How I got fit during quarantine (2025)

Want to know a free, easy way to get fit? No fancy equipment required, no gym membership, no personal trainers or service subscriptions.

Get yourself a yoga matt, some really good music, a free fitness app (I use Nike training), basic balanced eating habits and the most important: consistency.

It sounds easy, but that is why it works.

What I found during this quarantine is that simplicity is key in everything that we do, and fitness is part of that.

Prior to quarantine I was doing it all wrong and seeing no results. I was paying for fancy bootcamp/yoga courses and a gym membership. I was commuting to the gym 3–4 times a week and buying fancy gym clothing. However, it wasn’t making a difference in how my body looked and how I felt.

On the other hand I was doing it all wrong food wise. Expensive meals at restaurants, catered food at work. Drinks with friends and coworkers. Lots and lots of over-indulging.

Then quarantine hit. I had quit my job a few weeks prior to Covid-19 to take some time to travel but my trip got cut short and I was forced to come back and self isolate in a tiny studio apartment.

Blessing in disguise

What this meant for me and many others: no more gyms/yoga studios open, no more eating out at restaurants or fast food joints, less disposable income and of course, being stuck at home.

What I realized months after was that this was all a blessing in disguise. I was out of work living off savings and this meant I had to keep it simple and inexpensive.

My fitness journey really began during my first 2 weeks of self-isolation. I was stuck in a tiny studio apartment with not a whole lot to do and kind of losing my mind.

By chance I found a free App offered by Nike, called Nike training. I really think this App is fantastic. It has more than 100 workouts ranging from 10 minute to 45 minutes targeting all kinds of muscles. Most importantly, the majority of the workouts are body weight only, meaning no equipment is required; just yourself and maybe a comfortable matt.

I signed up for one of their free guided plans and I started working out. I grabbed a matt, put on some loud music and did a 15 min body weight workout.

At the beginning, it was tough. I couldn’t do pushups and ran out of breath very fast. But I simply kept following the plan which really only required 15–20 minutes of my day everyday.

I felt happy and energized

Gradually, I increased the difficulty and duration of the workouts. I could do 45 min workouts 4–5 times a week. I felt great after I’d workout. It got to the point where I felt my body would crave exercise for the mental benefits. If I skipped a workout I would get in a bad mood! I also began seeing muscle definition all over my body including my shoulders, arms and abs.

I had never before seen my upper body look so toned. I was amazed because I hadn’t used a single dumbbell or barbell. It was just moving my body in ways I wasn’t used to.

Without realizing it as well, I was eating much better. I was mostly consuming home made meals using very simple ingredients. I still indulged in sweets and carbs now and then, but overall I was eating a lot of fruits, veggies and protein. I started drinking a lot of water (1–2L per day) and going for walks to get sunshine. Oh, and I significantly reduced the amount of alcohol I was consuming (yes it’s your worst enemy when it comes to fitness).

Over the course of 4 months I lost 13 pounds, toned my body and felt amazing.

And the reason why this was so achievable was because of how accessible it was to me (not to mention free!).

All I had to do was grab a matt, put on some earphones with good music, find a small space in the house, open the app and start the workout of the day.

No more commuting to gyms, stressing over what to wear and appearance or how to use scary looking equipment.

What I learned from this is that consistency is key in everything we do, but that there are ways we simplify the process that allows us to be consistent. Thankfully, quarantine allowed for this. I don’t think I’d have ever gone through this process had there not been a pandemic. Once again, talk about a blessing in disguise.

I also learned that, you don’t need a lot of money to get fit. In fact, you don’t need any money. Your body is your best friend. There are so many ways to move it to target the right muscles. And there are so many free resources out there. Thanks to the internet, getting fit is affordable. We just need a bit of discipline and simplicity. By eliminating decision making (commuting, choosing what to wear etc.) it is much easier to stay committed to an activity.

The mental health and physical benefits of exercise are incredible. I truly hope I can continue to make exercise a priority.