare focus on the silver lining. How many can I find in my life?
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Unlike my husband, I was never an avid gym goer. I used to belong to one for years because my husband did, but the return of investment must have been less than a quarter compared to that of my husband’s. He went six days a week, except for Saturdays. If I went three days a week that was an accomplishment.
Squash, bicycling, swimming… None of them lasted long. Then Yoga. It became my thing to do there, but I was always a couple of minutes late for the class.
Then COVID hit. Our gym closed down. Poor my husband, he lost not only an opportunity to exercise but also to socialize. From six time a week to zero was far more drastic than 1-3 times a week to zero.
Soon taking a walk in the neighborhood became our thing to do between 5:30pm to 6:30pm. At first we took a different route every time. “Should we turn left? Right? Or straight?” “Let’s turn … (alternate one of the three).” Was our main conversation. In about a month or so, we must have turned every single corner within one mile radius from our house.
The spring past. The summer came and gone. When the fall arrived with more frequent rain and much earlier sunset, we stopped going out for a walk. Neither my husband nor I are outdoor type. We didn’t have any appropriate gear that keeps us dry and warm while outside for an hour.
An YouTube channel called “Appearance TV” has saved me from putting on weight during the lockdown. The title sounds funny? Maybe that’s because this is not an American but a Japanese channel.
The two, or sometimes three guys in the video look young and cute, and all their programs are short and easy, no more than 10 minutes. Some are less than 3 minutes. Every two to three days a new video is added. I first picked 3-4 videos that looked easier, the ones I can do mostly lying on the floor.
Soon It became my daily routine to exercise by following several videos in this channel right before going to bed.
Every night after I change to my pajamas, I bring my iPad with me upstairs to the bedroom. All the exercises are so light that I hardly sweat, but my body gets warm enough to fall asleep fast.
No need to drive to gym. No need to spread a yoga mat. No need to change to tight pants. Thanks to Appearance TV, now I enjoy exercise every night, which never happened before.
That’s all thanks to the pandemic.
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What’s your silver lining?