Home workouts during lock down will not only keep you sharp physically but mentally too. Photo / Getty Images
Home workouts during lock down will not only keep you sharp physically but mentally too. Photo / Getty Images
We've been forced into a nationwide lockdown in the fight against Covid-19. Stuck at home, it can feel as though the couch is calling us 24/7. It is easy to give in, become sedentary and let our health take a backseat.
Now, I'm 90kg and that weight loss is something I'm proud of but the most life changing part of that journey was discovering a love for exercise. I'm not telling you all of this to brag about my own accomplishments, I want to share a way of looking at life that I wish I had known years ago.
My 6am crossfit class became the highlight of my day and I know if I don't go, when I get to work I will be less alert, easily stressed and generally in a worse mood. I started running and got hooked on the satisfaction of getting better at it, increasing my speed and distances, after spending most of my life thinking it was something I just couldn't do.
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I've become obsessed with books and podcasts about exercise, nutrition and mindset. I've been soaking up information like it's the elixir of life and I think, in a way, it might be.
One of those podcasts is called Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron, a top crossfit and life coach. He talks regularly about the five pillars of health; training, nutrition, sleep, mindset and relationships.
Those are the building blocks to living a fulfilled life and unless they all work in harmony, it can all fall apart.
During lockdown I think it is our mindset, or mental health, that will be challenged most. But we can fight it by staying active. I'm not insisting you go and heave a dumbbell around the backyard for hours - it could be making time for a walk around the block every day, a short run or a few push ups when you wake up.
Being active will help you sleep at night, one of the other pillars of health. I also find when I'm training I am able to look at food more as fuel than something to over-indulge on, so nutrition is tied in as well.
A little bit of exercise will also work wonders on your mood. This is just as crucial when we are in a lockdown and spending more time with our loved ones. That is relationships, the fifth pillar of health. Make sure you're nice to be around and more tolerant of others by living the most healthy and fulfilled life that you can.
When the nationwide lockdown was announced, I admit it filled me with anxiety because I was so scared of losing motivation around my health and fitness goals.
Daily goals can help you stay on track during lockdown. Photo / Supplied
However, I have managed to make small changes to my routine to ensure I stay on track and so far, mentally, it is working well.
One process I have found helpful was talking to a close friend about how we want to live in the lockdown. We came up with five or six daily goals relating to the five pillars of health and I have them written up on a whiteboard in the lounge.
My goals include turning off my phone at 8.30pm to ensure I sleep properly, going for a run before I start work Monday-Friday, doing 10,000 steps a day, doing five home workouts a week and sticking to my eating plan.
None of these goals on their own are overly challenging and I didn't add them all at once. The first week I just had the 10,000 steps and 8.30pm phone ban. I have slowly added and now I barely have to think about them, it has become routine.
We are not our environment. External influences do not control how we think or feel, the way we react to them does. We can let this lockdown frustrate us and get us down, we can view it negatively and find ourselves stuck in a rut, or we can look for silver linings, make the most of the situation and come out of this healthy, refreshed and more resilient than ever.
That is not to say you have to get fitter, lose weight or compare yourself to what others are achieving during this time. Simply focus on putting measures in place to ensure you are as happy and fulfilled as you can be. That is what success looks like to me.
