Anne Arundel Fitness Expert Offers Exercise Tips: Coronavirus

Kristin Danley-Greiner
·5 min read

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Adjusting to life during a global pandemic hasn't been easy. Many people are finding themselves stuck inside more than before. While county park trails are still open for people to hike on and a walk around the block while practicing social distancing works, too, one Anne Arundel County fitness expert has a few ideas to help people stay active and healthy.

Since 2013, Nicole Reed has owned Baydog CrossFit in Severna Park with her husband and two other business partners. She enjoys being outdoors with her family, paddleboarding, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, bicycling, skateboarding, playing soccer and lacrosse, and running trails.

But when the new coronavirus pandemic broke out, many of Reed's favorite activities couldn't be done. Furthermore, in the hopes of curbing the spread of the virus, fitness centers were shut down, too.

"Just like anyone else, I was not expecting to face a public health crisis like a worldwide pandemic, so of course it is concerning on many levels. Our family tries to maintain proper nutrition to support a healthy immune system and regular exercise and sleep patterns. We encourage our members and others to maintain the same healthy lifestyle choices and habits," Reed told Patch.

As the times have changed, she's channeled her teaching and coaching skills from an in-person format to online in order to help people out.

"My main concern was how we would continue to provide services and resources that were traditionally delivered in person once we were ordered to close. My business and ACE certified trainers and coaches provide a community and a sense of camaraderie among our members and that commitment goes beyond just physical wellness it is social and emotional wellness too, now just in a virtual/online platform," said Reed.

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CrossFit is described as a comprehensive exercise program with constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. As an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified personal trainer, Reed said she aims to inspire clients, help them overcome barriers, stay moving and lead a more healthier and physically active life.

"At Baydog, we believe that building a stronger community means achieving optimal health and human performance focusing on all dimensions of our wellness: physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, financial, environmental and occupational," said Reed. "Exercise has many benefits that are critical during this time. As an ACE certified trainer and health coach, we try to stress the importance of structured, fun physical-activity experiences. Physically it provides a release of hormones in the brain and body that help provide homeostasis for physiological processes. Ultimately, exercise reduces stress levels and can provide a routine in a time of uncertainty."

While stuck at home, Reed suggested families establish routines that incorporate healthy habits.

"In an ideal world, we should have been doing this in the workplace already, but moving forward, hopefully it will be our new norm," she said. "Working from home today is very different than the working-from-home concept of a month ago. It is a stressful time; go easy on yourself and your co-workers. It is a nearly impossible to work, learn or function at a basic level when we are in a state of crisis, feel overwhelming stress or exhaustion. Do your best to focus on human connections and feelings of safety, which are our basic human needs. Once we stabilize our basic human needs we will function more effectively as a workforce."

Reed advised people who work from home to adopt the following practices:

  • Take frequent breaks that allow for physical activity or movement for optimal brain function.

  • Incorporate a daily exercise routine with a focus on the main components of fitness: muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance and flexibility.

  • Plan your meals for nutrient dense choices, establish a sleep schedule based on the circadian rhythm.

  • Sharing a home during a stay-at-home executive order can be stressful, but it's important to focus on those relationships.

"Whether you have children or senior citizens that you share a home with, now more than ever, take a moment to remember how precious and fleeting our time together is. We are often so rushed; hopefully our new norm establishes patterns for us moving forward that allow us to create boundaries and routines that are less stressed," Reed told Patch.

While working from home with children underfoot, Reed emphasized that people should not expect perfection from themselves, their children or their workforce.

"Handle one task at a time, one day at a time. No day, no accomplishment, no perfect behavior was ever a guarantee a month ago, just as it is today. We just seem upside-down right now because everything has changed so drastically so quickly. Be kind to yourself," she said.

As a professor in the health, fitness and exercise studies department at Anne Arundel Community College, she educates students through general education health courses, courses toward the health, fitness and exercise studies degree, and the personal trainer certificate. She also is a certified American Council on Exercise personal trainer, health coach, group fitness instructor and sports conditioning specialist.

Baydog CrossFit hopes to establish a scholarship using new membership purchases for students studying health sciences at the community college who may be in need because of the crisis.

"We know that being together face-to-face is critical, but we can find hope and health benefits in a virtual world also. Hopefully we can use this time to give back in some way," said Reed. "I hope this time, for us all, establishes new patterns that contribute to living better, longer. I hope we slowdown, reconnect, and find ourselves healthier and happier than ever before."

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This article originally appeared on the Annapolis Patch