We’re just about ready to return to normalcy, but is it safe?  As businesses start to reopen, there’s one thing you need to remember: COVID-19 hasn’t magically gone away. 

That doesn’t mean you should cancel that cross-country road trip, or refrain from going to that outdoor restaurant, but it does mean you should continue to take all the precautions necessary to stay healthy. Luckily, we’ve all had months of practice–we just have to tweak our methods a bit for social gatherings and other encounters as businesses and restaurants begin to reopen. 

Thus far, this reopening includes hair salons, barbershops, dentist offices, some nonessential retailers, outdoor dining, and a few more. At the time of this post, there are over 8 million cases of coronavirus worldwide and over 2 million of those cases are in the United States of America. However, we’re seeing a spike in cases amidst the reopening of businesses all over the United States. Experts are predicting another spike in the number of coronavirus cases, and awareness and mindfulness should be top of mind. 

There’s a caveat with reopening that with more contact, we might end up right back where we started. The CDC wants everyone to know that “In general, the more closely you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread.” The number one thing to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus is to minimize exposure, which means staying in unless absolutely necessary. 

But in the cases where you just need a break from your apartment (we hear you), here’s how to resume going out during COVID-19 safely:

1. Wear a mask
   By now, you should have a mask you can wear to protect yourself and others from contracting the virus. Even though things are reopening, you should still wear your mask unless you are eating or drinking. Since coronavirus is believed to be spread through the air, be sure that your mask fits snugly on your face. Gaps can introduce airborne contaminants to your airways.
   
   Touching a surface that has COVID-19 on it and then touching your nose, mouth, or eyes, could be another form of contracting the virus. Wearing a mask will keep you from touching your face, reducing the likelihood of contracting the virus from contaminated surfaces.
   
   Yes, it’s going to be hot under that mask, but the far worse outcome is contracting and spreading the virus to others. 
2. Wash your hands thoroughly
   You’re probably familiar with the 20-second rule when washing your hands, but here’s a refresher. Wash your hands for at least 20-seconds with soap and warm water. Be sure to get under your fingernails, and lather up to your wrists. 20-seconds is about the length of singing “Happy Birthday”, as a rule of thumb. Washing your hands thoroughly will prevent the spread of coronavirus as well as protecting you and the people you live with from contracting it.
   
   If you’re about to head to a restaurant or picking up food, make a habit of washing your hands thoroughly before and after your meal. 
3. Sanitize regularly
   As you start to go out more, sanitizing is more important than ever. The CDC recommends hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Wearing a mask can prevent you from touching your face as you’re touching other surfaces like doorknobs, elevator buttons, and other high-touch surfaces, but get into the habit of also using hand sanitizer between touching public surfaces and belongings like your car door, steering wheel, cell phone, and other personal items. When you get the chance to, wash your hands thoroughly, but in the meantime, hand sanitizer is your best bet! 
4. Stay 6 feet away from others
   Prolonged exposure near others will increase your risk of getting infected or infecting others. When you’re out, stay at least 6ft away from others.  Coupled with wearing a mask, this will minimize the risk of getting infected, especially when having a conversation or in more crowded areas.
   
   Keep this in mind when eating at newly reopened outdoor restaurants. These establishments should already be spaced according to this guideline, but you should ask a waiter or waitress if you suspect the spacing is too close. When you’re eating, drinking, and socializing without masks on, it is imperative that you keep this 6-foot rule. 
5. Stay home when safe
   If you feel sick or are exhibiting any symptoms, stay home, and avoid going out until your symptoms subside.
6. Socially distance outdoors
   Studies show that well-ventilated areas are less likely to spread coronavirus than those that aren’t. Avoid gathering indoors altogether. But if you are gathering indoors, opening a few windows will help disperse any airborne contaminants. In addition, wear a mask and try to keep a distance between people that don’t live with you.
   
   Luckily, gathering outdoors is so much nicer anyway. Wear a mask when you’re not eating or drinking and keep a 6ft distance from others. You should also bring your own utensils and reusable water bottles or drinking glasses instead of using your friends’. 
7. Use disinfectant wipes
   When getting gas or going to an ATM, be sure to use a disinfectant wipe if available. If not, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol after fueling up. When you get home, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds.

