Here we go again!
This year has taught us more than any other how to pivot and adapt to changes in life. And while it’s been super difficult to try to forecast the future with regards to the economy, work, school, you name it, keeping up our fitness is one of the few things that we can rely on whether we have a gym available or not. So if you’re a Californian, by now you’ve most likely heard the latest news of the state closing down gyms (again) due to the increase in COVID cases. If you’ve been enjoying the past month of your gym space, time to get back to your game of training at home. Since this is round two of indoor workout facilities, hopefully the transition to figuring out your home work out is easier to manage. If you find yourself still struggling with devising a game plan, reach out to your boy! I’ve been doing this for a long while and would love to help you out. You trust your car maintenance to a professional, trust your health goals to a professional.
Here are some quick tips on how to make round two of shutdown go a bit smoother for your fitness.
Healthy snacking: Pre pandemic, if you’re like me, you kept a healthy snack drawer in your workspace or meal prepped lunch to keep you from hitting the vending machine for that bag of chips, sub-par sub sandwich, and bottle of soda. Or maybe you didn’t and that was your go to. Now, if you’re working from home, access to all of the extras in the fridge or pantry is far too easily accessible. So, let’s fix that by keeping healthy snacks ready to go and in the forefront of your fridge. Even better, plan out those snacks and lunches in your Tupperware much like you would do if you were bringing them to work. Same routine, but without Bob in accounting trying to pinch your meal!
Scheduled walking breaks: Way back in February, you probably were walking a lot more doing laps from the parking lot to the office, upstairs or down the hall to attend meetings, walking over to talk to Jennifer about marketing ideas. Now, it’s wake up, brush your teeth (I hope) and head to the living room and click on your computer to start your day. Hit up a Zoom meeting or two, reach out to Jennifer on Slack about those ideas. Before you know it, you’ve burned a new hole in the couch and it isn’t even noon. It didn’t seem like it, but all those little trips around the office added up to a lot of steps throughout your day and provided a quick mental break away from the screen. So make it a point to schedule time to get up from your WFH space to stretch the legs a bit. A quick trip around the block while you take that Zoom call will do wonders. Likewise, if you can invest in a standing desk, do it. You’ll have the availability to burn just a few more calories throughout your day by merely standing.
Strength training for endurance sports: I can’t say this enough, if you want to perform better as an endurance athlete, you need to implement a strength training program. If every pro athlete is on a strength training program to keep that edge on the competition, why aren’t you? With more time available, now is the time to dense up with lean muscle, and to strengthen your weak spots so that when races open up, you’ll be ready to take on the competition. You’ll only go so far by simply sticking to training for your sport of choice, at which point, overtraining and fatigue may set it, or repetitive use injury may set in which will sideline you for longer than you want. Which brings me to the next point…
Fixing nagging injuries: So perhaps you’ve been the workhouse training for a busy season and haven’t had time to address that wonky ankle or that achy shoulder because you ain’t got time for that! With the extra time and since nothing but virtual races exist right now, seek out the help you need to address those issues. Often times, the issues aren’t as big as you may think. While you may be wary about meeting with a Physical Therapist in person right now, many have done the legwork to offer great services via Zoom and can talk you through what you need to do to get back on track. That ankle and shoulder I mentioned? Real life, that’s me currently. So yes, I took my own advice during the off season to reach out to my PT, figure out what’s going on that I couldn’t figure out (coaches have coaches too!) and rehab the body so I can get back to doing what I love at 100%.
Setting a goal: All these tips and tricks during this time are all easier to maintain and stick to if you have a goal in mind for yourself. Something that’s (S)pecific, (M)easurable,(A)ttainable, (R)ealistic and (T)imely. Let’s face it, you have these SMART goals when it comes to your work and you may even set them for your kids. So keep that discipline with doing the same with your health and fitness. Got a big target you want to hit? Figure out when you want to achieve it by and work backwards allowing ample time to put in the daily work to reach it. And by all means, reach out for help. There’s a ton of misinformation out there and someone’s great Instagram feed doesn’t always mean they know what they’re talking about. Do your homework, speak with different professionals and seek their help.
Life lately has been a big test of our mental fortitude and how well we march forward with a positive mindset despite all of the challenges being thrown our way. How we create the pathway to success is determined by turning seemingly bad situations into rays of opportunity to keep us moving forward. With big parts of the the country shut down, while it definitely has been hard financially for many of us out there, it has allowed us time to reset, catch up on sleep and spend more time with family than ever before. Regarding fitness, many folks have now been able to find that extra time in their day to make those steps towards improving their health. Remember, you deserve to be healthy! Small steps lead to big results. Stay consistent and don’t look to be perfect everytime. With focus and dedication, you can reach your goals.
