So here in the UK we are now coming up to a week into lockdown and a couple of weeks of concerted social distancing. This has without a doubt had a dramatic impact on so many aspects of our lives. I briefly did a blog on working last week but being a fitness related blog I wanted to take a moment to talk about how I’m approaching my fitness during this whole thing.
Obviously everyone will be different and depending what equipment you have at home and what your goals are how you approach your training and diet right now will vary.
For me, like a lot of people I would imagine, I have no equipment at home, very little space indoors and my garden is not really suitable for exercise (it’s all gravel) although there is a car park which I can make use of on the grounds.
So with that in mind I’ve decided to approach my training by forgetting about maintaining strength or fitness, forgetting about trying to improve in any particular way. Instead I’m focusing on just moving and using moving in a way to feel good, stay mobile and benefit my mental health.
My general plan of action is to do a little yoga flow in the morning, go for a short run at some point to get some fresh air (literally 2- 3 km or some intervals / sprints/ pyramids) at lunch time and then do either some body weight training fro 2-30 minutes or an online class such as Les Mills On Demand in the evening. This does mean I’m doing much less each day in terms of exercise but I am still keeping myself ticking over and feeling good.
Stretching and mobility work is going to be really important. I’m sitting a lot more and my new set up of home working is not good for my posture so it’s vital that I stretch more often to avoid discomfort.
My real challenge is going to be my diet.
I normally walk a lot- I do 25,000 steps or so without trying a day. Last week not only did I train a lot less but i also moved a lot less in general. My step count was closer to 5,000 steps.
I’m therefore burning fewer calories. So i know I’m going to need to eat less. I can’t control not being able to go to the gym. I can’t replicate my training at home. I can’t move as much as normal with one opportunity to walk or run each day. I can control how much I eat.
So I’ve tried to cut my calorie intake by around a fifth. The first couple of days that was tough but I am moving less so I’m not lacking in energy from it. This is the strategy I know that will stop me feeling like a potato by the end of lockdown because I’ve done much less than normal and eaten the same or even more .
So in a nutshell that’s my plan – it might evolve, maybe it will change but right now I have a strategy to help me feel like I’m drifting aimlessly or getting wound up because I cannot replicate my normal routine.
What’s your plan of action for the next few weeks?
Heather Sherwood Fitness 