   Additionally, when ordering takeout or getting food delivered, use disinfectant wipes on the outside of the bag or dispose of the bag it came in immediately. Then, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds before eating or drinking.

1. Precautions apply to pets too!
   Although it may be tempting to, refrain from petting that super cute labradoodle you encounter at the park. Likewise, keep your pet on a short leash to prevent contact with strangers and other dogs. This can keep your pet and others safe. Although there isn’t sufficient evidence to say that the virus can’t be transmitted from pet to pet, it’s better to err on the side of caution–for your sake and theirs. 
2. Get tested
   Coronavirus testing is becoming more readily available and accessible in certain areas. Some don’t even require insurance, citizenship documentation, and are completely free. Check your local area for more information. If you’ve been in a large crowd recently, or are experiencing symptoms of coronavirus like coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, find a testing center and get tested immediately.
   
   In addition, there are also antibody testing available in certain areas. It’s believed that some people remain asymptomatic as their bodies can fight off the virus, but these people can still spread it. It can be reassuring to know if you’ve got these special antibodies, but it’s also good to get tested if you have the means, to be extra careful not to spread the virus to others.
3.  Keep your social circle small
   Spending time with friends and family is a healthy way to cope with all the uncertainty going on in the world today, so it’s no surprise that people are eager to get back to their social lives. However, the more people you interact with, the higher the risk of getting infected or infecting others. Keep your in-person social circle small to minimize your level of risk. 
4. Assess your risk
   Of course, it’s your choice whether or not you want to take the risk of exposure no matter what you’re going out for. Consider the three D’s when deciding whether or not to go out: diversity, distance, and duration.
   
   Diversity refers to the number of households you’re interacting with outside of the people you live with. As stated previously, the wider your social net is, the more likely you could get infected. Pay special attention to whether or not the people you plan to interact with have been to any high-risk areas in the last 14 days. These can include large crowds, social gatherings with people from other households, doctor’s offices or hospitals, hair salons or barbershops, malls, and offices.
   
   Distance pertains to the proximity of your interactions with others. Are you taking a bike ride with some friends that don’t live with you? Are you dining at an outdoor restaurant without adequate spacing between others? The rule of thumb is to stay at least 6ft apart from others, especially when people aren’t wearing masks. Whether that’s with the friends your dining with or people sitting or walking nearby, these are some things to consider.
   
   Duration is in regards to the amount of time spent with others outside your household. The longer you spend with others, the more risk you have in contracting or spreading COVID-19. If you’re having an extended conversation with someone or browsing a store in close proximity to others, this risk might increase. 

As we slowly transition back to normalcy, keep these tips in mind. When in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to stay home for the time being to stay safe.

Headaches? Eye strain? Trouble sleeping? Digital eye strain can be uncomfortable and affect your work and wellness. There are several causes of asthenopia, or eye strain, unrelated to underlying disease. The cause of this is attributed to the overuse of digital devices that emit blue light, prolonged driving, bad eyeglasses prescriptions, extreme fatigue, or lack of sleep. 

Blue light is produced by common devices such as televisions, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Your 8-hour workday in addition to a few hours of video gaming or Netflix, plus a couple of hours of scrolling through social media, is a lot of time exposing your eyes to blue light. This isn’t inherently harmful though, but with overuse, it can cause discomfort such as headaches, eye strain, and difficulty sleeping. 

Eye strain symptoms include:

• Headaches
• Tired eyes
• Eye fatigue
• Eye strain
• Difficulty sleeping

Tips for eye strain relief

Overuse of devices can cause eye strain, make it more difficult to sleep, and cause eye strain headaches or migraines. Reducing your usage of digital devices will be a surefire way to reduce eye fatigue and eye strain, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. We know! So if you can’t take a digital detox, try these tips for eye strain relief. 

Blink often

Many people blink less frequently when working on the computer. Blinking helps the production of tears to prevent dry eyes. Remember to blink often when working on a computer or other screens to refresh your eyes. 

