With many people in self-isolation, keeping physically and mentally fit and healthy has become a challenge.

Gyms are closed in many countries, with thousands of people confined to their homes. So, what can you do to keep in shape?

UK TV fitness instructor Derrick Evans, or Mr Motivator as he's better known, gives his key tips on what you can do to keep fit and motivated at home during these unprecedented times.

1. Improve your posture

When you are stuck at home and remain seated for a long period of time on your computer or watching television, it can cause your posture to suffer.

The first thing you need to do is sit up straight every 30 minutes, imagining there is an orange between your shoulder blades. 

Gently squeeze the juice of the orange, which in turn will see your shoulders go back and your posture change.

2. Put some trainers on

You should put some trainers on in your home, not slippers or socks. 

This will put you in the frame of mind of wanting to do something related to trainers and exercise. 

3. Put some great music on

Music is a great way of lifting your spirits while also keeping you fit. 

Mr Motivator says: "Go into your own 'special room' and put on music that you like and dance like there's no tomorrow!"

4. Make use of your home

Make use of the facilities you have at home. For instance, if you have stairs use them to walk or run up and down. 

Also be sure to make use of the spaces where you can do exercises such as press-ups, running on the spot and squats. 

All these things you can do without the use of a gym while maintaining a level of fitness or even improve it if you haven't exercised in a while. 

Mental health as important as physical

It's not just your physical health that is vital at these times, your mental health can also be so important.

Mr Motivator says it is critical to look after your mental health: "Your mental health is going to be critical over these next days, weeks or months. And I think the one thing we've got to do is to be accepting of the situation we're in and accepting the situation is saying, 'look, how am I gonna make the best of the situation?' I mean, that's just the first step towards acceptance.”

Exercise classes being streamed online

Many fitness experts and gym instructors have started streaming their classes online for users to follow from their homes.

UK fitness instructor Joe Wicks, also known as The Body Coach, has started up a daily fitness class for children on YouTube during which they can follow his fun workouts. 

The future of streaming classes online remains unclear but Mr Motivator sees it as a potential substitute for gyms going forwards. 

"When it comes to recording and stuff like that, going to live classes. A lot of people may not even go back to that. Streaming may become the way they do things in the future, which means you have got accessibility to the classes at a time that suits you,” he says.

It's hard to stay motivated all the time

Even Mr Motivator admits he has had times in his life when he has struggled to keep himself motivated 

"People judge me based on where I am at the moment and they think, 'oh, it's all right for him.' But there was a point when I was given away at three months of age. There was a point at which I was homeless. There was a point I wished I was at home. I was a one-parent family for a lot of years. I had to look after a daughter and do everything in terms of childminders, a whole lot. So I've been through it and I've been through the University of Life.”

At the age of 40 he decided he had a choice to make – whether to be happy or sad. He thinks everyone has that choice in life: 

"My message to everybody out there today is, you have a choice about whether you want to smile or whether you want to be sad, whether you want to be happy or whether you want to be sad, whether you want good times to come or focus on the bad times," he says.

"The reason we've got eyes at the front is so that we don't spend all our time looking behind us. We can look forward. We can look forward to better times."