At the moment, it is very important to continue your training when the gym is closed. Whether we are working towards specific goals or just maintaining our health and wellbeing, regular exercise is essential. If you are someone who is used to going to the gym for your regular exercise, finding ways and motivation to continue training can be challenging when the gym suddenly closes (such as in Sydney’s latest lockdown!).
Here are our top 5 tips on for training when the gym is closed.
SCHEDULE WHEN YOU’LL BE ACTIVE
Put it in your calendar!
A great way to get through lockdown and to make sure we’re exercising is to create a schedule and include your exercise in it.
For example…
- 7am wake up.
- 7:15-7:45am coffee and breakfast.
- 7:45-8:15am meeting prep.
- 8:15-9am Exercise – walk to the park, complete 2 lots of 20 step ups and 20 push ups on park bench, walk home.
- 9am shower.
- 9:30-10:30am zoom meeting.
If you are someone who relies on accountability to get your exercise done, create a plan. Be really specific about what exercise you are going to complete in the time you’ve set aside for it.
State exactly what you’ll do, so you’ll do it!
CONTINUE TO TRAIN FOR STRENGTH
Just because the gym is closed does not mean you can’t do any resistance training. In fact, a fantastic way to build and/or maintain strength is through bodyweight resistance exercises. You might have heard of ‘calisthenics’ which is basically a fancy word for bodyweight training. Examples include push ups, pull ups, squats, lunges.
You may wonder how you might be able to add progressions once an exercise becomes easy. Or if your goal is to increase load not volume (who wants to do 1000 squats!)
Progressions are achievable without just increasing rep range.
I’ll use push ups as an example….
To increase the challenge you can slow down the movement and at maximum depth add a pause before you push back up. So from the top of your push up, take 3-4seconds to come down, once your chest is just off the floor (under tension) hold that position for another 3-4 seconds before pushing back up to the start position.
You’ll find that it doesn’t take too many reps to create some major fatigue!
This is a wonderful way to build long lasting strength as well as being very safe. This same principle can be used across a range of exercises.
HAVE A PLAN B
Often when the gym is closed or an indoor facility is not open for training, we plan to go outdoors for our exercise.
Though we might not be in rainy old London, weather can still affect our exercise plans!
If your plan was to walk to the park and back but Mother Nature has decided to unleash a monsoon, you might be likely to abandon your exercise plans altogether. In this case your plan B could be to make some space in your living room and practice some yoga, or have a long stretch or complete a mobility session instead.
You’ve already set aside this time for movement, use the time for exactly that just in a different way.
You might also need to scale what you do. You may have planned to do a long run but you’ve found that you’ve woken up with a bit of a niggle or are feeling particularly jaded.
Reschedule your long run and make sure you get moving by doing something less intense this time round. Walking is still a fantastic way to keep active, perhaps your plan B on this occasion might be a walk and a stretch.
KEEP IT SIMPLE AND ‘JUST MOVE’
Keeping things simple is a great way of making sure you’re keeping active. As stated above with the Plan B tip, something as simple as a walk and a stretch can be as beneficial as any other complicated type of workout (in some scenarios more so!). Ideally we need to move our bodies everyday. Thinking to yourself ‘just move’ might be all the motivation you need that day to get out and do that walk, or complete that mobility session.
Sometimes we feel as though we have to have completed the toughest session in order to feel like we achieved something good. But scaling things back from time to time does not mean you haven’t achieved. Listen to your body. Know that movement is medicine and that any movement you do during a tough time (like lockdown) is a massive win!
USE AUTHENTIC PT’S ONLINE LIBRARY OF WORKOUTS OR REACH OUT TO US
If you are an Authentic Personal Training member you have access to over 160 workouts via the member’s Facebook page. So if you’re feeling a little uninspired or don’t know where to start, jump on there and pick a workout. They’re suitable for everyone and you can go at your own pace as they’re all pre recorded. We also have our own YouTube channel with a wide range of FREE workouts available to watch and participate in.
Furthermore, if you would like some more guidance, reach out to us at Authentic PT and we can assist you more specifically. Whether you’re training for a particular set of goals or just looking to keep active while in lockdown, we can help!
In Summary…
Just because the gym is closed does not mean that you should stop your training. The key to having a healthy body and mind in these challenging times revolves around maintaining a great routine with food and exercise.
If you are sacrificing your health and wellness simply because the gym is not available to you, then you are only doing yourself a disservice.
Once the gym re-opens again, you will thank yourself that you have kept a positive routine going and not slipped backwards with your goals.
Keep up the great work!.
Want To Learn More?
Since COVID-19 entered our lives, we have aimed to deliver some great weekly information as to how you can remain healthy, productive and in good spirits. This blog post is the latest addition to a growing library of information. Click to read more on our dedicated COVID support blogs.
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