“We can’t really go anywhere or do very much,” Tevin Duncan said. “But technically, not everyone needs equipment to burn the calories or make themselves feel good.”

Duncan is the coordinator of fitness and wellness at the Ramsey Student Center. He said you can work out from home and exercise how you need to.

 Why It’s Newsworthy: Due to Georgia’s shelter-in-place order, people don’t have the option to go to their local gym. Most aren’t sure how to exercise and eat at home or without having the knowledge of an expert. 

 

One person does not necessarily need to perform the same workout and eat the same food as another. A beginner in the gym or a someone who is regularly active wouldn’t have the same plan as a high school or college athlete.

That beginner in the gym is someone who is new to working out or usually lifts for body composition, weight loss or muscle mass. An athlete can be someone who does anything from football, soccer, track, power-lifting and Olympic lifting.

“The basic ones would be push ups, sit ups, bur-pees, body weight squats,” Duncan said. “Those are kind of your money makers, your overall body movements. Those movements are going to burn the most calories.”

High school and college athlete workouts could also incorporate these types of exercises. However, lifts that are performed explosively or at a high rate of intensity are the key difference for this group of people.

Eric Magrum is a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia. He also has experience in training athletes.

“Most of the time, athletes are going to utilize compound multi-muscle group exercises. For example, a back squat, a dead lift, a clean, a snatch.Those sort of movements,” Magrum said.

Just like working out, nutrition should be different between beginners and athletes. Knowing what kind of food you’re putting in your body and doing that on a consistent basis is the major point for non-athletes.

“I try not the supplement anything, so most definitely eating consistently to keep your metabolism high,” Duncan said. “Most definitely having breakfast and getting that jump start to your immune system. And most definitely paying attention to what you eat.”

An athlete’s workout is usually more intense and demanding. Depending on their volume of work, they will have to eat more food, specifically the body’s main source of energy.

“Athletes are more active most of the time than recreational lifters or runners or exercisers,” Magrum said. “So they are going to consume, probably, more carbohydrates or more food in general.”

Georgia’s shelter-in-place order will be enforced through April 30. Until then, beginners and athletes will have to work out from home.

Wil Wynn is a senior majoring in journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia.