Jordanians staying fit, healthy during coronavirus curfew

AMMAN – With the curfew entering its second day in the Kingdom, gym trainers began publishing home exercises via social media to encourage people to exercise to strengthen their immunity and respiratory systems.

“From the first day of the curfew, I started publishing workouts on my Facebook page that are 15-minute long and could be done easily by all family members,” said group exercise trainer Mona Darwazeh.

Darwazeh told The Jordan Times that exercising on daily basis is very important for the immunity system “given the current situation that is forcing everyone to stay home”.

“We need to stay fit and workout will strengthen the immunity system, and as long as people are staying home they will be entertained with sports and feel that they are doing something useful,” Darwazeh said.

On Friday, the government announced that a curfew will be imposed on citizens starting Saturday in an attempt to control the spread of the virus.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh told a press conference on Saturday that the “curfew is a new lifestyle that Jordanians must get used to until the coronavirus is controlled”.

Fitness expert Rima Amer is also using social media to guide viewers at her YouTube channel and Facebook page to use their equipment at home as gym tools.

“I am encouraging people to use house tools for fitness training such a mop, water bottles and sticks to break the routine to do their training,” Amer told The Jordan Times.

Amer added that another method is “resorting to Arabic dancing and doing certain moves that will keep people moving”.

“I hope that everyone will stay fit, eat healthy and sleep well so that they can protect themselves from coronavirus,” Amer added.

Meanwhile, group classes instructor Qussay Asad, who gives fitness classes as a hobby at one of the capital’s gyms, said he is using live feeds or recorded training sessions on Facebook to encourage people to stay home and exercise”.

The classes start with warm ups, stretching and then a full class for people who are interested to stay fit to strengthen their immunity and respiratory system “because these are two elements that could fight the spread of coronavirus”, Asad told The Jordan Times.

“The idea is to encourage people to accommodate to the current situation through sports, which will help them think in a positive manner and to boost their morals,” Asad said.