The 20-20-20 Rule 

Think of this as taking a break to reset your eyes. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet (6 meters) away from your screen for at least 20 seconds. 

Calibrate your display settings

In most modern devices, you might have the ability to set a “night mode” that will adjust your screen to warmer tones at night to reduce blue light emission. The warmer tones that reduce blue light may help you sleep better as blue light interrupts your circadian rhythm as you may have learned from a previous article on how to sleep better. You should also reduce brightness on your screen according to the amount of light around you. As it gets darker, reduce the brightness on your screen to reduce strain. 

Reduce glare

A bright light bouncing off the screen or sunlight shining in from a window can cause glare on any screen. You can lower the brightness on your screen, draw the shades, or change the position of your screen to reduce eye strain.  

Blue-light blocking glasses

These are special glasses that block blue light from your eyes. To note, the general overuse of devices won’t be remedied by using blue light blocking glasses alone. Refer to the previous steps as well to improve your overall comfort when using your gadgets at home. 

Working from home can have its perks, like working with your pet beside you, or not having to put on makeup or wear real pants (or any pants for that matter). However, working long hours in a less than optimal position can have negative effects on your posture and lead to back pain, neck pain, and even injury. Luckily, there are a few exercises to help you improve your posture while working from home, at the office, and beyond! And by “beyond”, we mean the couch. 

Do these 5 exercises throughout your workday

You want to do these exercises periodically to reduce strain on your body. It’s a good idea to look away from your tech devices periodically anyway to reduce eye strain from the blue light. Take the opportunity to do some light stretching in between work! Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds each. If you feel any pain, stop immediately–these exercises should not be painful but feel like stretching. 

1. Stretch out your neck
   An ideal desk setup would have your monitor at eye level to reduce neck strain. Unfortunately, not everyone has this setup–varying from sitting on our laptops on the couch, in bed, or on a stand that isn’t quite comfortable. These positions can cause you to hunch or extend your neck forward which can cause poor posture and lead to neck pain. Throughout the day, sit or stand up to roll your neck to either side–slowly and comfortably to stretch your neck. Then, roll your head back and towards the front in a clockwise motion, and reverse. You should feel this stretch relieve some tension on the nape of your neck. 
2. Roll your shoulders
   Ideally, your arms should rest at a 90º angle from your shoulder to your keyboard. If your keyboard or desk is too high, your shoulders may start to strain from being too high up. To stretch, drop your arms down every once in a while and shake them out. Then roll them slowly in circular motions. 
3. Reach for the sky
   Simple but effective–this stretch lengthens your spine to relieve tension from being crunched up into that weird position you’ve found yourself in for hours. Interlace your fingers and reach your arms up (palms towards the sky). Then, bend to your left side and your right to stretch out your obliques. 
4. Open up your chest
   Your chest can feel tight when you’re hunched over all day. With this stretch, open up your chest as you pull your shoulders back, with your hands placed on your lower back with elbows bent. As you deepen this stretch by curving your spine towards the back, you’ll feel your chest open up and some tension release from your shoulders. 
5. Forward fold
   Taking a practice from yoga, this one will require you to stand up and then bend over, hinging at your hips, and reach for your toes. This stretch will relieve tension in your lower back. With this stretch, allow the top of your head, and your shoulders to relax toward the Earth to deepen this stretch. 

 

Yoga for better posture

 

These are a just a few simple stretches to squeeze into your busy workday. If your back and neck are in need of some more TLC, we highly recommend practicing yoga, which has been proven to strengthen your core and other muscles, relieve back pain, and improve posture. 

