IT was quite a challenge staying fit during the Movement Control Order (MCO), especially when exercising outdoors, such as jogging or cycling, was not allowed. It basically meant doing fitness routines at home, alone, which requires a lot of determination to do regularly.
Things eased up a bit with the Conditional MCO (CMCO), when outdoor exercises done solo or with social distancing, were allowed. And now, during the Recovery MCO (RMCO) it's possible to do some workouts indoors, provided there's social distancing.
So, you could go to the gym if you wanted to. But just as some people are still putting off haircuts because of lingering fears of the virus, there may also be those who are hesitant to go back to the gym, even though they would like to work out.
If you want to do some indoor training that's more interesting than just push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups, you will need to purchase some basic equipment.
Here are two types of portable gym equipment, which you can purchase online and they will deliver to Malaysia (and they won't cost you a bomb).
BODYBOSS TOTAL WORKOUT SYSTEM
You have heard of, and probably have seen, people using resistance bands. The BodyBoss portable gym is basically a resistance-band-based system but it's far more sophisticated and functional than a simple set of bands.
Now already in its second iteration, the BodyBoss 2.0 incorporates a versatile platform that allows you to do many different types of exercises with the bands, as well as increase the resistance by looping the bands through different loops on the platform base.
Using this neat device, you can work out your entire body: shoulder, arms, chest, abs, lower back and legs. The company has a YouTube channel that has tons of videos that teach you how to do different types of workouts.
The device is very portable, weighing slightly less than 7kg. So, you could bring it to the park if you wanted to and do the workouts outdoors. The basic package is US$179 (RM766). Just Google "BodyBoss total workout system" and you should be able to find the homepage where you can make the order.
OYO NOVA GYM
If you are not into resistance bands and want something a bit more high-tech and space age, the OYO Nova Gym might be the product for you. This nifty little device is built based on SpiraFlex technology, which was used by NASA to keep its astronauts fit while in space.
You can't very well lift any weights in space because everything is weightless. SpiraFlex, which is a tension disc technology, is able to generate the resistance necessary to simulate weight training.
The original OYO Personal Gym provided up to 11.4kg of resistance. The latest iteration, called the OYO Nova, offers up to 18.2kg of resistance. As with the BodyBoss system, the Nova comes with a variety of accessories to make it more versatile. You can do over 100 different exercises with it. If you want to talk about portability, this one is super portable, weighing just slightly over 1kg.
The Nova has the distinction of being the most funded fitness product in Kickstarter History. The company had set a goal of raising US$30,000. It achieved that in less than an hour of its campaign launch on April 28.
At the time of writing, it had already raised more than US$4 million. There are different packages available through Kickstarter (just Google OYO Nova and you will be able to find the Kickstarter page). The cheapest one, at the time of writing, is US$155. And yes, they will ship to Malaysia.
HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)
What if you don't want to spend any money on equipment and you don't have a whole lot of time for exercising… but you still want to get fit? The New York Times 7-Minute HIIT is probably the best solution for you. It doesn't require any equipment beyond a chair.
In May, 2013, the NYT published an article that referred to a then-new article in the May-June issue of the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal, which talked about an efficient and effective 12-exercise routine, which takes about seven minutes to complete.
"There's very good evidence" that high-intensity interval training provides "many of the fitness benefits of prolonged endurance training but in much less time," the NYT quoted Chris Jordan, a co-author of the journal's article.
The 12 exercises are supposed to be done for 30 seconds each, followed by 10 seconds of rest before resuming with the next exercise.
As the name of the exercise implies, these exercises must be done with high-intensity, which the NYT describes as being an "eight" in a discomfort scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most uncomfortable level. It's a tough workout but it's only seven minutes long, and it costs you nothing. You can start straight away.
Oon Yeoh is a consultant with experiences in print, online and mobile media. Reach him at oonyeoh@gmail.com.
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