Jillian Kurtz
During this time, the fitness community has discovered new ways to keep encouraging others to be active and maintain a healthy lifestyle during this time. Many people rely on gyms for their workout routines and fitness lifestyle, but with the closures of facilities, people have had to find new ways to stay active at home.
The Nina B. Hollis Wellness Center is Florida Southern College’s home to fitness, wellness and recreation. With the closure of Florida Southern’s campus, the Wellness Center will remain closed “until further notice.”
On the wellness center’s Instagram account (@fschwc), the staff continue to post about at-home workouts and other tips to stay active.
Gemma Cardinale, a senior at Florida Southern, is the Fitness Supervisor and a Personal Trainer at the Wellness Center. She suggests creating a plan to stay active at home and creating a designated workout space.
“When you plan to workout, put on actual workout clothes and have music to listen to while you workout that helps motivate you,” Cardinale said.
Cardinale has dedicated most of her Instagram account (@gemcardinale) to workout videos and tips. Transitioning from gym-centered workouts to at-home workouts with little to no equipment is challenging, but has also been fun for Cardinale because it has made her get creative and find ways to use different things around the house in her workouts.
In her “At Home Back and Bi’s” workout post, Cardinale uses a broom attached to an elastic band to simulate a lat pulldown bar.
“At first, I didn’t know if I would like the home workouts but it’s fun to change things up and I’m learning a lot more about different methods of training and how to get the most out of an at home workout,” Cardinale said.
Caldarella practicing yoga stretches in her home.
Taylor Caldarella is a certified Yoga Instructor at the wellness center at Florida Southern. She has been offering free live streamed yoga classes on her Instagram account (@tcaldarella5). Caldarella decided to make a YouTube channel, so that people are able to watch and take her yoga classes on their own time.
“I decided to live stream yoga classes because I am a certified instructor, so I felt that it was important to share my knowledge of yoga with people during this time,” Caldarella said. “It makes it easier for people to access workouts.”