 

For the following moves, be sure to use a yoga mat for comfort and support. For kneeling positions, you can fold a towel under your knees for comfort. You can do these moves every day to improve your posture:

 

1. Child’s pose
   For this move sit on your knees with your knees shoulder-width apart. Then gently fold forward, hinging at your hips and extending your arms flat onto the mat. You should feel the stretch in your shoulders, releasing tension from your upper back and arms. 
2. Cat-Cow
   Get on your hands and knees, with your knees at a 90º angle and your back flat (table-top position). Then, as you breathe in, arch your back, dropping your belly down and look up towards the sky. As you breathe out, tuck your chin to your chest and round out your back towards the ceiling. Repeat this for 20 seconds. 
3. High plank
   Plant your palms shoulder-width apart on the mat, as you lift into plank position. The key to this is to engage your core and keep your back straight. You may have the tendency to curl your body up or dip your bitt down, so if you’re doing this for the first time, have a friend tell you if your form is correct. You should feel some tension in your arms and your core. 
4. Downward-facing dog
   You can easily maneuver into this position from a high plank. From the high plank position, lift your bum up towards the sky, keeping your legs straight while extending your arms keeping your back and neck straight. Sort of like an upside-down V. This will stretch out your hamstrings as well as strengthening your back and improving your posture. 
5. Thoracic spine rotation
   For this position, lay on your left side on your mat and bend your knees up into a 90º angle with your left arm stretched on in front of you. Exhale as you rotate your body and reach your right arm to the opposite side. Hold for 30 seconds, and repeat on the opposite side. 
6. Hip thrusts
   Strong glutes help support a strong lower back and relieve lower back pain by aligning your hips and pelvis, which can lead to better posture. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet planted on the floor. Then, left at the hips, keeping your shoulders planted on the floor, squeezing your glutes at the top. Repeat 10-15 times. 

 

If you can spare 10-60 minutes a day to deepen your yoga practice, you will see more improvement in your posture over time. Yoga with Adrienne has a full library of yoga videos you can follow along with for free with varying durations so you can fit in your practice no matter how busy you are. You can also follow yoga practices on the Down Dog app or Nike Training Club. Don’t get discouraged, keep at it, and you’ll get stronger and stronger with every practice, and see major improvements in your posture!

 

With all the noise and chatter that is this digital age–where your mind is constantly being overstimulated from work, social media, and general responsibilities of adulthood–it’s easy to lose sleep or fixate on things that are happening around you, which can almost always lead to unnecessary stress. At LARQ, we value wellness and strive to find ways to lead healthier lifestyles, whether it’s from drinking enough water to getting enough exercise, and even mediation.

During this time of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to unplug from the world. Whether stress is related to your adjusting to working from home, missing your loved ones, or even your overconsumption of social media (probably all of us), you can care for your personal wellness with one simple practice: meditation.

Meditation is a form of emotional wellness. Caring for the mind, managing stress, and promoting happiness.

We often think that meditation may be a waste of time, but it can be the best form of self-care you can give to yourself. Meditation doesn’t come easy the first few times around, but with practice, meditation can be a lifelong tool you can use to manage your stress.  Take a moment to focus on being calm and mindful instead of thinking about that report due tomorrow.

Allowing yourself to pause for a few minutes a day can help you maintain your stress levels and give you the ability to recenter yourself during stressful situations.

An additional benefit to meditation is to practice quieting the chatter in your mind in order to sleep. Many people suffer from restlessness and inability to sleep, which can, in turn, lead to more stress. Your mind naturally wanders, but when you learn to meditate, you will find it easier to shut off those restless thoughts and doze off into a peaceful slumber.

Don’t get us wrong, it does take a bit of practice in order to find your rhythm. The trick is to be patient with yourself and give yourself the time to focus on your practice.

How to Meditate

Find a peaceful space

For some this can mean a bedroom, living area or even outdoors. Whatever makes you feel the most at peace. When you’re first starting off, it’s important to meditate in a quiet area. This will help you focus on your thoughts instead of external factors.

Set a time limit

It can be 1 minute, 3 minutes, or even 30 minutes. Take the time you have or need. (Tip: Set your alarm tone to something soft–the sound can be jarring)

Sit in a comfortable position

Whether it’s cross-legged, on your knees or on the edge of your bed, get into a position you find suitable for the time you’ve allotted for your meditation.

Focus on your breathing

Close your eyes, and begin by taking slow and controlled breaths; breathe in through your nose and exhale deeply through your mouth. Then breathe comfortably–focus on your inhale and exhale, the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe in and out.

