AMMAN — Amid a two-week government-imposed quarantine that has resulted in the closure of health centres and the halting of activities across the Kingdom, gym and health enthusiasts are still finding ways to stay active at home.

 

Even before the quarantine, most gyms in the Kingdom shut down as a preventive measure, with a number of centres telling their clients through text messages that the shutdown is “indefinite”.

 

Private trainer and fitness instructor Tamara Safadi tweeted before the shutdown through her official Twitter page: “The fact that I am not hitting the gym is killing me. I went yesterday and I could not even enjoy my workout because of how freaked out I was about touching anything. Then I realised that nothing is worth that torture.” 

 

However, more recently, Safadi has begun posting pictures of home workouts, saying that “working out at home is still better than not finding the motivation to move from the couch”. 

 

Other fitness instructors and amateur gym-goers have begun following a similar trend, sharing tips and videos of workouts that can be done at home and encouraging people to stay active.

 

Some have shared pictures of rooms in their homes that they have turned into small gyms with minimal equipment.

 

“Staying at home can cause a lot of us to turn to binge-eating as our only source of entertainment. It is very important that people resist that urge, especially those who are instructed to workout and stay healthy because of health problems,” said personal trainer Waed Shanableh in a phone interview with The Jordan Times.

 

“It is hard for fitness enthusiasts not to be able to go to the gym, but it is definitely harder and more serious for those who have to go because they need to lose fat due to high cholesterol levels, for example,” she added. 

 

Shanableh advised citizens to search for home workout videos available online, noting that “most gyms and personal trainers are already posting helpful videos and tips on their online pages”.

 

Discontent among citizens who “are working on their summer bodies” or who “use the gym as an escape to relieve mental stress” has also been voiced on social media platforms.

 

“Just as I was starting to see progress, the gym shut down. It is very frustrating, but these home workouts hit differently. They aren’t too bad!” Rahmeh Shareef tweeted.

 

User Ahmed Adawi said on Twitter that the gym had been helping him “achieve milestones” in dealing with his mental health, and that he “plans on staying active as much as possible during the shutdown and going back to the gym as soon as possible”.