Keep fit and have fun amidst ongoing lockdown
Hands up if you want to beat COVID-19? With stage 4 restrictions now extended for another six months, struggling Melburnians definitely do and one of the best ways to do this is with your attitude. Crawling under a rock and staying there is perfectly understandable. But don’t let this virus have the last word!
Yes, we’re only allowed one hour’s exercise a day (two hours, from September 13) and this within a 5km radius of home, with only one extra friend or family member beside you. But you can still have fun fitness at your local park or beach or just in your backyard. Try these budget-priced options on for size, release your happy brain chemicals – and show COVID-19 what for!
Picnics and playgrounds
The Andrews’ government’s first step of their COVID-19 restrictions road map will see the reopening of playgrounds. You’ll also have the chance to relax at your local park or beach with a book or share a picnic with a friend or family member. Fantastic news, right? And with Melbourne’s lovely long evenings coming into their own with the start of daylight savings on October 4, the city’s nightly curfew has been extended for an hour to 9pm. So, don’t wait – get outside and enjoy fresh air once more! Go for a walk, run or bike ride, with or without your dog, or do some yoga.
Fun with the family
Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has produced a great website for all the family, with the Find Your 30 Challenge including one section devoted entirely to fun sports for kids. Just some of these great possibilities advises families to set up an obstacle course in their backyard to score tries. Think running, jumping, dodging, weaving, twisting, spinning and more. Basically, anything goes, but whoever scores the most tries in the shortest time, wins. On this note, you could also organise an obstacle course with skipping ropes, balls, cones and anything else that comes to hand to dodge, lift, jump, and crawl around or under. Try family basketball, rugby or soccer games together or haul out that rarely-used table tennis table in the garage and set it up for a great afternoon’s fun. Frisbees always come in handy outside too or think back to your childhood and bring back hopscotch, skipping ropes, hula hoops, and wheelbarrow, three-legged, egg and spoon or sack races. Trust me, such fun and games never go out of fashion!
Homegrown fun
Fun anywhere, anytime, dancing is always a blast! Whether it’s around the kitchen with your cat while dinner is cooking, or meeting with a friend for a picnic lunch, turn up the volume of your favourite song and start working those feet and fingers! Then there’s the sunny spring weather to consider. Why not buy some water balloons and have a throwing competition with your friend? Spare garbage bags and tarpaulins can make excellent water slides while cardboard boxes are fantastic for sliding down hills. Don’t forget that backyard trampoline either – who doesn’t love jumping up and down for hours at a time?
Whatever activities and sports you want to try with your family or a friend, don’t let COVID-19’s doom and gloom win this game. It’s determined to bring frustration, annoyance and sadness to your life – to say nothing of crashing your bank account – but you can keep it at bay. You’ve got this!
https://www.sportaus.gov.au/findyour30/challenge
https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sport-and-exercise-metropolitan-melbourne-covid-19
https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/updates/coronavirus-covid-19/statement-premier-0