Be present

Focus on being present. What’s happening around you? Is there a breeze blowing against your skin? How are you positioned? Are there sounds around you?

Allow your mind to wander

As David Gelles writes, “The goal isn’t to stop thinking or to empty the mind. Rather, the point is to pay close attention to your physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions in order to see them more clearly, without making so many assumptions, or making up stories.” It’s okay to let your mind wander, just remember to come back to the present moment.

End on a positive note

Thank yourself for taking the time to complete your practice. Reflect on what you’re grateful for that day and plan to incorporate meditation into your daily routine.

It’s okay to take a pause every once in a while to center yourself. Meditation is a great daily reminder to be mindful, be peaceful, and relax in a noisy digital age.

Calorie and nutrition trackers

Whether you’re trying to get stronger, build muscle, lose weight, or hit all your nutrition goals to be healthier, your diet is a huge part of your fitness and health journey. Ever heard the phrase, “you can’t outwork a bad diet”? Well, that rings true in all aspects. No matter how hard you work out at the gym, if you’re eating poorly, you won’t achieve the results you want or need for your health. Luckily, there are apps that will help to calculate your macronutrient or micronutrient goals, log your daily caloric intake, and track your progress throughout your journey.

MyPlate Calorie Counter

MyPlate is an app by LIVESTRONG, that provides more than just nutrition help. They’re focused on meeting health goals, not necessarily fitness goals by offering users customized meal plans, recipes, and workouts to help you along your way. MyPlate tracks daily calories, exercise, and progress towards your health goals, develops customized meal plans for your target macros, includes free recipes to inspire you to eat healthier, and short workouts and estimated calories burned per workout.

Free

Available on: iOS and Google Play

MyFitnessPal

This calorie counter app is beloved by many for its interface, vast user-uploaded meals that make calorie counting a little easier, and ability to scan packaged foods and upload its nutrition into the app. Their premium version offers features like a macronutrient chart that shows you your macros by the gram or percentage in your diary, food analysis, CSV export, and more. However, the free version is tried and true and is great on its own!

Free

Available on: iOS and Google Play

FatSecret

For all you keto dieters out there, FatSecret helps you count your calories and your macros to ensure you stay on track. You can even connect it to your Apple Health app and Fitbit to sync your fitness stats with the app and keep everything in one place.

Free

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Carb Manager: Keto Diet App

Another one for you keto-ers and low-carb dieters out there. It tracks net carbs, macros and micronutrients in over a million foods, includes keto-friendly or low carb recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, and can be integrated with your Fitbit, Garmin, and other apps like Apple Health and Google Fit. You’ll be good with using the free portion of Carb Manager, but there is an option to upgrade to Premium which includes more recipes, exclusive premium recipes, personalized meal plans, unlimited logging and more. We’d recommend starting off with their free version if you’re just starting out on your keto journey and upgrading to the more robust Premium once you feel the need to kick things up a notch!

Free, Premium for $39.99 USD for 1 year

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Strength training apps

Working those muscles? Us too. If you need a little guidance when it comes to weightlifting or strengthening and toning up, it’s important to keep in mind good form to avoid injury. Strengthening your muscles is not only going to help sculpt your body, but it will also help you build muscle tone that will help you get stronger and to burn fat. Ready to get really really sore?

Nike Training Club

Leave it to Nike to create a completely free fitness app that is actually really amazing. NTC is a beautifully designed app that’s easy to use and includes a huge library of workouts for all fitness levels, workout preferences, variable equipment (or no equipment so you can work out at home), and features workouts led and guided by their Nike Master Trainers and sometimes celebrity athletes. Each workout is guided by voice, includes video instructions on how to do each move, and sets the interval time for you so all you have to do is follow along. It really is like having a personal trainer with you. Nike is constantly expanding their library so now you can find everything from yoga to HIIT and boxing to bodyweight training.

Free

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Fitbod

Fitbod is a strength training app designed to guide you through your workout at the gym. It takes the planning out of your gym session so you can focus on getting those reps in and getting stronger. Their method is unique because it personalizes your workout plan based on your strength-training ability, studies your past workouts and maximizes the equipment available to you.

Free

Available on: iOS only

Fitness Buddy

Similar to Fitbod, Fitness Buddy is another great app for guidance at the gym. What we love about it is the animations (with real people) that show you how to do each move with the ability to select the type of equipment available to you. The app also includes curated workouts you can do at the gym or at home too! We’d recommend it for anyone who’s just getting started with weight training or cultivating an at-home gym.

The free version is pretty straight-forward and easy to use for guidance at the gym with free weights as well as machines. With premium, you get curated gym workouts, custom workout creator, exercise videos nutrition plans and more.

Free

Premium: $9.99/mo; $29.99 billed annually

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Yoga apps

Whatever your fitness goals are, yoga is always a good idea to include in your workout routine. Why? Well, yoga focuses on strength and balance as much as it does on flexibility. It’ll help improve posture so if you’re working at a desk all day, you need yoga in your life. You’ll also find the practice of yoga particularly relaxing–maybe not at first as your body is getting the hang of the positions, but it is a nice change from your usual cardio or gym session.

Asana Rebel

Asana Rebel uses the foundations of yoga to bring robust yoga-inspired fitness to your workout regimen. You can find meditative yoga tutorials as well as fat-burning HIIT workouts using yoga moves you never knew could burn so much. The free version contains loads of yoga videos to follow along and do wherever you are–upgrading to premium unlocks even more variety of videos and workouts if you ever get bored of the free ones or want to deepen your practice.

Free

Premium: 3 months $43.99

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Daily Yoga

If you’re looking for an all-around yoga app, look no further. Daily Yoga features a ton of guided yoga classes, meditation, work out plans, and even mixes in HIIT, pilates, and vinyasa to help you burn fat. You’ll stay motivated too with workouts and challenges that you can complete that will show up in your practice profile. It becomes really addicting once you have a few days logged and minutes. The app is free to use but you can upgrade to their Pro subscriptions for added features and more workouts.

Free

Premium: $12.99 – $19.99/mo

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Meditation and wellness

Mental health and wellness are of the utmost importance when it comes to overall fitness. Studies have shown that exercise alone can help improve mental health, ease anxiety and reduce stress, but what about when you’re not working out? Meditation is great for your health and can help you develop a calm and mindfulness most of us desperately need. It’s not a cure-all for all mental health issues, but can be a solution and a practice that will help you make the days more bearable.

Headspace

We love Headspace because of how it is set up. You can ease into your meditation practice if you’re a total newbie and you will feel better and better each day. It does take practice to truly be able to focus on meditation, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to use your practice whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed. It’s a great tool to have and Headspace will help you get there.

The free portion of Headspace includes the foundation of meditation and mindfulness that will help you get you accustomed to the practice. You can upgrade to the premium subscription plan that includes the basics, mini-meditations for busier schedules, themed meditations, mindfulness exercises and more extras that will deepen your practice.

Free

Premium: $12.99/mo ; $7.99/mo billed annually

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Calm

If you’re looking for a meditation app that also helps you get more restful sleep, Calm is it. The downside is, this app doesn’t offer a free version past its 7-day trial, but it’s a great app that we couldn’t exclude from this list. They’ve created a platform that masterfully combines methods to help you meditate and sleep better–something we all need–and even includes their unique Sleep Stories, which are basically bedtime stories read by well-known voices to help you drift off into a deep slumber. What are these well-known voices you ask? Let’s see… there’s Matthew McConaughey for starters–need we say more?

7-day free trial, then $59.99 billed annually

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Running & cycling apps

Charity Miles

OK, folks–if you’re running you need to use Charity Miles. With Charity Miles, you can select a charity ranging from categories like health, children, animals, environment, education, veterans and more to fundraise for. You can turn your evening jog, walk, dance or cycling session into a fundraiser for the charity of your choice by connecting in the app and tracking your activity. Every mile you log means money for your selected charity. If you needed the motivation to get moving, we hope you’ve found it here.

Free

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Runkeeper

If you’re looking to track your progress and runs, map routes and discover new ones, Runkeeper does all that and more. Runkeeper lets you schedule your runs and helps you stick to your goals. If you’re training for something like a marathon, the app lets you set distance, pace or weight goals so you can stay motivated and on track. They even have audio cues to let you know what your pace, distance and time is without having to look at your phone. Keep in mind that the free version offers tracking and logging of activities and basic stats (that’s really all you need), but the Runkeeper Go–their premium version–includes the aforementioned progress insights, stats, tailor-made workouts, weather insights, live tracking and more.

Free

Premium: $9.99/mo

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Strava

Strava is a unique running and cycling app built as a social platform for athletes. Not only does it allow users to map routes, view popular routes, and track new ones, but it also includes a social aspect where users can share trails and routes, photos, cheer each other on, and meet new people. The complex GPS mapping system connects with your phone, GPS watch or head unit, heart rate monitor or power meter to record your stats and track your performance so you can focus on getting better.

The free portion of the app allows you to track fitness activity, record your run, map cycling routes, and analyze training with stats. With their premium upgrade called Summit, you can get a customizable workout and training plans, get live feedback on your training, and extensive performance metrics. There are three Strava Summit packs you can opt into for a fee: Training, Safety, and Analysis–depending on your needs you can sign up for one, two, or all three. Each offer different use cases like race analysis with the Training Pack and live GPS tracking for the Safety Pack.

Free

Premium: 1-pack $24/year; 3-pack $60/year (17% discount)

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Boutique fitness studio locator apps

As boutique fitness studios are becoming more popular, we wanted to include a few apps that will help you find a studio or fitness class you love. Not all of us enjoy lifting or going for runs and that’s totally okay. There are a ton of different workout methods you might enjoy that hit all your cardio and strength training needs without having to lift heavy weights at the gym or running on a treadmill. Some of these include kickboxing, pilates, yoga, barre, cycling–you get the gist. The following apps make it easy to find something you love and reinvigorate your enthusiasm for working out again.

Mindbody

Mindbody allows you to explore an immense library of fitness classes, studios and even salons and spa treatments around you easily and acts as a platform for reservations without the need for pesky memberships or complicated sign-up processes. The app even connects to your Fitbit if you want to track your workouts and heart rate from the classes you take all in the app! We love that it allows you to easily reserve classes instead of having to call or drop-in.

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Classpass

Classpass offers membership to users to access a wide array of fitness studios across the US without having to sign up for a bunch of different studios. If you’re still on the search for a workout method that you enjoy, or if you’d like to try out a bunch of different fitness classes, Classpass might be for you. You’ll also save money this way since you won’t be paying drop-in rates at all the fitness studios you’ll be trying.

Available on: iOS and Google Play

Zenrez

You can find group fitness classes to attend last-minute at a discounted rate on Zenrez in major cities across the US. The platform includes fitness classes like boxing, barre, Zumba, Pilates, TRX and many more. They’ve built a network of fitness studios all over to make it easier for people to discover new fitness studios in their area. We love Zenrez for this reason. It’s easy to just jump into a class on a whim and try something new for a change. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your new favorite thing.

Available on: iOS only

The novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, struck the world more quickly than anticipated. Initial cases originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and since have spread to well over a dozen countries worldwide. In the beginning, there was questioning whether the virus would spread to other countries, but now it is a matter of when it will spread across the globe. 

What people need to know about COVID-19 is that it is a virus and it spreads like any other virus like influenza. According to the Center for Disease Control. COVID-19 is believed to spread through respiratory droplets produced when a person sneezes or coughs. These droplets can be inhaled into the lungs of nearby people. The spread of COVID-19 comes from close contact from person to person (about 6-feet in proximity). It is currently unknown if these pathogens can be spread from touching surfaces that have the virus on it and then touching your face, nose, or eyes, but err on the side of caution in any case. 

Places to avoid

Elevated risk of exposure is more likely with people who interact closely with potentially infected travelers. People who have encountered the following areas should take extra precaution:

• healthcare facilities
• deathcare facilities
• airports & airline operations
• border protection
• solid waste and wastewater management

It’s important to be mindful if you, or someone you have regular contact with, spends time in these places, or if you or someone you know has traveled to areas where the virus is spreading.

Being in heavily populated areas with close proximity to others can be a cesspool for germs to spread. In general, avoid densely populated areas or public places as well as areas that infected travelers might visit. 

Prevention 

Currently, there is no vaccine for COVID-19. The best way to avoid contracting the virus is to avoid exposure to the best of your ability. If your current occupation makes it difficult or impossible to avoid contact with people, take these steps to prevent contracting illnesses like COVID-19: 

Clean your hands frequently

Believe it or not, people still don’t wash their hands as frequently as they should. Washing your hands more frequently can reduce the risk of respiratory infection by 16 percent! So, why wouldn’t you? 

But don’t just rinse–wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. That’s about the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. If you get bored easily or feel weird about singing “Happy Birthday” to yourself 27 times a day, check out this list of 20-second song snippets to make handwashing thorough and fun. 

If you don’t have access to a sink and soap, use some hand sanitizer to clean your hands. The CDC recommends a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel completely dry.

Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose with unwashed hands. 

Avoid close contact with others

As we mentioned before, COVID-19 spreads from person-to-person through airborne respiratory droplets that may be inhaled into the lungs. Stay away from others when possible, wear an N95 mask if you are sick or in a crowd, and avoid situations in densely populated areas. 

Prevent others from getting sick

If you have a strong immune system, good for you, but you still need to stay home if you are sick to protect others who may have compromised immune systems. Self-quarantine yourself to ensure that others around you don’t get sick. If you think that you may have contracted COVID-19, you must notify a medical professional. Call your primary care physician or a nearby medical office to let them know your concerns before visiting so that they can take the necessary precautions. 

Cover your coughs and sneezes

Germs can spread like wildfire if we don’t practice good hygiene. This includes covering your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and disposing of the used tissue in a lined trash can. This will prevent respiratory droplets from being inhaled by neighboring people. Be sure to wash your hands immediately after coughing or sneezing for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. 

Wear a face mask

The surgeon general urges people to stop buying masks unless absolutely necessary. If you are sick or if you are caring for someone who is, please wear a mask. Mass purchases of masks have caused a shortage of these necessary resources from facilities that desperately need them. However, if you are indeed sick, you should wear a face mask to prevent respiratory particulates from entering the air and into someone else’s lungs. 

Clean and disinfect

Although there is no definitive answer to whether or not you can contract COVID-19 from touching contaminated surfaces, you should clean and disinfect common areas frequently as a precaution. Use cleaning products that eliminate bacteria. If you’re using a reusable cloth, be sure to wash it thoroughly before touching or reusing it again. Always toss disposable disinfecting wipes into lined trash cans promptly after using. 

Stay healthy

A strong immune system will prevent you from getting sick, so adopting wellness practices are always a good idea. Be sure to get the recommended six to eight hours of sleep per night, drink lots of water, and eat your fruits and vegetables. 

On the topic of drinking water, try not to share your drinks with others. Keeping your LARQ Bottle handy is especially helpful during this time because the UV-C will keep the water inside your bottle and the inner surfaces free of any bacteria or viruses. UV-C disinfection technology has been around for decades and used in water treatment facilities as well as hospitals for sterilization purposes. Our UV-C LED technology is projected at an optimum wavelength of 280 nanometers, which categorizes as germicidal. This triggers a photochemical reaction that destroys the DNA of bacteria and viruses, rendering them inactive and unable to harm you. We’ve harnessed this technology in our bottles, providing safe and effective water purification on the go. The bottle also activates the 10-second Self-cleaning mode automatically every 2 hours so you don’t have to worry about what’s growing in your bottle. If you don’t have a LARQ Bottle and are using another reusable option, be sure to wash your bottle frequently and properly as bacteria and viruses and grow exponentially between washes. 

Staying healthy will help you fight off illnesses in the event that you do contract something, so it’s more important than ever to pay attention to your health and overall wellness.